Roulette Table Layout: Visual Guide to Every Bet Position

The roulette table layout is the marked felt surface where players place chips, divided into an inside betting area holding the numbers 0 to 36 and an outside betting area holding grouped bets like red, black, and the dozens. Every betting position on the layout maps to a specific outcome on the spinning wheel, so reading the table correctly is the difference between placing the bet you intended and the bet you didn’t. This guide shows where every number sits, how the inside and outside zones work, and why the wheel arranges its numbers in a sequence that looks nothing like the orderly grid printed on the felt. By the end you will be able to identify any bet position on sight and place chips on a European or American layout with confidence. You can practise every position covered here on real casino games, so see the layout in action on our simulator once you know what each zone does.

Table of Contents

• Understanding the Roulette Table Layout
• The Inside Betting Area
• The Outside Betting Area
• Roulette Wheel Number Order
• European vs American Table Layout Differences
• Roulette Number Colours: Red and Black
• Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the Roulette Table Layout

A roulette table layout describes two separate physical components that work together: the betting layout printed on the felt and the spinning wheel that decides the result. The felt is where you place chips on numbers or groups of numbers, while the wheel determines which of those bets win when the ball settles into a numbered pocket. Treating the two as one object is the most common beginner mistake, because the order of numbers on the felt and the order on the wheel are deliberately different.

The betting layout itself splits into two zones with distinct purposes. The inside betting area holds the individual numbers 0 through 36 arranged in a grid, where bets pay more but win less often. The outside betting area surrounds that grid and holds grouped bets such as red or black, odd or even, and blocks of twelve numbers, where bets pay less but win closer to half the time. Knowing which zone you are betting in tells you the risk profile of the wager before the wheel even spins.

Pocket count is where the two main table types diverge, and it changes your odds. A European roulette table carries 37 positions numbered 0 to 36, while an American roulette table carries 38 positions because it adds a second green pocket, the 00, alongside the standard zero. That single extra pocket pushes the American house edge to 5.26% against the European house edge of 2.70%, which is why variant choice matters before you place a chip. To get comfortable with both before risking anything, see the layout in action on our simulator where you can switch between European and American games from real providers.

The Inside Betting Area

The inside betting area covers the numbered grid where players bet on single numbers or small clusters of adjacent numbers. This zone contains the digits 1 through 36 laid out in a three-by-twelve grid, plus the zero positions sitting at the top, and it carries the highest payouts on the table because the odds of hitting any single number are long. Every inside bet is defined by where you place the chip relative to the printed number borders, so chip position is the bet.

Number Grid (1-36)

The number grid arranges 1 to 36 in three vertical columns and twelve horizontal rows, reading left to right and top to bottom. Column one holds 1, 4, 7, 10 and so on down to 34; column two holds 2, 5, 8 through 35; column three holds 3, 6, 9 through 36. The numbers alternate red and black across the grid, though the alternation follows the colour rules rather than a simple left-right pattern, which is why a quick colour reference matters when you scan the felt. Eighteen numbers are red and eighteen are black, a balance the colour grid later in this guide lays out in full.

Zero Pocket(s)

The zero pockets sit at the top of the number grid and are always coloured green to separate them from the red and black betting numbers. A European roulette table places a single 0 at the head of the grid, spanning the three columns. An American roulette table places both 0 and 00 at the top, which is the visible signature that tells you which variant you are looking at before you read another number. French roulette uses the same single-zero numbers as the European layout but rearranges the outside betting positions and adds announced bets, so its felt looks different even though the number set is identical.

Bet Placement Positions

Chip placement on the inside grid encodes five distinct bet types, each defined by which borders the chip touches. A chip squarely inside one number is a straight-up bet on that single number. A chip on the line between two numbers is a split, covering both. A chip on the outer edge of a row covers that row of three as a street, a chip on the intersection of four numbers is a corner covering all four, and a chip straddling the edge between two rows is a line bet covering six numbers. Because the payout shrinks as the chip covers more numbers, knowing the payout for each bet position lets you weigh the trade between frequency and reward before committing. Try placing these bets risk-free on our simulator, where all bet types are available on our 100+ real casino roulette games.

The Outside Betting Area

The outside betting area holds the grouped bets positioned around the edges of the number grid, covering large blocks of numbers at lower payouts but higher win frequency. These bets never target a single number; instead they cover halves, thirds, or columns of the grid, which makes them the steadier choice for players who want longer sessions and smaller swings. The outside area runs along the bottom and the long side of the inside grid, and each group occupies its own clearly bordered box.

Even-Money Bets

The even-money bets pay one to one and sit closest to the player along the bottom and side of the grid. Red and black each cover all eighteen numbers of that colour, odd and even each cover the eighteen odd or even numbers, and high and low cover 1 to 18 or 19 to 36. These three pairs are the most popular wagers on any roulette table because each one wins just under half the time on a European layout, held back only by the green zero. Placing a chip in the red diamond, the box marked EVEN, or the box marked 1-18 commits you to that half of the wheel.

Dozen Bets

The dozen bets divide the 36 numbers into three blocks of twelve and pay two to one. The boxes marked 1st 12, 2nd 12, and 3rd 12 sit along the long edge of the number grid, with 1st 12 covering 1 to 12, 2nd 12 covering 13 to 24, and 3rd 12 covering 25 to 36. A dozen bet wins whenever the ball lands in any of its twelve numbers, giving a win roughly one spin in three on a European table while paying double the stake. Players use dozens to cover a broad stretch of the layout without committing to a colour or to single numbers.

Column Bets

The column bets cover the twelve numbers in one vertical column of the grid and also pay two to one. Each column ends in a box marked 2:1 at the bottom of the grid, and a chip placed there backs every number in that column: the first column covers 1, 4, 7 up to 34, the second covers 2, 5, 8 up to 35, and the third covers 3, 6, 9 up to 36. Because the columns cut across rows rather than along them, a column bet spreads your stake over numbers scattered throughout the grid, unlike a dozen which covers a continuous block. For beginners learning which outside bets suit their bankroll, the roulette rules guide explains how these wagers behave over a full session.

Roulette Wheel Number Order

The roulette wheel arranges its numbers in a fixed sequence that is intentionally scrambled, bearing no resemblance to the tidy 1-to-36 grid on the betting felt. This deliberate ordering distributes high and low, odd and even, and red and black numbers as evenly as possible around the rim, so that no quarter of the wheel clusters one type of result. The wheel sequence is the same at every reputable casino for a given variant, which means once you learn the European or American order, you can read any wheel of that type.

European Wheel Sequence

The European wheel runs a single, standardised clockwise sequence of 37 numbers starting from zero. The full order is 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26. Reading around the rim, red and black almost always alternate, and low numbers sit opposite high numbers, which is the balance the designers engineered. This sequence is consistent across every European wheel from every certified provider, so the order you memorise on a NetEnt game is the order you will see on an Evolution or Habanero table.

American Wheel Sequence

The American wheel runs a different 37-position sequence plus the extra 00, giving 38 pockets in a clockwise order built around opposing zeros. The full order is 0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2. The American wheel places 0 and 00 directly opposite each other and pairs consecutive numbers across the rim, a structure that differs fundamentally from the European arrangement. The two green pockets are what raise the American house edge, so the sequence is not just cosmetic but a direct driver of your odds.

Why the Order Matters

The wheel order matters because the sequence is engineered to maximise alternation, not because casinos want to confuse players. Designers arranged the numbers so that red and black, odd and even, and high and low switch as often as possible around the rim, preventing any visual or physical bias from favouring one group. The practical consequence is striking: numbers that sit side by side on the wheel are mathematically scattered across the betting layout, so a “neighbour” bet on the wheel covers numbers spread all over the felt. This is why the compare roulette variants guide treats the wheel sequence as a core difference between game types, not a footnote.

