Called bets and the sectors of the wheel

Voisins du zéro, tiers, orphelins: bets that follow the wheel rather than the layout. You call them to the dealer instead of placing them, and each one covers a whole sector of the rim.

Why they exist

On the layout the numbers are lined up from 1 to 36. On the wheel they are shuffled. Two pockets side by side on the rim can sit at opposite ends of the board, and a player who wants a slice of the wheel would have to place six or nine chips scattered across the whole table. That is what called bets are for: one sentence to the dealer, who places the chips for you.

Here is the real order of the numbers around a European wheel, starting at the zero and turning clockwise:

1. 0
2. 32
3. 15
4. 19
5. 4
6. 21
7. 2
8. 25
9. 17
10. 34
11. 6
12. 27
13. 13
14. 36
15. 11
16. 30
17. 8
18. 23
19. 10
20. 5
21. 24
22. 16
23. 33
24. 1
25. 20
26. 14
27. 31
28. 9
29. 22
30. 18
31. 29
32. 7
33. 28
34. 12
35. 35
36. 3
37. 26

Voisins du zéro — the neighbours of zero

17 numbers, 9 chips. The great sector around the zero, from 22 to 25 by way of the green. It is the most common call of them all.

Numbers covered: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25.

The 9 chips go down like this: two on the street 0-2-3, two on the corner 25-26-28-29, and one on each of the splits 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22 and 32-35.

Tiers du cylindre — the third of the wheel

12 numbers, 6 chips. The sector opposite the zero, from 27 to 33. Exactly a third of the rim, which is where the name comes from.

Numbers covered: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33.

Six splits, one chip each: 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30, 33-36. It is the easiest call to place, since every chip is the same size.

Orphelins — the orphans

8 numbers, 5 chips. What is left of the wheel once the neighbours and the third have been set aside: two small groups with nothing to connect them, hence the name.

Numbers covered: 17, 34, 6, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9.

One chip straight up on the 1, then one on each of the splits 6-9, 14-17, 17-20 and 31-34. The 17 is covered twice: it is the only number this call pays double.

Jeu zéro — the zero game

7 numbers, 4 chips. A tightened version of the neighbours, around the zero alone.

Numbers covered: 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15.

One chip on each of the splits 0-3, 12-15 and 32-35, and one straight up on the 26.

Finals

A final gathers the numbers ending in the same digit: final 4 covers 4, 14, 24 and 34, in four straight-up chips. Final 7 covers only three — 7, 17, 27 — since there is no 37. Unlike the calls above, finals follow the digits and not the wheel.

They do not change the odds

A called bet is only a shortcut for placing several wagers at once. Every chip keeps exactly its own chances and its own payout, and the whole keeps the same 2.70 % edge as any other combination. Covering 17 numbers out of 37 does not make the wheel kinder: it spreads the stake over more pockets, which wins more often and less each time.

At this table

The Wheel panel draws the rim and colours the four sectors: one look shows where the neighbours, the third and the orphans fall. The chips then go down by hand on the layout, split by split. Open the roulette.