The Roulette Table: Layout and Variants
The roulette table is the felt layout where players place chips on numbers and outside bet boxes. Layouts vary slightly between European, American, and French roulette, but the inside number grid is functionally the same across all three.
The Standard Roulette Table Layout
Every roulette table has two regions: the inside numbers grid and the outside bet boxes. The inside grid runs from 1 to 36, arranged in three columns and twelve rows. Zero (and double zero on American tables) sits at the top of the grid. Outside boxes line the edges and cover red/black, odd/even, 1-18, 19-36, columns, and dozens.
Inside Bets on the Table
Inside bets are placed on or between the numbered squares.
- Straight-up: chip on the number itself.
- Split: chip on the line between two adjacent numbers.
- Street: chip on the outer line of a three-number row.
- Corner: chip on the intersection of four numbers.
- Six-line: chip on the outer line at the intersection of two rows.
Outside Bets on the Table
Outside bets cover larger groups of numbers at lower payouts.
- Red / Black: all 18 red or all 18 black numbers.
- Odd / Even: all 18 odd or all 18 even numbers.
- 1-18 / 19-36: the low or high half of the wheel.
- Column: any of the three 12-number columns.
- Dozen: 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36.
European Roulette Table
The European table has a single zero at the top of the grid. Outside bet boxes line the left side and the bottom of the layout. French roulette uses the same wheel but adds the racetrack call-bet area for announced bets such as voisins du zéro and tiers du cylindre.
American Roulette Table
The American table places both 0 and 00 at the top of the grid, side by side. Outside bet boxes are similar to the European table, but the additional pocket affects every bet's house edge. See American roulette rules for more.
French Roulette Table
French tables typically use the same single-zero wheel as European tables, with bet labels printed in French (rouge/noir, pair/impair, manque/passe). The defining feature is the racetrack section that maps to the wheel order, allowing called bets that cover groups of physically adjacent numbers.
Key Differences Between Table Variants
| Feature | European | American | French |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zero pockets | 1 | 2 (0, 00) | 1 |
| Racetrack | Often available | Rare | Standard |
| Even-money rule | None | None | La Partage / En Prison |
| House edge (standard) | 2.70% | 5.26% | 1.35% on even-money |
For more on roulette mechanics, variants, and odds, return to the main roulette guide. To put these ideas into practice, the free roulette demo on the homepage is built for risk-free experimentation with every bet type and variant covered here.