Why 32 lives next door to zero
On the betting table, numbers sit in tidy rows. On a European roulette wheel, zero is followed by 32, then 15. They describe two different kinds of neighbourhood.
Published: · Simulator Lab
Two maps of the same numbers
Look at the European wheel in our simulator: moving along its sequence, you will find 0, 32, 15, 19 and 4. Now look at the table. The first group is 1, 2 and 3, followed by 4, 5 and 6. The wheel records physical neighbours; the table makes groups of bets easy to place.
A split is not a wheel sector
A split on 1 and 4 joins adjacent fields on the table. It does not mean those pockets are next to each other on the wheel. French sector bets use the other map: named groups such as Voisins are assembled from several ordinary bets.
Try this small experiment
Find zero and its neighbours on the wheel, then locate the same numbers on the table. You have not changed their chance of appearing: one specific number still has probability 1/37 on our European wheel. You have only changed the way you group and find them.
Sources and calculations
These references support the topics listed below. Explanations and simulator examples are written by Simulator Lab. Numerical examples are calculations by Simulator Lab using the stated rules and assumptions.
- PokerStars — European Roulette EN ↗
Wheel sequence; Voisins, Tiers and five-chip Orphelins; the Fibonacci progression described here.
- The Venetian — Roulette Rules EN ↗
Standard European/American wheels and payouts, including 6:1 for 0/00/1/2/3.
Sources checked: