Online Roulette: European vs American Wheels and Odds

How roulette works

Roulette involves placing a wager on a numbered wheel outcome before the spin. Inside bets target a particular number or small combination; outside bets cover larger groups such as red/black or odd/even. The wheel type and any special rules determine the probabilities and payouts.

Roulette is a game of chance. An observed pattern of recent colors or numbers does not make a particular outcome due on the next independent spin.

37 pockets versus 38 pockets

Standard European roulette has 37 pockets: numbers 1–36 plus a single zero. Standard American roulette has 38 pockets: numbers 1–36, zero and double zero. On both, there are 18 red and 18 black numbered pockets. Zeros are neither red nor black.

For a basic even-money red wager, the probability of winning is 18/37 (about 48.65%) on a European wheel and 18/38 (about 47.37%) on an American wheel. These probabilities are lower than 50%, because the green zero pocket—or two zero pockets—causes a loss on that wager.

House-edge calculation at standard rules

For a $1 red bet paid at 1:1, European roulette's expected outcome is (18/37 × $1) minus (19/37 × $1) = −$1/37, or approximately 2.70% house edge. American roulette's equivalent is (18/38 × $1) minus (20/38 × $1) = −$2/38, or approximately 5.26% house edge. This assumes ordinary rules, without variants such as la partage or en prison.

The house edge is a long-run mathematical expectation, not a fixed loss per spin. In a short session, losses and wins can vary considerably.

Bet types and variations

• Straight-up: A single selected number.
• Split: A wager covering two adjacent numbers on the layout.
• Street or corner: Groups of three or four numbers.
• Dozen or column: Larger groups of twelve numbers.
• Red/black, odd/even, high/low: Outside even-money bets.

Some branded roulette games add multipliers, side games or unusual payouts. Do not assume their mathematics match the basic comparisons above without reading the current house rules.

Choosing and verifying a roulette game

Read the actual wheel description, paytable, maximum limits and settlement rules. Live dealer streaming does not change ordinary roulette probabilities simply because the wheel appears on camera. Official Caesars information describes European-style roulette variants, but that does not verify a specific game at the publisher's Shuffle.us referral destination.

Compare the live dealer format and explore the casino games hub. Never escalate stakes in an attempt to recover losses.