Voisins du Zéro
“Neighbors of zero”: seventeen pockets from 22 to 25 around the zero.
Nine chips cover seventeen numbers. ProbabilitymathProbabilityChance of an outcome, from 0 to 1 or 0% to 100%. One number: 1/37 = 2.70%.Read full → 45.95%. Payout depends on which number hits.
The chips
Two chipsmoneyChipA token representing a fixed amount, placed on the layout to make a bet. Also: check.Read full → on the 0-2-3 streetbetStreetThree numbers in a row of the layout, pays 11:1. French: transversale.Read full →, two on the 25-26-28-29 cornerbetCornerFour numbers sharing a corner on the layout, pays 8:1.Read full →, and one chip on each of five splitsbetSplitTwo adjacent numbers, pays 17:1.Read full →: 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22, 32-35. Nine chips, seventeen pocketsequipmentPocketOne of the 37 numbered compartments on the rotor. Also: slot, cup.Read full →: 22 18 29 7 28 12 35 3 26 0 32 15 19 4 21 2 25, a continuous arc with 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 → in the middle. Announced as “voisins” (les voisins du zéroFR · sectorVoisins du zéro“Neighbors of zero”: the seventeen numbers from 22 to 25 on the wheel, bet with nine chips.Read full →).
Payout by pocket
Because the chips are weighted, the payoutmoneyPayoutWhat a winning bet returns, quoted as “X to 1” on top of the returned stake.Read full → depends on where the ballequipmentBallThe small ball launched along the track against the rotor. Modern balls are ivorine or Teflon, 18–21 mm.Read full → lands. A hit in the double street 0-2-3 pays 11 × 2 = 22 and loses the other seven chips: net +15. A hit in the double corner 25-26-28-29 pays 8 × 2 = 16 and loses seven: net +9. A hit on any split number pays 17 on one chip and loses eight: net +9. Any miss loses all nine.
Character
Covers almost half the wheel in one announcement, so it hits nearly every other spin, and every miss costs nine unitsmoneyUnitThe base stake a system or a player works in. Progressions are described in units so they apply at any table.Read full →. Over 37 average spins: 17 hits worth about +171 units in total, 20 misses worth −180, net −9. The variancemathVarianceA measure of how widely results spread around the expected value. High for straight up, low for even-money bets.Read full → is low for an inside betbetInside betAny bet placed on or between the numbers of the grid: straight up, split, street, corner, six line.Read full →; the feel is of a slow grind punctuated by the occasional 0-2-3 bonus.
Jeu zéro
The smaller cousin: four chips on the seven pockets nearest zero (12 35 3 26 0 32 15) as splits 0-3, 12-15, 32-35 and a straight upbetStraight upA single number, pays 35:1.Read full → on 26. A hit on 26 nets +32; a split hit nets +14. Common in German and Austrian casinos as “zero spiel”.
Why the odd weights
The chips follow the layoutequipmentLayoutThe printed betting grid on the table. Also: table, felt, cloth.Read full →, not the wheel. The seventeen wheel-neighborsbetNeighborsA number and the two pockets on either side of it on the wheel, five straight-up chips.Read full → of zero happen to form three street-mates (0, 2, 3), a corner (25, 26, 28, 29) and five split pairs on the grid. The double chips on the street and corner are what it takes to cover those seven numbers with ordinary bets. The bet was designed by dealers for speed, not by mathematicians for elegance.
Questions
Same edge per chip. Voisins covers more and costs more; tiers pays the same on every hit.
It pays as a street hit, +15 units, the best outcome of the bet.
No. The sequence is different and the sectorwheelSectorA contiguous arc of pockets on the wheel, as distinct from a group on the layout.Read full → does not exist.
Comic relief
Nine chips, seventeen pockets, three different payouts.
Sources
- Ethier, S. N. The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects of Gambling.
- Wykes, A. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Gambling.