| Updated: If you have rudimentary knowledge of roulette, you are probably familiar with most of the inside and outside bets listed on the main table layout. However, this classic casino game offers an additional set of advanced wagers that allow players to bet on specific groups of numbers as they appear on the wheel.
Known as call or announced bets, these wagers are available on single-zero wheels. They are usually announced to the dealer. Covering a call bet on the layout requires multiple chips.
You may wonder why additional wagers are needed in a game that already offers numerous standard betting opportunities. Call bets not only make roulette more interesting but also give you better odds of winning by allowing you to cover entire wheel segments with relatively few chips. This article discusses the different types of call bets, how they work, and how they compare with standard roulette wagers in terms of winning potential.
- High Stakes Roulette
- Low Limit Roulette
- Fibonacci Roulette System
- Parlay Roulette System
- Martingale Roulette System
- Inside Bets
- Outside Bets
- Roulette Rules
- Roulette Strategies
- American Roulette
- French Roulette
- European Roulette
- American and European Wheel Sequences
- Roulette – From a Perpetual Motion Machine to a Casino Landmark
- Roulette Basics and Rules of Table Conduct
- Roulette's Bet Types
- The French Roulette Layout
- Independent Trials, Odds, and Casino Edge in Roulette
- En Prison and La Partage
- The Many Faces of Roulette – Interesting Variations to Try
- Progressive Roulette Systems
- Reading Biased Wheels and Other Predictive Methods
- The Master of the Wheel Gonzalo Garcia Pelayo
- Improving Your Roulette Game
- Dispelling Roulette Myths
- How to Protect a Roulette Bankroll
- Software Providers of Online Roulette
- Roulette Games with Progressive Jackpots
- Live Dealer Roulette
- Roulette Goes Mobile
- Roulette in Literature, Film, and Television
Common Types of Call Bets
Let’s start off by explaining why call bets are named this way. Players sometimes refer to them as announced bets, using the two terms interchangeably. With that said, there is a difference between the two types of wagers, albeit a subtle one.
Both call and announced bets are posted on the racetrack and require players to verbally announce what wager they want to make. The distinction between the two lies in whether the player must place chips on the table when announcing the bet.
With announced bets, you need to post the required number of chips on the racetrack so that the dealer knows you have enough money to cover the cost of your combination wager. This must happen while the spin is still in progress, before the ball determines the outcome of the round.
Call bets differ in that the player still verbally declares the desired wager but does so without placing any chips on the layout to cover it. This can be problematic if the call bet loses and the player cannot pay the house.
In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, calling your bets without posting chips is considered gambling on credit. As such, it is strictly prohibited by law. Below, we list the main types of call bets. Note that some of them are unavailable at all tables.
Tiers du Cylinder
Voisins du Zero Orphelins Jeu Zero or Zero Spiel The Neighbors Final Bets Full CompletesTiers du Cylinder
Tiers du Cylindre means “one-third of the wheel,” an apt name for this call bet. It covers 12 of the 37 numbers: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, and 33. These numbers occupy the side of the wheel opposite the Voisins du Zero section.
You need 6 chips or multiples of 6 chips to place this bet. The chips are placed on the following splits: 5/8, 11/10, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30, and 33/36. If any of the 12 numbers appears on the next spin, the player receives 17 units for the winning split but loses the five units staked on the remaining splits.
The probability of winning with Tiers du Cylindre is a respectable 32.43%. This combination bet is not always referred to by its French name. In South African casinos, you may hear it called Series 8/5. At some roulette tables, it is also known as the Small Series bet.
Voisins du Zero
Voisins du Zero, French for “Neighbors of Zero,” is popular with seasoned roulette players, and for good reason. It covers nearly half of the single-zero wheel, specifically the 17 numbers opposite the Tiers numbers: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, and 25.
A quick glance at the wheel shows how the bet got its name. It covers nine numbers to the left of zero, seven to its right, and zero itself. This is easily the most famous call bet because it offers a solid probability of 45.94%.
The bet requires at least 9 chips: 1 unit on each of the five splits, 4/7, 12/15, 18/21, 19/22, and 32/35; 2 units on the 25/26/28/29 corner; and 2 units on the 0/2/3 trio. The payout depends on which component wins. Voisins pays 17 to 1 for a winning split, 11 to 1 for the trio, and 8 to 1 for the corner.
Orphelins
You have probably noticed that the Voisins and Tiers sections nearly divide the wheel in half. The two smaller sections that remain consist of the so-called “orphan” numbers, or Orphelins in French. One section contains 17, 34, and 6, while the other consists of 1, 20, 14, 31, and 9, for a total of eight numbers.
There are two variations of this bet. The more common version, Orphelins en Cheval, requires 5 chips: 4 units on the splits 6/9, 14/17, 17/20, and 31/34, and 1 unit straight up on number 1. Cheval is the French term for split bets. If any orphan number appears, you win at odds of 17 to 1 for the splits and 35 to 1 for the straight-up bet.
