What are called bets in roulette?
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Called bets (also known as announced bets) are special roulette wagers based on sections of the physical wheel rather than sections of the number layout. They’re placed by calling them to the croupier and are most common in French and European roulette.
The main called bets
Voisins du Zéro (neighbours of zero) covers the 17 numbers closest to zero on the wheel using 9 chips across various splits, corners, and a trio. Tiers du Cylindre (thirds of the wheel) covers 12 numbers on the opposite side of the wheel from zero using 6 split bets. Orphelins covers the 8 remaining numbers that aren’t in Voisins or Tiers, using 5 chips.
Neighbours bets
A neighbours bet covers a specific number and its two nearest neighbours on either side of the wheel — five numbers total using five straight-up chips. You can call any number plus neighbours. Online roulette games usually include a racetrack interface that lets you place these bets visually rather than calling them. They don’t change the house edge since they’re standard bets grouped for convenience.
Ben Barber got into the gambling industry through the poker rooms of London in the early 2000s. After building up a solid grounding in casino, sports betting and poker, he made the move to Malta where he spent close to a decade writing for some of the biggest affiliate networks in the region. A few years ago he relocated to Bali, which shifted his focus toward website strategy and affiliate marketing. The casino side never really left, though. He still writes reviews, how-to guides and in-depth pieces on everything from slots and live dealer tables to crypto casinos and sweepstakes sites. His approach is fact-first: help players understand how online gambling actually works before they deposit a cent.