What is American roulette?
American roulette is the version of roulette played on a wheel with 38 pockets, numbers 1 to 36 plus 0 and 00, giving a house edge of about 5.26%.
Adding the double zero increases the number of pockets to 38 while payouts stay the same as on the European wheel. A straight-up bet still pays 35 to 1, but the true odds are 37 to 1, so the edge rises to 2/38, or about 5.26%.
American roulette also has the five-number bet, covering 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, which pays 6 to 1 and carries a higher edge of about 7.89%. It is the only standard roulette bet with a different edge from the rest.
Double-zero wheels dominate in the United States, while some US casinos also offer single-zero tables, often at higher minimum stakes. Because payouts are identical but the edge is roughly double, the choice of wheel is the single biggest factor in the cost of playing roulette. Online casinos often offer both versions side by side.
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