European vs American Roulette: Odds and Payouts
European roulette has 37 pockets (1 to 36 plus a single 0); American roulette has 38 (an extra 00). Both pay the same, so the extra pocket makes every American bet worse: the house edge is 2.70% on a European wheel and 5.26% on an American one. Over the same number of spins, an American wheel costs you nearly twice as much.
Why one extra pocket matters so much
Roulette payouts are set as if the zeros didn't exist. A single number pays 35 to 1, which would be fair on a 36-pocket wheel. With 37 pockets you lose 1 chip in every 37 on average; with 38 you lose 2 in every 38.
| European | American | |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 37 (0 to 36) | 38 (0, 00, 1 to 36) |
| House edge on every bet | 2.70% | 5.26% (one bet is 7.89%) |
| Expected loss per 1,000 chips bet | 27 chips | 53 chips |
| Where you'll find it | Europe and most of the world, online | United States, Canada, Caribbean, South America |
Every bet, side by side
| Bet | Covers | Pays | Chance to win (European) | Chance to win (American) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 number | 35 to 1 | 2.7% | 2.6% |
| Split | 2 numbers | 17 to 1 | 5.4% | 5.3% |
| Street | 3 numbers | 11 to 1 | 8.1% | 7.9% |
| Corner | 4 numbers | 8 to 1 | 10.8% | 10.5% |
| Five number (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | 5 numbers | 6 to 1 | n/a | 13.2% |
| Six line | 6 numbers | 5 to 1 | 16.2% | 15.8% |
| Dozen or column | 12 numbers | 2 to 1 | 32.4% | 31.6% |
| Red/black, odd/even, 1-18/19-36 | 18 numbers | 1 to 1 | 48.6% | 47.4% |
On a European wheel every bet carries the same 2.70% edge. On an American wheel every bet carries 5.26%, except the five-number bet, which pays as if it covered a little more than five pockets and carries 7.89%. It's the worst bet on the table.
Is any bet better than another?
Not in the long run. On a given wheel the edge is the same whichever bet you choose. What changes is the shape of your results:
- Even-money bets win often and lose often. Your stack moves slowly.
- Straight-up bets lose most spins and occasionally win big. Your stack moves in jumps.
Pick by how you like the game to feel, not because one looks like better value.
The rule that halves the edge
Some European tables, especially in France, add la partage or en prison: when the ball lands on 0, even-money bets lose only half (or are held for the next spin). That cuts the edge on those bets to about 1.35%, the best odds in roulette. House21 uses the standard rule, where 0 loses every outside bet.
A short history of the zero
Roulette took shape in 18th-century France. In 1843, François and Louis Blanc opened a casino in the German spa town of Bad Homburg with a single-zero wheel, to draw players away from rivals that used both 0 and 00. When Germany banned gambling, the Blancs took the single-zero wheel to Monte Carlo, and from there it spread across Europe. In the United States the double-zero wheel stayed. (Wikipedia: Roulette)
Roulette at House21
House21 runs one shared European wheel for everyone, with a new spin about every 30 seconds. You can bet on single numbers (35 to 1), red or black, odd or even, 1-18 or 19-36 (1 to 1), and dozens or columns (2 to 1). Chips start at 10, with up to 5,000 per spot and 25,000 per spin. The winning number is drawn with a cryptographically secure random number generator when betting closes.
Common questions
Does a number that hasn't come up in a while become "due"? No. Each spin is independent; the wheel has no memory. Is online blackjack rigged? covers this gambler's fallacy.
Can a betting system beat roulette? No system changes the edge on each bet. We tested the most famous one, doubling after every loss, on 100,000 sessions: The Martingale system, tested.
Which is better, roulette or blackjack? With basic strategy, blackjack's edge (about 0.5%) is far lower than European roulette's 2.70%. Roulette asks for no decisions, which is part of its appeal.
Try the European wheel for free on our free roulette page.