Experienced Roulette players have a tendency to incorporate betting patterns or combination bets into their wagering. Some of these are based upon mathematics, while others derive from close study of the roulette wheel layout. Such patterns have several advantages, including a higher frequency of payouts than wagers made straight up and bigger payouts when targeted numbers come up. Following are a few of the most commonly used Roulette betting patterns.

Hitting the Bull’s-Eye

One very popular pattern bet often seen at Roulette tables is the so-called “bull’s-eye.” The player chooses a number on the table to bet straight up, often in a part of the field that has not had a winner for a while. That targeted number is then surrounded with chips on its corners and splits.

For example, a bull’s-eye pattern targeting the number 8 would costs nine units to set up. It would cover all of the numbers 4~12, with one unit on the 8 straight up, one unit each on the splits 3-8, 7-8, 8-9, and 8-11, and one unit each on the four corners connecting the 8 to the 4, 6, 10, and 12. Any winners among the even numbers other than the 8 will break even. Wins on any of the four odd numbers adjacent to the 8 will return a net profit of 27 units. But if the 8 comes up as intended, it’s a bull’s-eye, paying 15:1 for a profit of 135 units.

With nine numbers covered, the likelihood of hitting any one of them is just 9:37 or 24.3%. The possibility of losing all nine units is 28:37 or 75.8%. Obviously, the key to a winning bull’s-eye pattern is to choose the target wisely.

Sector Betting

Many approaches to pattern betting that do not target a spot on the table will target a certain section of the wheel. Such sector bets are especially popular in Britain and France, where they have evolved names to define them. For example, the five-unit wager known as Voisins du Nombre (neighboring numbers) is one such pattern. It requires one unit bet on a number straight up and one unit each on the two numbers on either side of it on the wheel. A wager placed on number 7, for instance, would be accompanied by bets on 12, 18, 28, and 29 on a European layout, or 11, 17, 30 and 32 on an American one.

Targeting the section of the European wheel that contains the zero is also quite common. The pattern called Voisins du Zero (neighbors of zero) requires nine units to cover 17 numbers: two go on the 0-2-3 row; one unit each is placed on the pairs 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22 and 32-35; and two units go on the 25-26-28-29 corner. Playing this pattern will cover every number on the wheel from 22 to 25, with the zero in the middle of them. A win here will double the investment on 14 of the numbers and produce a profit of 15 units on the 0, 2 or 3. The likelihood of success on a single spin is 17:37, or 45.95%.

Better Half Betting

One other type of pattern betting involves covering more than half the numbers—hopefully, the better half. Statistically, this should produce payouts on the majority of spins. Perhaps the simplest version is known as the “double column,” with one unit placed on each of two columns of twelve numbers for a payout of 2-to-1 and a profit of one unit if successful. With 24 of the 37 numbers covered, or a 64.86% chance of coming up, it is an inexpensive way to control most of the numbers on the table. The same objective can also be accomplished by betting on any two of the three sequential dozens.

Another inexpensive way to get the “better half” is to bet two units on Low (1~18) and one unit on the middle dozen (13~24). This also covers 24 numbers for a 64.86% chance of success, and it yields a profit of one unit on the 1~12, three units on the 13~18, and breaks even on 19~24.

Other “better half” patterns include two units on Red and one unit on the middle column or else two units on Black and one unit on the third column. Each of these patterns covers 26 of 37 numbers, or 70.27% of the field, with eight numbers breaking even, 14 paying a profit of one unit, and four earning a profit of four units.