Perhaps your understanding of the game isn't what you claim it is. Or perhaps you have difficulty in expressing "odds" the proper way. Yes the payout for hitting a number is 35 to 1. There are 38 numbers on a 00 roulette wheel. 1 of these numbers is yours. The other 37 are not. Hence the odds are 37 to 1 against you. Your chances of hitting a number are 1 in 38.