Learn About the Street Bet in Roulette
Roulette is among the most popular table games you’ll find at both land-based casinos and online ones. The game of chance has many different bet options available, and one of them is the street bet.
The street bet in roulette is a selection of three numbers one after the other. © AidenHowe, Pixabay
An Overview of Roulette
Roulette is a game of chance where a wheel is spun, and a ball is dropped onto it. There are 37 or 38 numbered pockets on the wheel, and the ball will eventually land in one of them.
There are two main versions of the roulette wheel: European and American. The European version has 37 pockets (1-36 and 0), while the American one adds the 00 pocket, giving it 38 pockets in total.
When placing bets in roulette, you’re predicting which of the pockets the ball ends up in. There are many different bets available in roulette, covering a range of numbers from just one up to 18.
The Main Roulette Bet Types
There are two main types of bets you can place when playing roulette: inside and outside bets. Inside bets cover a small selection of numbers (one to six) and have lower win rates but higher payouts.
On the other hand, outside bets cover a greater selection of numbers (12 to 18). Because of this, you’re more likely to win when placing an outside bet, but the payout you receive for winning one of these will be on the low side.
The Street Bet Explained
So, what is a roulette street bet? It’s classed as an inside bet because it covers a small selection of numbers. To be precise, it includes three numbers, though there are 12 different versions.
When you play roulette, whether it’s in a real-life venue or online at one of the best roulette sites, each game shows you the betting table. This lays out all the available bets.
Roulette betting tables arrange the numbers 1-36 into a dozen rows of three. The topmost row is 1-3, the one beneath it is 4-6 and so on. Above 1-3 is where the 0 (and 00 if playing American Roulette) is.
A roulette street bet covers a single row of three numbers on the betting table. Since there are a dozen rows, there are therefore a dozen street bets you can place: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 etc.
In some games, you may see the street bet referred to as the ‘single line’ bet. This is simply because it covers just one line on the standard betting table.
Placing the Street Bet and Its Odds
To place a street bet in real-life roulette, choose a row and place your chip just outside one of the numbers on the edge. This would be 1 or 3 for the 1-2-3 bet, for example.
You only need to place your chip on one outer number, even though the bet covers three numbers. For online roulette, click on a chip and drag it to the edge of the row you want to bet on.
The game should then highlight the row or indicate in some way that you’re going to bet on that particular row. Deposit your chip there and your street bet should then be placed.
© Pixabay
If you place a street bet in roulette and it wins, you’ll receive a payout of 11:1. Your total winnings will be 12x your bet, though remember this includes your initial wager.
You win a street bet if the winning number is any one of the three numbers covered by your bet. Of course, nothing is stopping you from placing multiple street bets, but only one of them can win.
As for the odds of winning a street bet, they are as follows:
- European Roulette: 11⅓ to 1
- American Roulette: 11⅔ to 1
European Roulette wheels have 37 pockets and since the street bet covers three numbers, you divide 37 by 3 to get the odds. In this case, it’s 11⅓ to 1.
As you can see, the odds of winning the street bet in American Roulette are slightly lower at 11⅔ to 1. This is because of the one extra pocket, the 00 pocket, that American Roulette wheels have.
You could also represent the odds as being 3/37 or 8.11% for European Roulette games and 3/38 or 7.89% for American Roulette. The European version is more favourable for players because it lacks the extra 00 pocket.
Should I Place the Street Bet?
Generally speaking, the street bet is a pretty good bet to place in roulette. It has a decent balance between reward and risk, offering a somewhat decent win rate and a reasonable payout.
We’ve mentioned before that you can place multiple street bets in a round of roulette. You could even place all 12 if you wanted. However, the more you go for, the greater the cost.
It’s best to stick with a small number of street bets to keep your cost down and your potential profit high. Having said that, you may want to place other bets alongside this one too.
This is where free roulette comes in. Pretty much every online casino that has roulette games lets you play most (or all) of them for free in demo play.
With demos, you can learn the ropes and understand the rules in your own time and without having to risk your money. You can also practise betting strategies and see what placing the street bet is like.
If you’re going to play roulette for real money, you should choose European versions of the game (or French versions; they also have 37 numbers as opposed to 38). The odds of winning are always better compared to American Roulette.
