Even Money Bets Explained
What this guide covers
Even-money bets are the simplest, most approachable bets on a roulette table — and the ones most beginners start with. This guide covers how the three even-money bets work, why they aren't quite a true coin flip despite the name, and the special rules that can improve their odds. For how they compare to other bet types, see inside vs outside bets explained; for the full payout menu, see roulette betting options explained.
The three even-money bets
Roulette offers exactly three even-money bets, each covering eighteen of the wheel's thirty-six non-zero numbers: red or black (betting on the pocket's color), odd or even (betting on the number's parity), and high or low (betting on 1–18 versus 19–36). All three pay 1:1 — a winning $10 bet returns $10 profit plus your original stake.
Why they're called "even money"
The term "even money" describes the payout ratio, not the true odds. A 1:1 payout means you double your stake on a win, mirroring the simplicity of a coin flip — bet a unit, win a unit. It's a useful, intuitive way to think about the payout structure, even though (as covered below) the actual odds aren't quite an even 50/50 split.
Why it's not truly 50/50
Here's the detail that matters most: a European wheel has 37 pockets, not 36. Eighteen are red, eighteen are black, and one — zero — is neither, belonging to neither the red/black, odd/even, nor high/low categories. That single extra pocket means your true probability of winning any even-money bet is 18/37 (about 48.6%), not a genuine 50%. This small gap is exactly where roulette's house edge comes from on these bets, covered in full mathematical detail in roulette odds explained.
What happens when zero hits
On a standard table with no special rules, zero simply loses every even-money bet — along with almost every other bet on the layout, except a straight-up bet on zero itself. This is the direct mechanism behind the house edge on these bets: the payout is set as if there were only 36 possible outcomes, but there are actually 37, with zero belonging to none of the three even-money categories.
En prison: softening the blow
Some European and most French-labeled tables offer a rule called en prison, which changes what happens specifically when zero hits an even-money bet. Instead of losing outright, your bet is "imprisoned" for one more spin. If the next spin resolves in your bet's favor, your original stake is returned in full (no additional profit); if it loses again, the imprisoned stake is lost.
La partage: an immediate partial refund
La partage works differently but targets the same situation: rather than imprisoning your bet for another spin, it immediately returns half your stake the moment zero hits, resolving the bet right away rather than carrying it forward. Both en prison and la partage apply only to even-money bets specifically — they don't touch inside bets or other outside bets like dozens or columns.
How much these rules actually help
Both en prison and la partage cut the house edge on affected even-money bets from the standard 2.70% down to roughly 1.35% — effectively half. This is one of the few genuine, verifiable ways to improve your expected outcome in roulette without changing anything about how you bet: simply choosing a table that offers one of these rules over one that doesn't produces a real, mathematically meaningful improvement specifically on even-money bets.
Why even-money bets appeal to beginners
Beyond the relatively favorable odds compared to other bet types (when en prison or la partage is active), even-money bets are simply easy to understand and track — there's no need to memorize the grid's split, corner, or six-line positions, and results are visually obvious the moment the winning number is revealed. This makes them a natural starting point for a first roulette session, covered further in how to play roulette online.
Combining multiple even-money bets
It's possible to bet on more than one even-money category in the same round — for example, red and odd simultaneously — but it's worth understanding these categories overlap substantially. Many numbers satisfy both conditions at once, so betting on two even-money categories together doesn't double your effective coverage of the wheel the way it might initially seem to.
American wheels and even-money bets
On an American wheel, the same three even-money bets exist, but the added 00 pocket further reduces your true win probability to 18/38 (about 47.4%), and en prison or la partage rules generally aren't offered on American-format tables. This is part of why American roulette's house edge (5.26%) sits so much higher than European roulette's — the gap is felt across every bet type, including the simplest ones.
Frequently asked questions
Are even-money bets a true 50/50 coin flip? No — the presence of zero (and, on American wheels, 00) means the true probability is slightly below 50%, which is where roulette's house edge on these bets comes from.
What's the difference between en prison and la partage? En prison carries your bet forward for one more spin when zero hits, returning your stake only if that next spin wins; la partage immediately returns half your stake the moment zero hits, resolving the bet right away.
Do en prison and la partage apply to all bet types? No — both rules apply only to even-money bets (red/black, odd/even, high/low), not to inside bets or other outside bets like dozens and columns.
Is red/black better value than odd/even or high/low? No — all three even-money bets carry identical odds and payouts; they simply group the same eighteen-number coverage differently.
Do American tables offer en prison or la partage? Generally no — these rules are specific to European and French-format tables, which is part of why American roulette carries a meaningfully higher house edge overall.
