Betting systems · 3/2 calculator · checked 6 October 2026
3/2 Roulette Strategy: The Colour and Column System Explained and Tested
The 3/2 roulette strategy puts three units on a colour and two on a column, five units every spin. Pair Red with the 2nd Column, or Black with the 3rd, and 26 of the 37 pockets on a European wheel pay something: 22 pay one unit and 4 pay seven. The other 11 lose all five units, so on average the layout still loses 2.70% of everything you bet. In our simulation it won something on 70.3% of spins, yet finished ahead in slightly fewer 100-spin sessions than £5 on Red.
One test on a verified account, so yours may differ. 18+. T&Cs apply. Affiliate link. UK-licensed casinos only. Play responsibly.
Quick answer
What Is the 3/2 Roulette Strategy?
The 3/2 roulette strategy is a flat-stake layout: three units on Red or Black and two units on one column, every spin. With Red and the 2nd Column, one winning bet leaves you one unit up, two winning bets seven units up, and a miss costs five. “3/2” is the stake split, not a payout (you’ll also see it written as the 3 2 roulette strategy), and the system doesn’t change the 2.70% house edge.
One bet wins: 22 pockets
At £1 a unit, Red alone wins £3 and loses the £2 column bet; the column alone wins £4 and loses the £3 Red bet.
Both win: 4 pockets
5, 14, 23 and 32 are red and in the 2nd Column.
Neither wins: 11 pockets
Ten black numbers outside the 2nd Column, plus zero.
The stake, not the payout: at a £1 unit that’s £3 on the colour and £2 on the column. The colour pays 1 to 1 and the column pays 2 to 1, as usual.
How it works
How to Play the 3/2 System in 4 Steps
- Pick the right pairRed with the 2nd Column, or Black with the 3rd. These pairs pay on 26 pockets; the others on 22 or 24.
- Set your unitAt £1 a unit, £3 goes on the colour and £2 on the column: £5 a spin.
- Place both betsUse the colour box and the 2 to 1 box at the end of your column.
- Keep the stakes flatThe bets stay the same after a win or a loss. Past spins don’t change the next one.
Try it first with practice credits on our free roulette tables, and see where the column boxes sit on the roulette table layout.
The layout
The 3/2 Layout and Every Result
Red with the 2nd Column at £1 a unit: £3 on Red and £2 on the 2nd Column. Every one of the 37 pockets lands in one of four results.
A single win is always +1 unit. A £3 colour win pays £3 while the £2 column bet loses; a £2 column win pays £4 while the £3 colour bet loses.
Where to play
Where to Play the 3/2 Strategy Online
Four UK-licensed casinos where we’ve timed a real withdrawal. Each time is one test on a verified account, so yours may differ. Check the table accepts your unit on both the colour and the column box: they’re two separate bets with their own minimums.
Play KasinoSkill On Net · UKGC 39326Our payout test£644 to PayPal in 36 minutes
Tested 29 September 2026, from asking for the money to it landing.
PlayOJOSkill On Net · UKGC 39326Our payout test£150 to PayPal in 1 hour 47 minutes
Tested June 2026, from asking for the money to it landing.
21PriveWhite Hat Gaming · UKGC 52894Our payout test£100 to Neteller in 2 hours 20 minutes
Tested June 2026, from asking for the money to it landing.
Swift CasinoSkill On Net · UKGC 39326Our payout test£200 to a Visa debit card within 24 hours
Tested June 2026, from asking for the money to it landing.
18+. T&Cs apply. Affiliate links. UK-licensed casinos only. Play responsibly.
3/2 calculator
3/2 Roulette Calculator: Any Number, Any Pairing
Pick your unit, colour and column, wheel and a winning number. The calculator shows what you get back, how many pockets pay for that pairing, and what the house edge costs over a session.
