How does the Neighbours bet work in Roulette?
Many casual players have no idea what a roulette neighbour bet is, as it’s not one of the more commonly placed wagers. However, it’s definitely worth considering as it lets you place a single bet on five or more numbers, which, of course, means that you’re spreading your bet across five or more possible outcomes.
It can also make you look like a seasoned roulette player, because many others will be placing more straightforward bets such as red or black, or maybe a dozens or column bet.
What is a neighbour bet?
Roulette neighbour bets let you bet on a specific number and the numbers immediately next to it on the wheel. Placing a neighbour bet can be a little complicated because you’re placing it on a specific number and the numbers either side of it on the wheel itself, not on the grid shown on the roulette table.
For example, a neighbour bet on 17 with two neighbours would cover 17, 6, 34, 25 and 2, as those are the numbers to either side of 17 on the roulette wheel. The standard neighbours bet is a five-number bet, so you pick the central number and the bet includes the two numbers to the left and right of that number. This tends to be the default setting when placing a neighbour bet in online roulette.
However, some online roulette games allow you to choose up to nine neighbours either side of the central number, meaning that you’re covering around half the numbers on the wheel!
Where can you play neighbour bets?
Not all versions of roulette allow for neighbour bets, but you will usually find that you can place neighbour bets when playing European roulette or French roulette. In land-based casinos, these bets are known as ‘called bets’, because you have to actually announce to the dealer that you want to make a neighbour bet. The dealer will then place the bet for you. However, things are a little different with online roulette.
When playing online, you may notice that European and French roulette games have an extra area above or alongside the main betting area that resembles a racing circuit, with the numbers laid out on it in the same order that they appear on the roulette wheel.
This is where you can place a neighbour bet, around the edge of the ‘racetrack’. Most online European roulette games have this racetrack section, though sometimes you may have to click through an icon in the game menu to find it.
You can play a few different versions of European Roulette right here at LeoVegas.
Neighbour bets: odds, payouts and house edge
In terms of neighbour bet odds and payouts, it’s helpful to think of neighbour bets as a combination of straight-up bets on single numbers. Say that you put £5 on a standard five-number neighbour bet – you’re really putting £1 on each number. European roulette and French roulette tables have 37 numbers on the wheel, so the chance of landing any number is 1:37. After factoring in the house edge of 2.70%, created by the zero space, the payout odds of any single number are 35:1.
Placing your bet across five numbers gives you a success probability of 7.4:1, which is 13:5%. Remember that if the ball lands on any of your numbers, you get a 35:1 payout, but you also, of course, lose the other four bets. Spreading your neighbour bet across more numbers increases your odds of winning, but also the amount you’ll lose on the other bets placed, so all of this needs to be factored into your roulette neighbour bet strategy.
What are section bets?
There are other bets similar to neighbours bets, known as section bets. With these, you pick a specific section of the wheel to bet on. There are generally three sections:
- Voisins du Zero
- Orphelins
- Tiers du Cylindre
Section bets are a little more complicated than neighbour bets, but are also based on the ‘race circuit’ where you’ll find the neighbour bets in online roulette. The sections mentioned above will be marked out on the racetrack, and you’re essentially betting that one of the numbers in that particular section will be the winner.
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