American vs European Roulette
One extra pocket doubles the house edge. The wheel layouts, the numbers, and how to tell which table you are at before you buy in.
The two wheels differ by one pocket. That pocket doubles the price of the game.
| European | American | |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 37 | 38 |
| Green | 0 | 0 and 00 |
| House edge | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Five-number bet | Does not exist | 7.89% |
| La partage / en prison | Common | Rare |
Why one pocket costs so much
Both wheels pay 35:1 on a single number. Both are priced as if the wheel had 36 pockets.
- European: 37 pockets, 36 priced → the house keeps
1/37= 2.70% - American: 38 pockets, 36 priced → the house keeps
2/38= 5.26%
Adding the second green pocket does not increase the edge by a little. It doubles it, because the edge is the unpriced pockets, and there are now two of them.
The wheel layouts
Neither wheel runs 1 to 36 in order. Both alternate red and black, and both are arranged so that high and low, odd and even are distributed around the rim — the point being that no physical sector of the wheel favours any category of bet.
European wheel, clockwise from zero:
0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23,
10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26
The European arrangement is the more carefully balanced of the two: any two adjacent numbers sum to a near-constant, and the halves either side of the zero are closely matched for high, low, odd and even.
American wheel places 0 and 00 opposite each other and pairs consecutive numbers directly across the wheel — 1 opposite 2, 3 opposite 4, and so on.
The layouts matter for exactly one thing: sector betting on a physically biased or predictably released wheel. On a modern, maintained, regularly rotated wheel there is no bias to exploit, and casinos track outcomes specifically to detect one before you do.
The catch: minimums
The percentage is only half the cost. Expected loss is edge × amount wagered, and single-zero tables usually carry higher minimums.
| Table | Edge | $/spin | 40 spins | Cost/hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American, $5 minimum | 5.26% | $5 | $200 | $10.52 |
| European, $25 minimum | 2.70% | $25 | $1,000 | $27.00 |
| European, $5 minimum | 2.70% | $5 | $200 | $5.40 |
| French + la partage, $10 min | 1.35% | $10 | $400 | $5.40 |
The $25 European table has the better percentage and costs two and a half times more per hour than the $5 American one. Percentage is the right way to compare bets; money per hour is the right way to compare tables.
Ranking
- French, single zero with la partage or en prison — 1.35% on even-money bets
- European, single zero — 2.70%
- American, double zero — 5.26%
- American five-number bet — 7.89%, never correct
If your floor has both wheels at a minimum you can afford, the choice is not close. If the single-zero table is five times the minimum, take the American wheel and bet less.
Full pricing: roulette payouts and odds.