How to play
A normal European wheel, 0 to 36 with a single zero, where every usual bet pays exactly what it pays there. Above the layout sit two extra spots: Higher than and Lower than the last number.
You start with 1,000 virtual credits.
- Choose a chip: 10, 50, 100 or 500.
- Place roulette bets as usual: numbers, the rings between numbers, outside bets or the racetrack buttons.
- Tap Higher or Lower to bet that the next number beats the one that just came up. Each spot shows what it returns, for example “Higher than 12 ×1.5”.
- Press Spin.
Hi-Lo bets go in steps of 100, from 100 to 1,000: tapping with a 10 or 50 chip puts 100 there. Other spots take 10 to 1,000 in steps of 10, and the table holds up to 5,000 per spin.
How Hi-Lo pays
Only the numbers 1 to 36 count. Zero loses every Hi-Lo bet, and so does a repeat of the same number.
The return depends on how many numbers your bet covers. After a 12, “Higher” covers 13 to 36 (24 numbers) and “Lower” covers 1 to 11 (11 numbers). A winning Hi-Lo bet returns
stake × 36 ÷ numbers covered, rounded down to a whole credit.
| Last number | Bet | Covers | Returns | 100 staked returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Higher | 24 | ×1.5 | 150 |
| 12 | Lower | 11 | ×3.27 | 327 |
| 30 | Lower | 29 | ×1.24 | 124 |
| 35 | Higher | 1 | ×36 | 3,600 |
The returned amount includes your stake. When a spot would cover all 36 numbers or none, it is closed: there’s no Hi-Lo bet on the first spin, after a 0, “Higher” after a 36 or “Lower” after a 1.
The odds
Roulette bets: unchanged from the European table, a house edge of 1/37, about 2.70%.
Hi-Lo bets: the formula is the same one the layout uses (a split covers 2 numbers and returns 36 ÷ 2 = 18 times), so before rounding every Hi-Lo bet also has a 2.70% edge. Rounding down to a whole credit can only add to it:
- When 36 × your stake divides evenly by the numbers covered, the edge is exactly 2.70%: “Higher” after a 12 (24 numbers) or an 18 (18 numbers), for instance. “Lower” after a 12 covers 11 numbers, and 100 on it returns 327 instead of 327.27: an edge of 2.78%.
- At 100 a bet, the worst cases are “Higher” after a 1 or 2 and “Lower” after a 35 or 36: 3.51%.
- At 1,000 a bet, no case goes above 2.78%.
The rule is that bigger Hi-Lo bets lose less to rounding, which is why the spots work in hundreds.
Strategy
- The last number doesn’t predict the next. The ball has no memory; “Higher after a 3” wins more often only because it covers more numbers, and it returns less for that reason.
- Long shots pay what they cost. “Higher than 35” returns 36 times the stake one spin in 37, with the same 2.70% edge as a single number.
- Larger Hi-Lo stakes round better. If you play Hi-Lo regularly, 500 or 1,000 keeps the rounding near nothing.
- Mix freely. Hi-Lo and layout bets settle independently on the same ball.
If you enjoy Hi-Lo Roulette, try Hoggenheimer or Hold and Nudge next.
