5 Number Bet
Online Roulette Guide
It’s the Worst bet in Roulette!
OK, if you are going to pay attention at any point while browsing through Roulette17.com, make sure you are concentrating as you read this page!
We are going to run you through the 5 Number Bet, also known as the Basket Bet, which is a bet you should avoid playing. You can only play this bet on American tables (on a Double Zero Roulette wheel), as it involves making a bet on both the zero pockets, and the number 1, the numbers 2 & 3, all with one chip (see below on how to place your chip).
This is not a bet on roulette number 5, but a bet on five roulette numbers: 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 as a block. Confused? Read on.
So, why should you avoid this bet? Well, quite simply, it’s the worst bet in roulette. You can only play it on American Roulette- where all the other bets carry a house edge of 5.3%. The house edge for the five-number bet is 7.9%.
Avoid it! Just for comparison, if you play even money bets on any French roulette table that plays La Partage, you will enjoy a house edge of 1.35%. So the house edge on the Number 5 bet is almost 6 times as much!
Pros and Cons of the 5 Number Bet
- The 5 Numbers allows you to bet on 0 and 00 at the same time if you like zeros
- Only available on American Roulette wheels
- The bet with the worst odds in roulette
Don´t confuse this bet with a Four Number bet (which you can only play in European Roulette) by the way. They are very similar: they are both bets on 1,2,3 and zero(s) at the top of the table, but the odds on the 4 Number Bet are fine.
If you are just making a bet on five numbers with straight-up bets (five chips on five numbers), then that is fine. You´ll receive the standard odds.
We’d recommend you play European Roulette rather than American (generally you’ll have the choice of both- for example, most Playtech casinos offer Premium American roulette and Premium European- the house edge on the latter is lower at 2.6%).
And if you can find a French Roulette that plays “La Partage” where you get half of your bet back if the ball lands in the zero pocket when you make an even money bet, then you can get the house advantage down even further to 1.3% (only on the even money bets of course).
Win Probability
If you make a 5 Number Bet in roulette, the payout is only 6:1 and the probability of it coming in is 5:38, or 1:7.6 (13.2%)
House Edge
The House Edge on this bet is an eye-watering 7.9%. You can only play this on American Roulette.
Roulette Strategies that Use the Five Number Bet
There is only one decent strategy that we can think of for this bet, and it works every time. Don’t play it!
The Best Casino and Variant for The Five Number Bet?
Like we said (looks like you weren’t paying attention!), there is no such thing as a good casino or good variant for the 5-number bet, as it has the worst odds on the roulette table. But maybe you want to play it anyway. Who are we to complain? Hello! Wake up and Smell the Coffee! It’s a free world, I suppose. But call the men in white coats first! In any case, you’ll need an Online American Roulette variant like the ones in the 32Red roulette range.
Questions
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Why are the odds in the 5 Number bet so bad?
There are 36 numbers on a roulette wheel, plus the zeros. That number was chosen for a reason, as 36 has many factors: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 36. You’ll notice that most of the bets you can make are based around these factors, so split bets (2), street bets (3), dozens (12) and so on. The 5 number bet doesn’t fit neatly into this.
You cannot pay fractions of a chip, so the casinos round the payout on this bet down to 6:1 and it increases the house edge. Well, you didn’t expect them to pay 7:1 and reduce the house edge did you? 😉
European Roulette has a similar bet (the 4 number bet, which is 0,1,2,3). But because 4 is a factor of 36, you don’t run into these problems. -
Why can’t you play the 5 Number Bet on European Roulette tables?
The 5 Number bet includes two zeros: 0 and 00. You can’t play this on a single zero wheel.