What Are Roulette Wheel Sectors?
Roulette wheel sectors are groups of numbers that sit close together on the physical wheel. Four sectors are formally named on European and French tables: Voisins du Zéro, Tiers du Cylindre, Orphelins and Jeu Zéro. Together they cover the whole rim.
This page gives you the exact numbers in each sector, a wheel-sector map and a printable cheat sheet you can download.
The Four Named Sectors at a Glance
All four French wheel sectors, shown on the single-zero wheel:
The sectors are placed on the physical wheel. They do not map to neat rectangles on the table felt.
Voisins du Zéro
Voisins du Zéro - "neighbours of the zero" - is the largest French call bet. It covers 17 consecutive pockets on the wheel, running from 22 clockwise through zero to 25:
Standard placement uses 9 chips distributed across splits, corners and the 0-2-3 trio. The exact chip distribution can vary slightly by casino or software, but the pocket coverage is the same. For the strategy breakdown, see the Voisins du Zéro strategy page.
Tiers du Cylindre
Tiers du Cylindre - "third of the wheel" - covers 12 pockets on the arc opposite zero:
Standard placement uses 6 chips on splits. It is the second-largest French call bet after Voisins du Zéro.
Orphelins
Orphelins - "orphans" - covers 8 pockets that sit in two short arcs between Voisins du Zéro and Tiers du Cylindre:
Standard placement uses 5 chips: 1 straight-up on the isolated 1 and 4 splits covering the others.
Jeu Zéro or Zero Game
Jeu Zéro - "zero game" - is a tight 7-pocket sector centred on the zero. It is a subset of Voisins du Zéro:
Standard placement uses 4 chips: three splits and one straight-up on 26. For the full breakdown, see the Jeu Zéro page.
Roulette Sectors vs Neighbour Bets
Sector bets and neighbour bets both follow the wheel, but they are not the same thing.
- Sector bets cover fixed, named groups (Voisins, Tiers, Orphelins, Jeu Zéro). The numbers are always the same.
- Neighbour bets cover a chosen number plus a chosen count of pockets on each side of it. See neighbour bets for the details.
Both express wheel-based intuition, but a neighbour bet is customised per spin and a sector bet is a named preset.
Why Sectors Are Easier to Understand With a Wheel Map
Look at the sector diagrams above and you'll notice something the printed table cannot show: numbers that sit next to each other on the wheel often sit far apart on the felt. 22 and 18 are neighbours on the wheel, but they are almost opposite corners of the table grid.
That is why sector betting only makes sense with a wheel map. If you're placing Voisins or Jeu Zéro from memory, the roulette wheel sequence reference is the fastest way to verify what those chips actually cover.
Download the Roulette Wheel Sectors Cheat Sheet
The printable roulette wheel sectors cheat sheet lists the exact numbers in each named sector, shows the standard chip placement counts and includes a compact wheel-sector map. Sector bets do not remove the house edge - they redistribute how your chips are placed.
Common Mistakes
- Mixing sector bets with table sections. A "column" bet is a table bet, not a wheel sector. A "third" of the table is not the same as Tiers du Cylindre.
- Thinking sectors predict where the ball will land. They don't. Each pocket keeps its independent 1/37 probability.
- Confusing neighbours with Voisins du Zéro. Neighbours are around any chosen number; Voisins is a fixed 17-pocket group around zero.
- Using French names without knowing the numbers. Voisins covers 17 pockets, Tiers 12, Orphelins 8, Jeu Zéro 7 - memorise the counts first.
Responsible gambling note: Roulette is a negative expectation game. Cheat sheets and strategy guides help you understand bets, payouts and risk, but no system removes the house edge. Only play with money you can afford to lose, and stop when play stops feeling controlled.
For odds, payouts, wheel layouts and betting systems across every variant, return to the roulette cheat sheet homepage.