European vs American Table Layout Differences

European and American roulette tables differ most decisively in pocket count, and that single difference cascades into house edge, available bets, and table feel. The European table has 37 pockets with one green zero, while the American table has 38 pockets because it adds the 00, raising the house edge from 2.70% to 5.26%. For any player choosing where to put a chip, the variant decision carries more weight than any betting system, because it changes the maths on every spin.

The American layout’s extra pocket also unlocks a bet that does not exist on European tables. Because the American felt carries both 0 and 00, players can place the five-number bet covering 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 at once, a wager unique to the American game and the worst bet on the table by house edge. The European layout has no equivalent because it has only one zero, so its worst-edge trap simply does not appear. This is one reason experienced players gravitate to single-zero games, where the available bets all carry friendlier odds.

French roulette adds a third variation worth knowing. French roulette uses the same 37-number single-zero set as the European wheel but rearranges the outside betting positions and adds announced bets named after wheel sectors: Voisins du Zéro, Orphelins, and Tiers du Cylindre. These announced bets are placed by calling out the sector rather than touching a felt box, and they cover groups of numbers based on their physical position on the wheel rather than their value on the grid. To see how the three variants behave side by side, compare roulette variants in detail or jump straight into European roulette games and American roulette games to feel the difference yourself.

Roulette Number Colours: Red and Black

Roulette assigns eighteen numbers to red, eighteen to black, and the zero positions to green, with no number changing colour between variants. The red and black split is fixed across European, American, and French roulette, so memorising one colour map covers every table you will ever sit at. Knowing the colours at a glance speeds up reading the felt and confirms whether an even-money red or black bet will land.

The red numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, and 36. Every other number from 1 to 36 is black, which gives the set 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, and 35. The zero is always green, and on American tables the 00 is green as well, keeping both house-edge pockets visually distinct from the betting colours. With this map fixed in mind, you can confirm any red or black wager on sight and check your payout calculator result against the colour you actually backed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a roulette table laid out?

A roulette table is laid out in two zones: an inside betting area holding the numbers 0 to 36 in a three-by-twelve grid, and an outside betting area surrounding it that holds grouped bets like red, black, odd, even, the dozens, and the columns. The inside numbers carry high payouts at low win frequency, while the outside groups pay less but win more often. A separate spinning wheel, not the felt, decides the result.

What are the numbers on a roulette wheel?

A European roulette wheel holds 37 numbers: 0 plus 1 to 36. An American roulette wheel holds 38 numbers because it adds a second green pocket, the 00, alongside 0 and 1 to 36. The numbers appear in a fixed scrambled sequence around the rim rather than in counting order, arranged to alternate red, black, odd, even, high, and low as evenly as possible.

Where is 0 on a roulette table?

The 0 sits at the top of the inside number grid, coloured green and spanning the three columns above number 1, 2, and 3. On a European table there is a single 0 in this position, while an American table places both 0 and 00 at the top of the grid. The green colour separates the zero pockets from the eighteen red and eighteen black betting numbers below them.

What is the difference between inside and outside bets?

Inside bets cover single numbers or small clusters within the number grid and pay high odds, from 35 to 1 on a straight-up single number down to 5 to 1 on a six-number line. Outside bets cover large groups around the grid edge and pay low odds, from 1 to 1 on red, black, odd, or even up to 2 to 1 on a dozen or column. Inside bets win rarely for big returns, while outside bets win often for small returns.

Why are roulette wheel numbers not in order?

Roulette wheel numbers are not in counting order because the sequence is deliberately engineered to spread red, black, odd, even, high, and low numbers as evenly as possible around the rim. This even distribution prevents any section of the wheel from clustering one type of result and keeps the game statistically balanced. As a result, numbers that sit next to each other on the wheel land far apart on the betting layout.

What is the difference between European and American roulette tables?

The European table has 37 pockets with a single green zero, giving a house edge of 2.70%, while the American table has 38 pockets because it adds the 00, raising the house edge to 5.26%. The American layout also offers a five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3 that the European table cannot, since the European game has only one zero. The European single-zero structure gives players better odds on every wager.

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