Roulette Terminology – Understand the Lingo from A to Z

A

• À Cheva — In French, À Cheva refers to a ‘split bet’.
• Action – The total amount that is wagered over a specified period of time.
• Action Player – A player that continuously places high wagers.
• Adrenotrend Betting System — A betting system that requires players to bet on the previously won outside bets.
• Against The Bank — Betting against the hot streak of colours or numbers. If there was a series of black numbers, or odd numbers in a row, betting ‘against the bank’ would see a player place a bet on a red or even number.
• Agent — This is a term that is used to describe a player that works together with the croupier to cheat the casino out of money.
• Alembert Betting System — A progressive roulette betting system in which players increase their bet after a loss and decrease their bet after a win.
• American Roulette – One of the main roulette variants that is played with 38 numbers, including two green numbers, a 0 and 00. American Roulette has a higher house advantage.

B

• Backtrack – The rim inside the wheel where the ball spins before it eventually stops inside of a segment.
• Bankroll – The budget that a player uses to play roulette with.
• Black Chips – Chips that are worth $100.

C

• Cancellation Betting System – A betting system that uses a series of numbers to either cancel out or add depending on a win or loss.
• Casino Advantage – This refers to the house edge or house advantage that a roulette game has over a player.
• Check Rack – This is a term that refers to the tray that is used to hold and organize casino chips.
• Cheval — Similar to A Cheva, ‘Cheval’ refers to a split bet.
• Colour Up – This is a term that is used in land-based casinos when players exchange lower denomination chips to larger ones.
• Column Bet – A bet that covers a column of 12 numbers, paying 2:1.
• Combination Bet – Refers to a bet that has money on one or more numbers.
• Croupier — The ‘croupier’ is a term that is used to refer to the employee that hosts the action. Often it is also called the dealer.
• Cylinder — A term that refers to the French/European roulette wheel.

D

• D’Alembert Betting System – A betting strategy in which the player increases their bet by one after a loss and decreases their bet by one after a win.
• Dolly — This refers to a tool that is used at land-based casinos to remove all winning bets from the table and pay them out before the new round begins.
• Drop – A term that describes the total amount of money that has been cashed in at the table.
• Drop Box – A box full of chips that is used at every land-based casino for players that wish to join the table.
• Dumping — A term used at land-based casinos to refer to a table that is losing money to the players.

E

• Edge – A term that is used to refer to the advantage a roulette game has over the player.
• En Plein — Used in French Roulette to describe a ‘Straight Up Bet’.
• European Roulette — One of the main roulette variants, European Roulette tables were the original ones and are the most played. They only have 37 numbers, including one green 0. The RTP of European Roulette games is 97.30%.
• Even Bet – A bet on all the even numbers.
• Even Money – A bet that pays out 1:1. Even money bets on a roulette table include betting on red/black, even/odd and 1-18/19-36.

F

• Fibonacci Betting System – A roulette betting system that is based on the Fibonacci sequence. It combines the previous two numbers the player has played.
• Finales a Cheval — A bet on all the numbers on a table that end with one of two selected digits. For instance, 4/5 bets cover 4, 5, 14, 15, 24, 25, 34, 35.
• Finales en Plein — A bet on all the numbers that end with a single digit. For instance, 3, 13, 23, 33.
• Five Number Bet – A single bet placed at an American Roulette table on numbers 0, 00, 1, 2 or 3.
• French Roulette Wheel – A French Roulette wheel is the same as the European Roulette wheel, as it has 37 coloured numbered segments including a green 0.

G

• George – A term that refers to a generous tipper at a land-based casino.
• Greens – Chips that have a value of $25

H

• Heat – Winning many rounds and attracting a casinos attention.
• High Bet – A bet on the higher numbers of roulette wheel (19-36).
• Hot Table – A term used in land-based casinos to refer to a table where the players are winning more than the casino.
• House Edge – Another term that is used to refer to the casinos advantage.
• Hustler — A player that cheats while gambling.

I

• Inside Bet – Any bet on the inner numbers in the betting area.

J

• Jeton — A French roulette term for “chip”.
• John – A land-based casino term to refer to a good tipper.

L

• Labouchère Betting System — A betting strategy that was developed by La Bouchère that uses numbers to either add to a formula or take away from the formula, depending on a win or loss. It is also known as the Cancellation Betting System and Split Martingale.
• Low Bet – A bet on the lower numbers of the table (1-18).

M

• Marker — The device used by the croupier of a land-based casino to mark the winning number after each spin. Players are not allowed to place new bets for the upcoming spin until the croupier has removed the marker from the table.
• Martingale Betting System – The most popular roulette betting strategy that sees the player double their bet after every loss.

N

• Nickel – A term used for $5 dollar chips. Usually, these chips are red.

O

• Outside Bets – A bet on the perimeter of the betting area that covers groups of numbers.

P

• Paroli Betting System — A betting system that sees players double their bet after every win.
• Penny Ante — Playing roulette with small stakes.
• Permanent Board — Refers to the second board of a land-based casino that sits above the table and displays the last twenty rounds.
• Pit – The area in a land-based casino where roulette tables are located.
• Pockets — The segments on the roulette wheel that are numbered and coloured. In European and French Roulette, there are 37 pockets while American Roulette has 38 pockets in the wheel.
• Press – A term used for a player that increases their bet following a win or series of wins.

Q

• Quarter Bet – Also known as Corner Bet or Square Bet, a Quarter Bet is a bet on four numbers that share a corner on the betting area.
• Quarters – Typically green chips that are worth $25.

R

• Red Bet – A bet on all of the red numbers on the table that pays 1-1.
• Rien Ne Va Plus — The French term that translates to “No More Bets”.
• Rouge — The French term for “Red Bet”.
• Run — Also known as a ‘streak’, it refers to consecutive outcomes. For example, 5 red results in a row.

S

• Scared Money – A term used to refer to players that are betting more than they can afford to lose.
• Six Number Bet – Also known as Line Bet – this refers to a bet on two Streets that covers 6 numbers.
• Sixain — The French term for “Six Line Bet”.
• Split Bet — A bet on two adjacent numbers on the betting area.
• Square or Quarter Bet — An Inside Bet on 4 numbers. Pays 8:1.
• Stack – Used in land-based casinos to refer to 20 roulette chips stacked on each other.
• Straight Up Bet – A bet on one number.
• Street Bet – A bet on three numbers on the adjacent on the betting area (for instance, 4, 5, 6).
• Surrender – A term that is used on roulette variants where the casino only takes half of a player’s losing outside bets on 0 and 00.

T

• Tapped Out — A term that refers to a player that has lost their entire bankroll.
• Tom – The opposite of a John, a bad tipper.
• Troller — A bet placed after the dealer announces “No more bets.”

V

• Vig or Vigorish – The juice taken by a casino.
• Visual Wheel Tracking – A term that refers to players that can follow the ball and wheel and predict where it will land.
• Voisins du Zero — A French term that is used in European and French Roulette variants that covers the neighbours of 0, from 22 to 25 clockwise. It translates to “Neighbours of Zero” in English.

W

• Wheel Clocking — A way of keeping track of the results of a specific roulette wheel in the hope that you will notice a pattern or bias.