Roulette Glossary

Roulette Glossary Terms

American roulette - The roulette version with 38 slots - numbers 1 to 36 plus 2 zeroes (0 and 00).

Biased wheels - A defective wheel in which some numbers show up more times than the law of averages permits.

Chameleon strategy - Placing bets similar to those of winning players around you.

Double zero - A colored-green bet found only in American roulette and located above the individual numbers on the betting table.

Dumping - When the casino loses money to the players.

En prison - A rule that gives players (on even money bets where the result is zero) two options: take back half the bet or re-wager it on another round.

European roulette - The roulette version with 37 slots - numbers 1 to 36 plus 1 zero (0).

Inside bet - A bet placed anywhere on the numbers of the roulette table.

Le Partage rule - A rule (on outside even money bets) that is the opposite of "en prison": players lose half the bet and cannot leave their bet in place for another round.

Martingale - A system in which a player doubles his bet after every loss - until he either wins or is out of betting money.

Orphans - A bet of 6, 17, and 34 - close to each other on the wheel, but apart on the betting layout.

Past posting - A cheating strategy in which a player places a bet after the winning number is already revealed.

Roulette wheel - A wheel with slots that rotates, with the roulette ball randomly stopping on one of the slots.

Single zero roulette - Another name for European roulette.

Wheel head - The part of the roulette wheel that holds the numbered slots or pockets.