Things are not always as they seem in roulette. Take the roulette table layout and wheel. New players quickly learn that the numbers on the wheel are not in the same order as the numbers on the layout.
That represents a challenge to players who like to bet neighboring numbers. Some online games, including Roulette Advanced, distributed by NetEnt, have stepped up to that challenge by offering a single-zero roulette variation that enables combination bets on numbers that are neighbors on the wheel.
Not every online casino has such games, and they are rare in live casinos.
In standard roulette games, many bettors will wager on consecutive numbers on the layout in combination bets – two-number splits, three-number streets, four-number corners and six-number double streets.
What if you want to combine numbers that are adjacent on the wheel, but not on the layout, thinking that the dealer might hit a certain sector on the wheel? In standard roulette, you must make several wagers to cover all your numbers.
Roulette Advanced enables you to pick among combinations that are adjacent on the wheel.
The Roulette Advanced layout includes the standard grid, but it also has a racetrack-like oval display to choose among sector bets. On that oval, the numbers are marked off in segments in wheel order.
Good Neighbors
"Neighbors" bets, placed on the racetrack, enable you to bet on roulette combinations as they appear on the wheel. If you want to bet the ball will land within a three-number wheel segment of 27, 6 and 34, a three-number neighbors bet will do the trick.
If you want to expand the segment and pick 9 as your center number, it falls in between 31 and 22, and a five-number neighbors bet can also get you 14 to the left of 31 and 18 to the right of 22.
You could expand that once again to a seven-number bet, with the 14-31-9-22-18 sequence you've already chosen along with 20 to the left of 14 and 29 to the right of 18.
Where neighbors bets are available, they're essentially treated as separate wagers on each number. That means neighbors bets should be made in multiples of numbers in your segment. If the table minimum bet is $1, then a three-number neighbors combination requires wagers of $3, or $6, $9 or some other multiple of $3.
In online casinos, you sometimes can find minimum bets as low as 10 cents, so your three-number combo can be 30, 60 or 90 cents, or $1.20, $1.50 and so on.
If any of the numbers in your combination wins, it is treated as a single-number payout. In you bet $7 on the segment of 20-14-31-8-22-18-29 and the ball lands on any of those numbers, you get a 35-1 payoff on $1 if your bet. You lose the $6 earmarked for the other six numbers, but you win $35 and keep the $1 portion of your bet that applies to the winner.
At wizardofodds.com, Michael Shackelford offered a breakdown of the math on neighbors bets that show a 2.7% house edge, the same as on single-number bets on a single-zero wheel. You'll win 8.1% of the time on a three-number combination, 13.5% on a five-number segment and 18.9% on a seven-number neighbors bet, but in each case, the house edge remains at 2.7%.
Other Possibilities
Several other bets can be made in the space at the center of the racetrack in Roulette Advanced.
Serie 5/8
The long-form name of this wager is Le Tiers du Cylindre, and you'll sometimes find it just written as "Tiers." In the Roulette Advanced racetrack center, it's just labeled "Serie 5/8."
It's a 12-number bet that's made of up of six split bets. The splits cover 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30 and 33-36. You could make such a combination on a standard roulette game by making those splits, but the racetrack layout enables you to be the combo all at once. It's really six separate bets, so you need to bet in multiples of six betting units – multiples of $6 if there's a $1 minimum.
Any winning split gives you a 17-1 payoff on that portion of your bet, though you lose the other five wagers.
As with the neighbors, the house edge is the 2.7% that's the norm at single-zero roulette.
Voisons De Zero
In English, that's "neighbors of zero." On the Roulette Advanced racetrack, it's labeled "Serie 0/2/3." This enables you to cover the 0, the eight numbers to its left and the eight numbers to its right as they appear on the wheel. They range from 22 to the left to 25 on the right.
Bets should be in multiples of 9, so if the minimum bet is $1, bets should be multiples of $9.
That bet is then broken down into one unit each on the two-number splits 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22 and 32-35; two units on the three-number trio of 0, 2 and 3, and two units on the four-number corner 22-26-28-29.
Any winning split is paid at 17-1, a winning trio at 11-1 and a winning corner at 8-1. As you'd expect by now, the house edge is the standard 2.7% for single-zero roulette.
Jeu Zero
Shortened to "Zero" on the Roulette Advanced racetrack, the English translation is "game zero." It's a seven-number bet that covers the segment from 12-15 at they appear on the wheel.
You wager represents four bets: two-number splits on 0-3, 12-15, and 32-25 along with a single-number bet on 26. The bet should be made in multiples of four, or at least $4 with a $1 minimum bet.
Any winner on a split is paid 17-1, with 35-1 if the single-number bet on 26 hits. The house edge is 2.7%.
Orphelins
"Orphans" in English and shortened to "Orph." at the racetrack center, this bet covers numbers not included in the other advanced combinations.
It is composed of five bets, so bets must be multiples of five, or $5 with a $1 minimum wager. Component bets are a single-number bet on 1 along with the two-number split 6-9, 14-17, 17-20, 31-34.
As we've seen, winning single-number bets pay 35-1 and winning splits pay 17-1. The house edge? You guessed it: 2.7%.
Conclusion
When a roulette number has come up multiple times in a short period, many roulette players like to bet it and its neighbors. Problem is, the neighbors on the standard betting layout can be far removed from your number on the wheel.
The Roulette Advanced combinations give you a way to bet nearby numbers in wheel order. If the ball bounces from you number to one next door, it's the wheel order that matters.
Be cautious. As long as the wheel is balanced on a live game or the random number generator is in order online, betting wheel segments doesn't give you any real edge. But it doesn't increase the house edge, either, and it can be a fun way to play.
