Walk up to a European roulette table in a well-equipped casino and you will often notice a second, oval-shaped betting layout sitting alongside the main grid. It looks like a miniature racecourse, which is exactly what it is called. The racetrack — known in French as the announced bets section — lets players place wagers that follow the physical order of numbers on the wheel rather than the grid order of the standard cloth. For casual players it can look baffling. For anyone who wants to move beyond straight-up bets and understand where the different roulette traditions come from, it is one of the most rewarding parts of the game to learn.
Why the Wheel Order Matters
The roulette wheel is not laid out in numerical order. The numbers from 0 to 36 are arranged in a sequence specifically designed to distribute high and low numbers, odd and even numbers, and red and black pockets as evenly as possible around the circumference. On a European single-zero wheel, the sequence clockwise from 0 runs: 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26. On an American double-zero wheel the arrangement is different, and that matters because the racetrack bets described here are designed for the European layout.
Because the wheel sequence differs from the grid sequence, a bet on "numbers near each other on the wheel" looks scattered and awkward when placed on the standard betting cloth. The racetrack solves that problem. It displays the 37 numbers (0–36 on a European wheel) arranged in the same order they appear physically on the wheel. You can point to any section of the oval and immediately understand which pocket neighbourhoods you are covering.
The Standard Named Bets
The racetrack is home to four classical French bets that have been part of casino culture for generations. Each covers a specific arc of the wheel, and each has a fixed number of chips attached to it.
Voisins du Zéro — Neighbours of Zero
This is the largest of the named sections. It covers the 17 numbers that sit on either side of the zero on the wheel: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25. Because the wheel has an arc of pockets that naturally clusters around the green zero, Voisins du Zéro is sometimes seen as the dominant neighbourhood. It costs nine chips to place and uses a combination of splits, a corner, and a trio bet. Of the 17 numbers it covers, any winning number returns a profit that varies depending on which type of sub-bet it lands on.
Le Tiers du Cylindre — Third of the Wheel
Tiers covers exactly one third of the wheel — the 12 numbers on the opposite side from the zero: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33. It costs six chips, all placed as splits. Because the coverage is clean and the cost-to-coverage ratio is straightforward, many players regard Tiers as the most intuitive of the named racetrack bets. Six chips, twelve numbers, all split pairs.
Orphelins — Orphans
Orphelins covers the eight numbers left over once Voisins and Tiers have claimed their sections of the wheel: 17, 34, 6 on one side, and 1, 20, 14, 31, 9 on the other. These two small arcs are "orphaned" because they sit between the two major betting zones. The bet costs five chips — one straight-up on 1 and four splits covering the remaining seven numbers. Orphelins pays at varying rates depending on which pocket wins, since one number is backed as a straight-up while the rest are splits.
Jeu Zéro — Zero Game
Jeu Zéro is a smaller sub-section of Voisins du Zéro, focused on the numbers closest to the zero itself: 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15. It costs four chips — three splits and one straight-up on 26. Jeu Zéro is popular in German casinos in particular and is sometimes treated as a separate category from the main Voisins bet. It is a tight, economical bet for players who want zero-sector exposure without committing nine chips to the full Voisins stake.
Neighbours Bets: The Flexible Option
Beyond the fixed named sections, the racetrack allows something even more flexible: neighbours bets. A neighbours bet lets you pick any single number and automatically cover that number plus a specified quantity of numbers on each side of it on the wheel. The most common version is "X and the neighbours," meaning the chosen number plus two numbers to the left and two to the right — five numbers total, each backed with a straight-up chip, costing five chips in total.
If, for instance, you wanted to back the 17 and its neighbours, you would be covering 25, 2, 17, 34, 6 on the European wheel. You can increase the spread to three neighbours each side (seven numbers, seven chips) or reduce it to one each side (three numbers, three chips). This makes neighbours betting a genuinely customisable tool rather than a fixed formula, and it is one reason the racetrack appeals to players who have developed opinions about specific wheel sections.
How to Place Racetrack Bets in Practice
In a land-based casino, you announce racetrack bets to the dealer rather than placing chips yourself — which is precisely why they are called announced bets. You state the bet clearly ("Voisins, nine chips" or "17 and the neighbours"), hand over or indicate your chips, and the dealer places them on the main cloth in the correct positions. In some jurisdictions, placing a bet you cannot immediately cover is not permitted, so these are technically "called bets" only when the player has sufficient funds on the table.
In online roulette, the racetrack appears as an additional oval interface that you click directly. If you are using a site such as Simbacasino.dk and want to explore live dealer European roulette, look for the racetrack toggle — it is typically a small button labelled "Racetrack" or "Special Bets" at the edge of the table interface. Clicking it opens the oval layout, and from there you can select named sections or click any number to place a neighbours bet with adjustable spread.
Understanding the House Edge on Racetrack Bets
Here is a point that surprises many new players: the house edge on racetrack bets is exactly the same as on any other European roulette bet. On a single-zero wheel, the house edge is 2.7% on every bet regardless of how many numbers it covers or what structure it uses. Racetrack bets do not carry a premium for their complexity, nor do they offer any mathematical advantage over a simple red/black wager.
What they do offer is a different risk-reward profile. Voisins, covering 17 of 37 numbers, wins slightly more often than it loses but returns smaller profits relative to the stake. Tiers, at 12 numbers, wins roughly a third of the time. Orphelins, at eight numbers, wins less frequently but at better returns per chip when it does. Neither approach changes the long-run expected return. The choice between them is fundamentally about volatility preference and wheel-section strategy, not about finding a superior edge.
Why Players Use the Racetrack
There are several genuine reasons experienced players gravitate toward racetrack betting, none of which involve beating the house mathematically.
- Wheel sector play: Some players believe the wheel or ball delivery creates physical biases over time. Racetrack bets allow efficient coverage of a suspected hot sector without placing individual chips on every number.
- Speed and simplicity: Placing one announced bet is faster than spreading nine individual chips manually across the cloth, which matters in fast-paced sessions.
- Strategic variance control: Players managing a session budget can choose tighter or broader coverage depending on how much they want at risk per spin.
- Engagement: Racetrack betting requires understanding the wheel layout, which deepens the player's engagement with the game. Many players simply find it more interesting than flat betting on red or black.
- Tradition: The French named bets carry centuries of casino history. Playing them connects a modern session to the origins of the game in European gaming houses.
American Roulette and the Racetrack
It is worth noting that racetrack betting is almost exclusively associated with European and French roulette. American roulette, with its double-zero wheel, carries a house edge of 5.26% — nearly double that of the European game — and is rarely found with a racetrack layout. If you see a racetrack interface, you are almost certainly playing a single-zero variant, which is inherently more player-friendly on every bet you make. This alone is a reason to prefer the European version whenever the option is available.
Practising with the Racetrack
If the racetrack feels unfamiliar, the most effective approach is to start with Tiers du Cylindre. It is six chips, twelve numbers, all split bets — clean and symmetrical. You will quickly develop an intuitive feel for which numbers sit in which arc, and from there Voisins and Orphelins become straightforward additions. Free-play or demo versions of online European roulette are an excellent environment to practise placing named bets and neighbours bets without financial pressure, letting you build fluency before committing real stakes.
Racetrack betting does not transform roulette into a beatable game, and nothing will. What it does is add a genuine layer of craft and understanding to a game that rewards attentive players with a richer experience. Knowing what Tiers covers, how to construct a neighbours bet, or why Jeu Zéro is distinct from Voisins turns you from someone who watches the wheel into someone who genuinely reads it — and that makes every spin more interesting, whatever it returns.
