Roulette Terms
Common terms used in roulette
Having trouble getting used to all the roulette lingo? This short glossary of roulette terms and definitions should help clear things up for you.
There aren't that many unique terms in roulette (thankfully), so it shouldn't be too difficult to get to grips with the majority of 'em.
- Call Bets
- The bets found in racetrack roulette that allow you to bet across specific sections of the roulette wheel. They're called "call bets" or "announced bets" because you would typically call out the name of the section you want to bet on, rather than placing chips individually across the table.
- Croupier
- The person employed by the casino to operate the roulette wheel. In blackjack and poker they're called dealers, but in roulette they're called croupiers.
- En Prison
- The En Prison rule allows players to keep half of the money on any even money wager for the next spin if the previous roulette spin came up as zero. Your bet is kept "in prison" for a chance to win on the next spin. This is good for you as it gives you another opportunity to win and reduces the overall house edge.
- Fibonacci
- The Italian mathematician who invented the Fibonacci sequence, which is what the Fibonacci betting system is based upon.
- Inside Bet
- Any bet on the numbers section of the roulette wheel. For example; single number bets, split bets, 4 number bets, and so on. These have higher payouts than the outside bets, but then the odds of hitting them are also lower.
- La Partage
- This rule is similar to the En Prison rule, except instead of leaving half of an even money bet on the table when the result zero, the money is returned straight back to the player and not left on the table for the next spin.
- Outside Bet
- Any bet placed outside of the central numbers area. For example; red/black, even/odd, column, and dozen bets.
- Split Bet
- A bet placed across two adjacent numbers, giving odds of 17:1 for each of the two numbers.
- Unit
- The set amount that you are making bets with. For example, if you are going to use the Martingale system starting with $100, you may want to start betting with $5 amounts. Therefore $5 = 1 unit, $10 = 2 units, $20 = 4 units and so on.