Guide to Announced/Call Bets in Roulette

Bets on the roulette wheel (racetrack)

Racetrack is the name of an oval-shaped section on the roulette table, usually placed at the top left of the wheel. It really resembles a racetrack in appearance. It has a series of numbers on it, and at first glance, these numbers do not appear to be placed in any particular order. However, if you look at the wheel, you will see that the numbers are placed on the racetrack in the same order. In other words, this section resembles a flat and oval version of the wheel. Racetrack is most commonly found in the French and European versions of roulette, but you can even see it in the American variant.

Racetrack basically includes five different betting options, each of which covers multiple numbers. To choose one of the betting options (and place a wager), simply click on the area reserved for that bet on the racetrack. You can simply think of them as additional betting options. These options consist of the following:

Voisins du zero

Covers these numbers: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25.

With this bet, you can try your luck on a total of 17 numbers at the same time. This term means “neighbors of zero” and covers the numbers around the left and right sides of the 0 pocket on the racetrack. Technically, it consists of 5 split bets, a trio bet, and a corner bet. The odds of winning in European roulette are 45.95% and the payout can be 1:1, 10:1, or 16:1 depending on which of these bets wins.

Tiers

Covers these numbers: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33.

Can be translated as “the third”, which means it covers the third of the wheel with 12 numbers. Sometimes, it is referred to as “Series 5/8” too. Tiers bet asks you to place 6 split bets in total, and the payout will be 12:1 if you win. Speaking of which, your chance of winning this bet is 32,00%.

Orphelins

Covers these numbers: 17, 34, 6, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9.

“Orphelins” means “orphans”, which is a reference to all the numbers that are not covered (“left behind”, in a way) by Tiers and Voisins. It covers 8 numbers in total and consists of one straight bet (on 1) + four split bets (6/9, 14/17, 17/20, 31/34). The payout for the straight bet is 31:1 considering lost bets. All other bets get paid 13:1. The winning chance of this bet is 21,62%. There is also a variant called “Orphelins en Plein”, which covers the same numbers but consists of 8 separate straight bets.

Jeu 0

Covers these numbers: 0, 3, 12, 15, 26, 32, 35.

You can think of this bet as a simpler (and fewer numbers-involved) version of Voisins. It is usually offered in French roulette and consists of 3 split bets (0/3, 12/15, 32/35) and one straight bet (26). The payout will be 32:1 or 14:1 depending on the bet you won. The chance of winning is 18.90%.

Neighbours

Covers these numbers: 5 numbers of your choice.

In this bet, you choose a number on the racetrack and bet on the two numbers on both its left and right sides. In other words, you place a wager for a total of 5 numbers: the number you choose + 2 numbers to the left + 2 numbers to the right. These are all straight bets with a 31:1 payout if you win. The chance of winning a neighbour's bet is 13.50%.

Certainly, when you make a Neighbors bet, you are essentially placing five individual straight-up bets. It's important to note that when you select the chip value, it applies to each of these five numbers individually, not as a combined total. For instance, if you decide to wager 5 units on the Neighbour of the "6," you are actually placing a total of 25 units in bets. This is because you are betting on these specific numbers: 6, 17, 34, 27, and 13.

Conclusions

Racetrack bets offer a winning chance that falls between inside and outside bets; and give you new outcomes to try your luck. There is no strategy based directly on them, but they offer exciting opportunities even for gamblers who play with low wagers. You can find them in both RNG and live versions of online roulette.

As always, for optimal results, it is best to use racetrack bets in variants with a low house edge, namely French and European roulette, respectively. The winning chances we shared above are for single-zero roulette variants, and they will be much lower in double-zero American roulette. In any case, if you want more than the standard betting options and want to try something different, announced/call bets will be a good choice.