The alternative is Orphelins en Plein, where you bet straight up on each orphan number. You need 8 chips or multiples of 8 chips for Orphelins en Plein. Because it covers only eight numbers, the wager is less likely to win than Tiers or Voisins. Its probability is 21.62%.
Jeu Zero or Zero Spiel
For accuracy, we should note that Jeu Zero is not strictly a French bet. The wager originated in German casinos, where it was called Zero Spiel, meaning “zero game” or “zero play.” As the name suggests, the bet revolves around zero.
Jeu Zero is a miniature version of Voisins du Zero. It targets pockets close to zero but covers fewer numbers: 15, 32, 0, 26, 3, 12, and 35. The player needs 4 chips to place the bet.
The chips are placed on the 0/3, 12/15, and 32/35 splits, plus 1 chip straight up on number 26. A hit on 26 pays 35 to 1, while any of the splits pays 17 to 1. The probability of Jeu Zero is 18.92%.
The Neighbors
Neighbor bets should not be confused with Neighbors of Zero (Voisins), as they form an entirely different category of wagers. The standard Neighbor bet includes any number of your choice plus the two adjacent numbers on each side of it on the wheel.
Essentially, you place a straight-up bet on each of the five numbers for a potential payout of 35 to 1 on the winning chip. For example, a bet on 13 and its neighbors covers 11, 36, 13, 27, and 6. Some online roulette variants, such as those created by NetEnt and Microgaming, allow players to adjust the number of neighbors, offering a choice of 1 to 8.
For example, you might select number 9 and eight neighbors on either side, covering a substantial portion of the wheel (5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 3, and 35). In this case, you stake a total of 17 chips, with the winning chip paying 35 to 1. The probability is 45.94%, the same as that of Voisins.
By default, these are 5-chip wagers, so specify the number of neighbors if you intend to cover more than two adjacent pockets on either side of your selected number. The probability of winning with the standard 5-chip Neighbor bet is lower, at 13.51%.
More adventurous players can combine several Neighbor bets on the same spin. One example is a bet on 8, 11, and 13 and their neighbors. You stake 15 chips, covering 6, 10, 23, and 27 with 1 chip each; 8, 13, 30, and 36 with 2 chips each; and 11 with 3 chips.
Final Bets
The name of this call bet is self-explanatory. A Final bet includes every number on the layout that ends with the same digit, such as 5, 15, 25, and 35. The number of chips you need to stake depends on the digit you choose. You need 4 chips for digits 0 through 6 and 3 chips for digits 7, 8, or 9, as the wheel ends at 36.
There are several ways to place this wager, with the most common being Finale en Plein. You bet straight up on each selected number and collect 35 units for every unit wagered when you win. For example, Finale en Plein 8 consists of three straight-up bets on 8, 18, and 28, while Finale en Plein 3 requires four chips on 3, 13, 23, and 33.
Finale en Cheval differs because some numbers are covered with split bets. The exact number of chips again depends on the final digit. For example, Finales Cheval/Plein on 6 and 9 is a 4-chip wager with bets on the 6/9, 16/19, and 26/29 splits and a straight-up bet on 36.
Another example is Finales en Cheval on 7 and 10, which requires one chip on each of the following splits: 7/10, 17/20, and 27/30. Finale Cheval/Plein 2 and 1 requires five chips: bets on the 2/1, 12/11, and 32/31 splits and straight-up bets on 21 and 22 because they are not adjacent on the layout.
The probability of winning with a Final bet depends on its coverage. It is 10.81% and 8.11% when you bet the numbers straight up, 18.92% for Cheval/Plein with 7 numbers, 16.22% for Finale en Cheval with 6 numbers, and 21.62% for Cheval/Plein with 8 numbers.
Full Completes
This wager is favored mostly by high rollers because it requires a large number of chips. It is also known as a Maximum bet because players typically stake up to the table maximum on straight-up, split, corner, street, and double-street bets.
It is a complex wager that can require up to 40 chips. Its structure consists of 1 straight-up bet on the base number, 4 split bets, 1 street bet, 4 corner bets, and 2 double-street bets. The example below illustrates a bet on 20 at the maximum, with a $100 ceiling for inside bets. If you are playing online, you can usually place the same wager for less than the maximum.
- 1 chip on number 20 (to a maximum of $100)
- 2 chips on the 17/20 split (to a maximum of $200)
- 2 chips on the 20/21 split ($200 maximum)
- 2 chips on the 19/20 split ($200 maximum)
- 2 chips on the 20/23 split ($200 maximum)
- 3 chips on the 19/20/21 street ($300 maximum)
- 4 chips on the 17/18/20/21 corner ($400 maximum)
- 4 chips on the 16/17/19/20 corner ($400 maximum)
- 4 chips on the 19/22/23/20 corner ($400 maximum)
- 4 chips on the 21/20/23/24 corner ($400 maximum)
- 6 chips on the 16/17/18/19/20/21 double street ($600 maximum)
- 6 chips on the 19/20/21/22/23/24 double street ($600 maximum)
That amounts to 40 chips on the layout and a total of $4,000 in action. If the inside-bet maximum at your table is higher, such as $1,000, you would need to risk a considerable sum on a single spin.