- Pockets that pay
- 70.27%
- Both bets win
- 4
- Lose all five units
- 11
- Bet over 25 spins
- £125
- Average loss
- £3.38
Number 14 is red and in the 2nd Column, so both bets win: £12 back from £5, a £7 profit.
Standard payouts: 1 to 1 on the colour, 2 to 1 on the column. “Average loss” is the house edge on the session’s total bet: 2.70% on a European wheel, about 1.89% with La Partage (it applies to the colour bet only) and 5.26% on an American wheel. Any real session can finish well above or below it.
18+. T&Cs apply. Affiliate links. Play responsibly.
3/2 simulator
3/2 vs £5 on Red Simulator
Same five units a spin, two ways: the 3/2 layout (Red and the 2nd Column) or all five on Red. Pick a bankroll, unit, session length and wheel; the simulator plays 30,000 sessions with both on exactly the same spins.
Over 100 spins, the 3/2 layout finished ahead in 34.7% of sessions against 35.6% for 5 units on Red, and won something on 70.3% of spins against 48.6%. The average result was −£13.20 against −£13.32, from £498.50 and £490.62 bet on average.
A simulation of 30,000 sessions with a fixed seed, so the same settings always give the same figures. A session stops when you have less than five units left. With £100 and a £1 unit, the 3/2 layout runs out of money far less often but finishes ahead slightly less often, because most of its wins are only one unit. With a small bankroll for the unit, such as £50 at £1 on a European wheel, it can finish ahead slightly more often, simply because it lasts longer. Both lose the same share of what they bet on average (2.70% on a European wheel, 5.26% on an American one); small differences in the average result come from how long each session lasts and from chance. Table limits are ignored, and zero (and 00 on the American wheel) loses both bets.
Best pairing
Which Colour and Column Pair Is Best?
Red with the 2nd Column and Black with the 3rd pay on the most pockets, 26 of 37, because the 2nd Column has only four red numbers and the 3rd only four black. The columns aren’t balanced: the 1st has six red and six black, the 2nd four red and eight black, the 3rd eight red and four black. Every pairing has the same 2.70% edge; more overlap just means more +7 results and more full losses. It also isn’t the same as splitting five units across any two outside bets: the pairing decides how many pockets pay.
Why it loses
Why Winning on 70% of Spins Still Loses Money
Over all 37 pockets, the wins add up to 50 units and the full losses to 55. You bet 185 units to see each pocket once, so you lose 5, which is 2.70%. The many small wins are outweighed by the fewer, bigger losses.
One spin on every pocket, Red + 2nd Column
What it costs over a session at £1
Average losses on a European wheel. A spending or time limit caps a session’s cost, but no session length is mathematically better than another. If you play with small chips, check the minimum on each bet: our low-stakes roulette guide covers that, and the roulette odds guide lists every payout.
Wheels
European, French and American Wheels
The same 26 numbers pay on every wheel; what changes is zero. La Partage only applies to the colour bet, so the layout’s edge falls to about 1.89%, not 1.35%. On an American wheel, 0 and 00 both lose everything and the edge rises to 5.26%.
With La Partage, zero returns half the £3 colour bet and the £2 column bet loses, so you’re £3.50 down at £1 a unit. Our French roulette guide explains La Partage.
Compared
3/2 vs £5 on Red: Same Edge, Smaller Swings
Putting all five units on Red gives two results, +5 or −5. The 3/2 layout wins more often, but mostly by one unit, so its swings are about 27% smaller and the edge is identical. In our simulation it ran out of money far less often, but didn’t finish ahead more often.
*From the simulator above: 30,000 sessions of 100 spins with £100 and a £1 unit on a European wheel. Spread is the standard deviation of one spin’s result.
UK rules
Playing the 3/2 Strategy at a UK Casino
No Gambling Commission rule bans betting systems, but many casino bonuses exclude roulette or count it at a low rate, so check the terms before you play 3/2 with bonus money. These are the rules that shape how you play at a UK-licensed casino.
