The Racetrack
A section of the roulette table used for placing call bets
If you've never seen (or only just noticed) the racetrack in roulette, it can look pretty confusing. When I first saw it I had no clue what it was for, and when I did try to place bets on it, it didn't seem to make any sense.
As with most things though, once you actually know what's going on it becomes a piece of cake. So here's my quick and easy guide to the roulette racetrack.
What is the racetrack?
The racetrack is there to help you place call bets more quickly and easily during play.
What bets can be placed using the racetrack?
On most racetracks you are usually able to place the majority of all the possible call bets:
- Voisins du Zero (aka serie 0/2/3)
- Tiers du Cylindre (aka serie 5/8)
- Orphelins
- Neighbours
On the inside (1, 2 and 3).
The voisins du zero, tiers du cylindre and orphelins call bets cover fixed sections of the roulette wheel. They cover between one quarter and just under one half of the wheel, depending on which you go for:
But as I say, these bets cover a fixed sections of the wheel, so you can't rotate them to cover a different section of numbers. You'll always be betting on the same numbers with them.
Anyway, to wager on any of the call bets above, just place your betting chip in the relevant section on the inside of the racetrack.
On the outside (4).
The actual "racetrack" part is for placing a neighbours call bet. This allows you to bet on a specific number, along with the four numbers on each side of that number (so a bet of 5 chips in total).
Again this allows you to bet on a section of the wheel, but this time you can vary which section of the wheel by betting on different numbers on the track:
To place a neighbours bet, simply place a chip on your desired number on the outside "circuit" part of the racetrack.
Final bets.
The one call bet missing from most racetracks in the final or finale bet. This allows you to bet on all the numbers that end with a specific number.
It's not as commonly found because there is no easy way to incorporate it in to the racetrack design. However, at some online roulette casinos they add a small final bet box in to the center of the racetrack, which will then pop open with the various final bets when clicked.
An example of how the final call bet can sometimes be incorporated in to the racetrack.
But seeing as the final bet only requires 3 or 4 chip placements, it's not that much effort to manually recreate the bet on the table if you don't have the option for it inside the racetrack.
How to use the racetrack.
You just place your chips on sections of the racetrack, just as you would when wagering in the standard betting region of the roulette table.
If you're playing online, the software will automatically recreate the actual call bet within the main betting area on your behalf. The computer will use the value of the chip you place on the racetrack as your basic betting unit for each individual bet placement.
Racetrack betting example.
If the call bet requires 9 betting units in total and you placed a $5 chip on the racetrack to make this bet (e.g. voisins du zero), the total amount of money wagered will be $45 (9 x $5).
An example of the bets placed on the table if you place a $5 chip on voisins du zero on the racetrack.
So be aware: if you place a $5 chip on a call bet, that amount is going to be multiplied by the number of chips needed to cover the section of the wheel for that particular call bet.
But other than that, using the racetrack is pretty straightforward. Just try it out for yourself in practice mode first and you'll soon figure out how it works.
List of roulette sites with racetracks.
Here are the best online casinos that I know offer roulette tables with racetracks on them:
| Rank | Casino | Rating | Payment Methods | Payout Time | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Rating A+ | Games AmericanEuropean | Racetrack Yes | Play Now Read Review |
Racetrack designs.
Although the racetracks on online roulette tables generally follow the same format, they often have slight differences in style and design. Here are few examples of racetracks found at different online roulette casinos.
This racetrack includes the option to place final call bets.
This racetrack uses the names serie 5/8 and serie 0/2/3 instead of tiers du cylindre and voisins du zero. It also has a jeu zero bet, which is less commonly found.
An alternative racetrack layout with added red splits and black splits bets.
As you can see they're all pretty much the same, aside from a few different betting options here and there. The numbers for the neighbours bets all go around the outside and the fixed call bets go in the middle. Easy!
The racetrack is a much better alternative to the text box that can be found at some online roulette tables.
Text box version of the racetrack betting options. It does the same thing, but the racetrack design is more enjoyable to use.
They all work the same way. And when the racetrack is available, it usually sits above the main betting area of the roulette table.
It's referred to as the racetrack because it's a similar shape to a racing circuit (albeit a very small racing circuit).