Quick answer: European roulette has one zero pocket; American roulette has two — a single zero and a double zero. That single extra pocket nearly doubles the house edge, from 2.70% on European wheels to 5.26% on American ones, on every even-money and single-number bet alike. Given a straight choice between the two, European roulette is simply the better bet, every time, on every wager type.
Where the Edge Actually Comes From
A roulette payout is fixed regardless of which wheel you are playing — a single number pays 35:1, red or black pays even money, on both wheel types identically. What changes between the two wheels is not the payout table; it is how many total pockets the ball can land in, which changes the true odds against which that fixed payout is measured.
A European wheel has 37 pockets: numbers 1 through 36 plus a single zero. A single-number bet paying 35:1 against 37 possible outcomes gives the house a 2.70% edge — the shortfall between a fair 36:1 payout on 37 outcomes and the 35:1 actually offered. An American wheel adds a second zero pocket, bringing the total to 38. The same 35:1 payout against 38 possible outcomes instead of 37 widens that shortfall to 5.26% — very nearly double.
Every Bet Type, Compared
| Bet type | Payout | European edge (37 pockets) | American edge (38 pockets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single number (straight up) | 35:1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Red/black, odd/even, high/low | 1:1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| Dozens and columns | 2:1 | 2.70% | 5.26% |
| American five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | 6:1 | n/a — European wheels lack this bet | 7.89% |
Notice that the edge is identical across every ordinary bet type on a given wheel — it is a property of how many zero pockets exist on the wheel itself, not of which specific number or colour you back. The one exception, the American five-number bet available only on double-zero wheels, is worse again than the standard American edge, and is one of the few roulette bets worth avoiding outright regardless of which wheel you are already playing.
What This Means in Real Pesos
Betting ₱10,000 through even-money spins across a session, the expected cost difference between the two wheels is stark: roughly ₱270 on a European wheel against roughly ₱526 on an American one — essentially double the cost for mechanically identical bets and payouts. Over a longer session the gap widens proportionally, purely because of one extra pocket on the wheel.
La Partage and En Prison: The Rules That Cut the Edge Further
Some European tables carry an additional rule — la partage or en prison — that applies specifically when zero comes up on an even-money bet. Under la partage, half your stake is returned rather than lost outright. Under en prison, the stake is held in play for the next spin rather than lost immediately, effectively achieving a similar outcome.
Where either rule applies, it roughly halves the already-lower European edge on even-money bets specifically, down to close to 1.35% — making it, alongside the banker bet in baccarat, one of the lowest house edges available on any table game. Neither rule is universal even on European-format tables; check whether it applies before assuming the lower figure.
Why American Wheels Still Exist at All
If the European wheel is strictly better for the player on every bet, the obvious question is why the American version persists. The answer is entirely on the operator’s side: the extra zero pocket is a straightforward, permanent increase to the house’s margin on every single spin, with no change to the payout table required and no effect on how approachable or exciting the game feels to a new player. It costs the operator nothing to offer and earns more on every bet placed.
How to Tell Which Wheel You Are Playing
Count the zero pockets before you sit down or open a table. One green zero pocket means a European wheel and the lower edge; a green single zero plus a second green double-zero pocket means an American wheel. Online platforms typically label the game title as “European Roulette” or “American Roulette” directly, but confirming the pocket count yourself takes seconds and removes any doubt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is French roulette a third type?
French roulette uses the same single-zero, 37-pocket wheel as European roulette — the difference is naming convention and, on many French tables, that la partage or en prison rules are applied by default rather than as an occasional extra. The wheel mechanics and base edge are the same as European.
Does the American five-number bet ever make sense?
Rarely. At 7.89%, it carries close to three times the edge of a standard even-money bet on the same wheel, and it exists purely as a table-layout convenience for covering several numbers in one chip placement rather than as a bet with any structural advantage.
If I can’t tell which wheel a table uses, what should I assume?
Don’t assume — check. The difference between 2.70% and 5.26% is large enough that guessing wrong meaningfully changes your expected cost. Nearly all reputable platforms label the variant clearly in the game title or lobby description.
Does betting strategy change between the two wheels?
The relative value between bet types stays the same on either wheel — a single number is still riskier than an even-money bet on both. What changes is the absolute cost of every bet, uniformly, which is exactly why picking the lower-edge wheel matters more than any staking pattern you apply once seated.
Final Thoughts
Between two versions of the same game with identical rules and payouts, one extra pocket on the wheel nearly doubles what every bet costs you on average. This is one of the rare, genuinely simple wins available at a casino table: given the choice, always play the single-zero wheel, and look specifically for la partage or en prison rules where they are offered for an even lower edge still.
Confirm the pocket count before you sit down, not after a session of bets you assumed carried the better number. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, our responsible gambling page lists the support available in the Philippines.
