A Look at the Difference Between American and European Roulette Wheels

Published on May 1st, 2024 4:19 pm EST


If you are playing a game like blackjack, the rules are pretty universal, no matter where you are playing.

Roulette, however, is a different beast.

In fact, there are two VERY different roulette wheels that are used, and these two wheels produce dramatically different odds of winning for players.

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The American Roulette wheel has 38 different pockets that the ball can ultimately rest in.

This includes the black and red numbers from 1 to 36, as well as the green 0 and 00 pockets.

The European Roulette wheel, on the other hand, has just 37 pockets - the red and black numbered pockets from 1 to 36, as well as a single green pocket, which is the 0.

Now, this shouldn't be a big deal, right?

The fact of the matter is that this single change produces a MASSIVE difference in both odds and house edge.

The house edge for casinos that use an American roulette wheel is 5.3%.

This means that, no matter what type of wager you are placing (straight, corner, odd, even, etc), you are looking at an expected return on your investment of just 94.7%.

The house edge with the European roulette wheel is much lower - just 2.7%.

This means that the expected return for each spoin of the wheel is 97.3%, compared to 94.7% for the American roulette wheel.

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If you are heading to a casino to do some gambling, try to play on a European roulette wheel if they are available to you, as you will almost certainly be walking away with more money at the end of the night, due to a much smaller house edge.