Neighbors

Placement

Announced as “17 and the neighborsbetNeighborsA number and the two pockets on either side of it on the wheel, five straight-up chips.Read full →” (dix-sept et les voisins). The dealer places five chipsmoneyChipA token representing a fixed amount, placed on the layout to make a bet. Also: check.Read full →: 17 and the two pocketsequipmentPocketOne of the 37 numbered compartments on the rotor. Also: slot, cup.Read full → on either side of it on the wheel, which are 25 and 2 on one side and 34 and 6 on the other. On a live table the racetracktableRacetrackThe oval strip on live and electronic layouts showing the numbers in wheel order, used to place neighbors and sector bets in one tap.Read full → strip places all five with one tap; some interfaces let you choose one to nine neighbors each side.

Roulette Table

Payout and expectation

Any one of the five pockets wins 35 to 1 on its chip while the other four chips lose: net +31 unitsmoneyUnitThe base stake a system or a player works in. Progressions are described in units so they apply at any table.Read full → on a 5-unit stake. ProbabilitymathProbabilityChance of an outcome, from 0 to 1 or 0% to 100%. One number: 1/37 = 2.70%.Read full → 5/37 = 13.51%. Expected valuemathExpected valueThe average result per bet over the long run. −1/37 of the stake for every standard European bet.Read full → per spin: (5/37)(31) − (32/37)(5) = (155 − 160)/37 = −5/37 units, 2.70% of five units. Five straight-up bets, and five straight-up house edgesmathHouse edgeThe share of each stake the casino keeps on average: 2.70% in European roulette.Read full →.

Why it exists

It is the only standard way to bet a physical arc of the wheel. A wheel-bias player who has found a hot sectorwheelSectorA contiguous arc of pockets on the wheel, as distinct from a group on the layout.Read full →, or a dealer-signature believer who thinks the ballequipmentBallThe small ball launched along the track against the rotor. Modern balls are ivorine or Teflon, 18–21 mm.Read full → drops a fixed distance from the launch point, wants exactly this bet. For everyone else it is five straight-ups with a story. The payoutmoneyPayoutWhat a winning bet returns, quoted as “X to 1” on top of the returned stake.Read full → structure is identical to five unrelated numbers.

Dealer Signatures

Wheel order reference

To find anyone’s neighbors use the European sequence: 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, wrapping round from 26 to 0. The neighbors of zerowheelZeroThe single green pocket that no even-money, dozen or column bet covers; the source of the house edge. Also: single zero, 0.Read full → are 26, 3 on one side and 32, 15 on the other. The Wheel Visualizer tool shows any pick on the rim.

Wheel Visualizer

Variants

“Neighbors by 1” places three chips; “by 3” places seven. Some casinos accept a single-chip neighbors bet split across five numbers in fractions, paid pro rata. The underlying arithmetic never changes: each chip is a straight upbetStraight upA single number, pays 35:1.Read full → at 35 to 1 against 36 to 1 fair.

Questions