The Full Complete bet in this example covers nine numbers, so its chances are lower than those of broader call bets such as Voisins. Its probability is 24.32%.
If you win, the number of chips you collect depends on the base number. In the 40-chip example above, you would receive 392 chips. Certain numbers require fewer chips to complete the bet and therefore return smaller payouts, as shown below:
- 0 requires 17 chips and pays 235 chips
- 1 and 3 require 27 chips and return 297 chips
- 2 costs 36 chips and pays 396 chips
- Numbers from the first column (4 to 31) and third column (6 to 33) require 30 chips and pay 294 chips
- Full Completes on 34 and 36 are 18-chip bets and return 198 chips
- 35 requires 24 chips and pays 264 chips
You may wonder how the payouts are settled when the winning number is adjacent to the base number. For example, this could occur when you wager 40 chips on 20 at the maximum and 23 appears.
Croupiers normally use the station method to settle the payouts. This involves counting the ways in which the winning number connects to the complete wager. In the example above, 23 does so in four ways, or four stations: two corners (20/23/21/24 and 19/20/23/22), one double street (19/20/21/22/23/24), and one split (20/23).
The croupier multiplies the number of stations by 30 and then adds the remaining stations, eight in this case, as follows: (4 x 30) + 8 = 128. The player should therefore be paid 128 chips for a Full Complete on 20 when 23 hits.
This wager is clearly suited to players with very large bankrolls. One example is Mike Ashley, who owned Newcastle United and famously won £1.3 million with a bet on 17 at the maximum in 2008 at London’s Mayfair.
Other Advanced Bets to Make at the Roulette Table
The call bets discussed above represent only the most popular options. Roulette offers a whole array of advanced novelty wagers, including the four special bets outlined below. They are ideal for players who enjoy experimenting and wish to diversify their gaming sessions.
Black and Red Splits The 007 Bet The Snake Bet The Random 7 BetBlack and Red Splits
These bets are discussed together because they are virtually identical. As the name suggests, they are split bets on adjacent numbers of the same color on the layout. Keep in mind that the numbers are arranged differently on the wheel.
The Red Splits are 9/12, 18/21, 16/19, and 27/30, while the Black Splits are 8/11, 10/13, 17/20, 26/29, and 28/31. Black Splits cover 10 of the 37 pockets, while Red Splits cover 8, which gives probabilities of 27.03% and 21.62%, respectively. If any selected number hits, the casino pays the standard split-bet odds of 17 to 1.
The 007 Bet
Anyone who has watched the James Bond films knows that baccarat is the secret agent’s game of choice on screen. In Ian Fleming’s novels, however, 007 is an accomplished roulette player.
It is therefore fitting that one of roulette’s novelty bets bears his code name. The wager is called 007, and it takes its name from the shape the chips create on the layout.
The bet includes numbers from all three dozens and covers nearly the entire wheel, leaving out only a few pockets. It combines straight-up and corner bets.
You place straight-up bets on 4, 7, 9, 6, 16, 19, 18, 21, 28, 30, 32, 33, and 36, along with the following corner bets: 1/2/4/5, 2/5/3/6, 8/9/11/12, 8/11/10/7, 13/14/16/17, 14/17/15/18, 20/23/24/21, and 20/23/22/19.
The 007 bet pays 11 to 1 for corners and 35 to 1 for straight-up bets. You need at least 21 chips for this wager. It covers all numbers from the first two dozens plus five from the third dozen, giving it a probability of 78.38%.
The Snake Bet
The Snake bet gets its name from the pattern the chips form on the layout. It is unavailable in most online versions, although you can place it manually. The wager may appeal to players who prefer dozen bets because it also covers 12 numbers. However, the numbers are scattered across the layout rather than grouped sequentially.
You bet straight up on 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32, and 34. If any of these 12 numbers hits, the winning straight-up bet pays 35 to 1. The probability of winning is the same as that of a dozen or column bet, at 32.43%.
The Random 7 Bet
This wager is particularly interesting because it combines split, corner, street, and straight-up bets. It is called the Random 7 because seven chips are placed in a varied pattern on the layout. Because multiple bet types are involved, the player covers more than seven numbers.
The number 7 is considered lucky in many cultures and is associated with perfection, prosperity, and renewal. Here is one example of a Random 7 bet: place 1 chip straight up on each of numbers 11 and 14, 1 chip on the 1/2/4/5 corner, 1 chip on the 16/17/18 street, 1 chip on the 0/2/3 trio, and 1 chip on each of the 21/20 and 28/29 splits.
You can distribute your seven chips in any pattern you like. The payout depends on which component wins: 35 to 1 for a straight-up bet, 17 to 1 for a split, 11 to 1 for a street, or 8 to 1 for a corner. The probability varies depending on your coverage. It is 40.54% for the example above, which covers 15 numbers.