The costliest roulette bet on the table
On an American roulette wheel (38 pockets), a straight-up bet on one number pays 35:1, while the notorious five-number bet (covering 0, 00, 1, 2, 3) pays only 6:1. Over $100 staked, how many more dollars do you expect to lose on the five-number bet than on the straight-up bet? Give a decimal to two places.
Show hints (2)+
- Compute each bet's EV per $1 separately: single is , five-number is .
- The two edges differ by ; scale by $100. Do not assume they are equal.
Answer
Reveal answer →Final answer
2.63 (± 0.01)
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