Roulette Red Snake Bet Explained: Is It Allowed?

If you’ve ever come across the Red Snake bet in roulette and found yourself wondering what it actually is, you’re not alone. It’s not marked out on the table like some of the more familiar bets, which can make it seem a bit unclear at first.

Because table layouts and rules can vary slightly from one casino or online game to another, it’s useful to understand how this particular bet works in practice, and how it fits in with the rest of the options on offer.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through what the Red Snake bet involves, how to place it, how it’s viewed by casinos, what kind of returns it offers, and why some players are drawn to its unique layout.

Read on to learn more.

What Is the Red Snake Bet in Roulette?

The Red Snake bet refers to a way of placing chips on a specific group of red numbers that form a zig-zag shape across the betting grid. These numbers aren’t arranged by chance; there’s a pattern to them, though it may not be obvious at first glance.

This isn’t a bet you’ll find labelled directly on the felt. Instead, it’s made by selecting a group of standard bets that share a certain connection—one that becomes more visible when you know which numbers are involved.

How To Place The Roulette Snake Bet

To build the Snake, chips are placed directly on twelve individual red numbers: 1, 5, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 23, 27, 30, 32, and 34. The pattern they form is where the nickname comes from – it winds across the betting area like a snake.

Each of these is a straight-up bet, meaning one chip placed squarely on a single number. That makes twelve chips in total. Since most tables set a per-number minimum (such as £1), covering the whole Snake typically requires twelve times that minimum.

In some venues, if you’re at a physical table, you can simply ask for the Snake with your stake amount per number, and the dealer will recognise it. Online tables vary: some offer a quick shortcut, while others require placing each chip manually. Either way, the pattern stays the same.

What’s important to note is that, although the Snake looks unique, it’s built entirely from regular bets that are part of the game’s usual structure.

Do Casinos Allow the Snake Bet?

Yes, the Snake fits within standard roulette rules. Even though there’s no dedicated box for it on the layout, each of the twelve chips is placed as a normal straight-up bet, so it’s handled the same as any other such wager.

Some online versions add a “special bets” button that includes the Snake as a one-click option. That’s just a layout feature for convenience, not a change to how the bet works.

If you’re playing somewhere new, it could be worth taking a moment to check how table minimums apply or whether the dealer accepts verbal requests for grouped bets. A quick read of the game rules or asking staff can clear that up.

Once it’s clear that the bet is accepted, the next natural question is what kind of returns it offers if one of those numbers lands.

Red Snake Bet Odds and Payouts

Each chip in the Snake bet is a standard single-number stake and pays accordingly. That means 35 to 1 for any winning chip, plus the return of the original stake. Since the bet includes twelve numbers, there are twelve chances to hit on a single spin.

In European roulette, which has 37 pockets, the Snake covers 12—that’s just over 32% of the wheel. In the American version, with 38 pockets, the percentage is slightly lower.

Here’s how that plays out in practice: placing £1 on each of the twelve Snake numbers gives a total bet of £12 per spin. If one of those numbers lands, it returns £36 in total (£35 winnings plus the £1 stake). The other eleven chips lose, making the net return £24 for that spin. If none of the twelve numbers come up, the full £12 is lost.

The house edge remains exactly the same as with any single-number bet: around 2.70% in European games, and around 5.26% in American ones. The fact that it’s a pattern doesn’t change the mathematics; each number still stands alone in terms of odds.

Compared with other familiar types of stakes, this bet sits somewhere in the middle. It offers more coverage than a single-number wager, but not as much as bets on entire categories like Red or Black. That means the outcome of each spin can swing one way or another in a more noticeable way. It’s also worth noting that although the Snake includes red numbers, it doesn’t include all of them—six are left out of the pattern.

So, why do some players lean towards this group of twelve?

Why Some Players Choose the Red Snake Bet

One of the main reasons is structure. The Snake offers a tidy, deliberate way to cover multiple numbers without simply scattering chips at random. It gives a visual anchor on the table layout, which can feel more organised.

There’s also something some players find appealing about the variation it brings. Because the twelve numbers are spread out across the betting area, rather than clumped together, the results tend to feel more diverse. This isn’t a wheel-sector bet, meaning the numbers aren’t neighbours on the rim of the wheel itself. The shape exists only on the layout, which makes for an interesting dynamic.

Players who prefer to keep things consistent often appreciate that it scales cleanly—the same amount on each number, the same total stake per round. This typically makes it straightforward to repeat the same bet across multiple spins without having to rethink placements each time.

In short, for those who want a consistent pattern that offers more engagement than a single number, but without filling the table, the Snake delivers a distinctive middle ground.

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