What is the Orphelins bet in roulette?
There are plenty of interesting ways to play roulette outside of straight betting, and many players choose to follow a set of rules called French bets. These refer to bets called Orphelins, Tiers du Cylindre and Voisins du Zero.
With the Tier, Orphelins, Voisins bets, you would typically choose numbers that fall within specific groups on a roulette wheel. Orphelins are numbers that don’t fit into either the Tiers or Voisins groups, which are ‘call bets’ that are traditionally used in French games.
Therefore, you’ll commonly find that these bets are used in European roulette games and tables.
The Orphelins bet explained
What does Orphelins mean? Roulette table Orphelins, or numbers not covered by French call bets, are the numbers 1, 6, 9, 14, 17, 20, 31 and 34. Betting on the Orphelins group means that you essentially bet on 22% of the wheel each time.
Many players choose to bet on the Orphelins to sandwich the gap left behind by the other French bets – doing so gives them around a 21.62% chance of winning the wager.
You’ll find that to place bets on roulette Orphelins numbers, you’ll need to place both straight and split bets on the traditional roulette grid. Or, you can use the racetrack at French tables, as mentioned later on.
Roulette Orphelins numbers: where to land on the wheel
Les Orphelins roulette numbers are placed facing each other at around eight o’clock and three o’clock with a European zero at the very top of the wheel.
This means that to get an Orphelins win, the ball will ideally need to roll and land on either the left- or right-hand side. On the left, the numbers 1, 20, 14, 31 and 9 are grouped together, while on the right, there’s a group of 17, 34 and 6.
Orphelins payouts
On a traditional table and grid, you’ll need to place five chips to complete an Orphelins roulette bet. You must place a straight bet on 1, then split bets covering 6 and 9, 14 and 17, 17 and 20, and 31 and 34.
The straight bet has a roulette Orphelins payout of 35:1, while each of the splits has a payout of 17:1. Therefore, these bets are considered somewhat riskier than, say, odds/evens or red/black, which are outside bets with even odds, or 1:1.
Other less risky bets in roulette include corners, which pay 8:1, and line bets, which pay 5:1.
Orphelins racetrack betting
At some roulette tables, particularly in the French variant, you’ll find an extra betting space where you can specifically place Orphelins and other French bets, called the racetrack.
The racetrack is a small oval that lets you place your five chips on all eight of the Orphelins numbers without having to split them across the main grid. This helps to speed up your bets, meaning that you can leap back into the action before the dealer closes that particular round.
Not all tables and games have the racetrack, but if you want to place Orphelins regularly and at a rapid pace, it’s worth looking out for. Of course, do still take care to play responsibly and set time and money limits regardless of your style of play.
Advantages and disadvantages of Orphelins bets
Let’s quickly break down the pros and cons of placing Orphelins bets in roulette.
Pros:
- There are much higher payouts than most traditional bets.
- You get a good coverage of different numbers.
- It’s a quick way to place several well-spread bets at once.
Cons:
- There’s a higher house edge than most bets.
- Your odds of winning are still relatively small.
Of course, whether or not you choose to place Orphelins bets is entirely a matter of your personal playing style. As with all other bet types, you are never guaranteed to win!
Martingale strategy for Orphelins
It’s entirely possible to follow popular roulette strategies, such as the Martingale, while betting on Orphelins. With Martingale, you simply double your bet every time you lose until you win, when you reset to your original wager.
The idea is that, eventually, you get to recoup any losses you might make along the way. With Orphelins, you can simply increase the value of your five chips by double each time until you win.
That said, pairing Orphelins with Martingale can be a costly strategy – make sure that you set clear financial limits and reach out to the LeoVegas team if you need help managing your bankroll.
Try Orphelins bets yourself at one of the top French or European roulette tables at LeoVegas!