No autoplay
Autoplay is banned, so you place both bets yourself each spin. A rebet button repeats the pair in one tap.
At least 5 seconds a spin
An online roulette game can’t start a new spin within 5 seconds of the last one starting, so 100 spins take at least eight minutes.
Your spend on screen
Games show your net spend and how long you’ve been playing, so you can see what a run of small wins really adds up to.
A limit before you deposit
New customers are asked to set a financial limit, such as a deposit limit, before their first deposit.
Good to know
3/2 Roulette Strategy FAQs
What is the 3/2 roulette strategy?
It’s a flat-stake layout: three units on a colour and two units on a column, five units every spin. The classic pairs are Red with the 2nd Column and Black with the 3rd Column, which pay something on 26 of the 37 pockets of a European wheel.
Does 3/2 describe the payout?
No, it’s the stake split. The colour bet pays 1 to 1 and the column bet pays 2 to 1, as usual.
Which colour and column cover 70.27% of a European wheel?
Red with the 2nd Column, or Black with the 3rd Column. Each covers 26 of the 37 pockets. The other four pairings cover 24 or 22.
What happens when both bets win?
At £1 a unit, the £3 colour bet wins £3 and the £2 column bet wins £4. You get £12 back from £5, a £7 profit. With Red and the 2nd Column that happens on 5, 14, 23 and 32.
What happens when only one bet wins?
You finish one unit up either way. A colour-only win pays £3 and loses the £2 column bet; a column-only win pays £4 and loses the £3 colour bet.
Do all three columns have six red and six black numbers?
No. The 1st Column has six of each, the 2nd has four red and eight black, and the 3rd has eight red and four black. That’s why Red goes with the 2nd Column and Black with the 3rd.
Is the 3/2 strategy better than betting on red?
It wins more often, on about 70% of spins against 49%, but most wins are just one unit, and the edge is the same 2.70%. In our simulation of 100 spins with £100 and a £1 unit, it finished ahead in 34.7% of sessions against 35.6% for £5 on Red, but it ran out of money far less often: 1.7% against 7.4%.
Does the 3/2 system change the house edge?
No. On a single-zero wheel you lose 5 units for every 185 you bet on average, which is 2.70%, the same as betting all five units on Red. The layout only changes how often the +1, +7 and −5 results come up.
What happens on zero, and with La Partage?
On a standard European wheel, zero loses all five units. With La Partage on a French table, half the three-unit colour bet comes back and the two-unit column bet loses, so you’re 3.5 units down. That cuts the edge on the layout to about 1.89%, not 1.35%, because the column bet doesn’t get La Partage.
Can I use the 3/2 strategy on American roulette?
You can, but 0 and 00 both lose both bets. The layout then pays on 26 of 38 pockets, 68.42%, and the house edge rises to 5.26%.
Can I use autoplay for the 3/2 strategy?
Not at a UK-licensed online casino. Autoplay has been banned since January 2025, so you place the bets yourself; a rebet button can repeat both in one tap.
Our method
How We Checked This Guide
What we checked
We counted every pocket for all six colour and column pairings against the standard red numbers and the three columns (1st: 1, 4, 7 … 34; 2nd: 2, 5, 8 … 35; 3rd: 3, 6, 9 … 36), with standard payouts of 1 to 1 and 2 to 1. The simulator figures come from a seeded simulation of 30,000 sessions per setting. The UK rules come from the Gambling Commission, checked on 6 October 2026. We haven’t tested this layout at every casino, so check each table’s minimums and maximums.
Written and reviewed by Mark Taylor.
Keep reading
More Roulette Systems
Winning Often Isn’t a Winning System
The 3/2 layout wins something on most spins, which can make a session feel like it’s going well while the full losses quietly add up. Decide your budget and when you’ll stop before you start, set a deposit limit, and never raise your stake to win back a loss.
Free, confidential support: GamCare and the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day. Self-exclude from UK sites with GAMSTOP.