If you take a look at any roulette table, you’ll see that there’s a huge variety of different bets you can make. You can place chips on individual numbers, red or black, or groups – and many players choose inside bets, which are choices lined up inside the table or grid.

Inside bets can provide the biggest payouts in the game, but they don’t convert as frequently as outside bets. These include the straight-up (where you pick a single number) and the split (where you choose two numbers adjacent to each other).

Roulette street bets, meanwhile, are more balanced wagers that let you place one chip to cover three numbers in a row, or street. Looking at the wider game, it’s considered a moderate risk for players who don’t want to chance everything on the longest odds.

In this roulette betting guide, we’ll look carefully at street bets in roulette, how to play them, and what payouts you might expect.

What is a street bet in roulette?

A street bet in roulette is a wager that is placed on three numbers on the table in a horizontal row, or street.

On a standard roulette table, you’ll typically see 12 streets to choose from. For example, you might bet on 1-2-3, 10-11-12, or 19-20-21. On some tables, 0-1-2 and 0-2-3 count as streets.

As an inside bet, roulette street bets can be tricky for players to convert on; we’ll cover the odds and payouts a little further down.

You can place street bets in European and American roulette games, making it one of the most popular wagers in the game.

How to place a street bet

Here’s how to place a street bet in a typical game of roulette, both in live casino games and traditional online and offline roulette.

Look at the table and find a row of horizontal numbers you’d like to bet on. To place your bet, put your chip on the outside of the row at the line end. The dealer will then close the bets and spin the roulette wheel. When the wheel stops, the dealer will call the winning number. If it’s one of the three numbers in your chosen street, you’ll win the bet.

Keep in mind that on some casino tables, there’s the option to bet on 0-1-2 and 0-2-3 as streets. Take your time, and choose wisely.

Street bet payouts & odds

The street bet roulette payout is 11 to 1, which means you can win 11x your initial stake. Betting a £5 chip will return £60, for example, because you get your original stake back, too.

However, the odds of actually hitting a successful street bet vary depending on whether you’re playing European or American roulette.

In the European game, you have an 8.11% chance of winning a street bet, accounting for three numbers out of 37. In American roulette, there’s one more number on the wheel. This means there’s three numbers in 38, so you have a 7.89% chance of winning.

Compared to the straight-up and split bet, the street bet has a lower potential payout but higher odds of winning. Therefore, it’s a more balanced choice for players who want to take smaller risks.

When to use street bets in your strategy

The street bet is a great choice for more conservative or balanced bettors who want to use minimal chips to cover as many chips as possible. It’s often a good first pick for an inside bet if you’re pairing it with an outside bet to diversify your options.

You can also use street bets to back up other inside bets with lower odds and higher payouts. Many players opt for street bets when they’re following strategies that cover different areas of the roulette wheel.

Street bets vs other inside bets

Let’s compare street bets to two other inside bets in roulette: the straight-up and the split. These two inside bets take the number of spaces you bet on down by one each time. For example, while the street bet covers three numbers or spaces, the split covers two and the straight-up covers one. Therefore, you can expect the odds of winning on these bets to decrease from street to split to straight-up.

Corner bets, meanwhile, let you pick four different numbers, while five-number and six-line bets let you wager on five and six spaces, respectively. Therefore, you can expect the odds on those bets to be even higher. However, the payouts are lower.

Tips for using street bets online

There are a few ways you can use street bets in roulette to your advantage, but remember that online games are completely randomized.

Ideally, if you're getting started with a strategy, you should start out at low-stakes roulette tables so you can get used to how this type of betting works in practice.

Then, once you’ve played a few rounds, you might want to choose a few favourite streets or place future street bets based on past results and different sections of the wheel.

If you want to diversify the bets you play in roulette, street bets frequently complement wagers such as the dozen or column bet, where you’re betting on even larger groups of numbers.

At LeoVegas, you’ll always be able to see the bets you’re placing and the opportunities open to you thanks to our streamlined, intuitive displays and tables on mobile and desktop.