American Roulette vs. European Roulette

When the game of roulette was born in France, late in the 18th century, a proper wheel had numbered pockets from 1-36 as well as a '0' pocket and a '00' pocket (38 total pockets).

This format was considered the standard as the game gained popularity and spread throughout Western Europe, but in 1843 the Blanc brothers got rid of the '00' pocket. This change significantly improved each player's odds of winning. Educated players began demanding single-zero roulette wheels and casinos across Europe quickly started to drop the '00'.

When roulette found its way to the new world, casino managers wanted to leverage the high house edge of the original double-zero design. By implementing a wheel with two zeros they could increase their revenues, but they became vulnerable to competitive casinos that used single-zero wheels to attract new players.

Today, double zero wheels are still the most common roulette wheels in North America, the Caribbean, and South America, but in major gambling cities like Las Vegas, single-zero games can be found.

Which is Better?

Before we can say which version of the game is better, we need to take a look at the one difference between the wheels: the '00' pocket. In general, the numbered pockets (1-36) payout 35:1 for straight up bets. Now this would be fair (35+1=36) if there weren't any zero pockets, which have no chance of yielding a win for the players. As you add either one or two zero's to the wheel, the house gets more opportunities to win, but the players do not. Thus, the zero's represent the house's edge in roulette.

Based on this connection between the zero's and the house edge, you may have already guessed that European wheels are better, and you're right! But before we close this case, let's run the numbers to see exactly how different these two situations are.

Roulette Version	Number of Pockets	Payout	House Edge
American Roulette (double zero)	38	35:1	5.26%
European Roulette (single zero)	37	35:1	2.63%

So the difference between the house edge's comes to 2.56%. This might sound pretty miniscule, and it really isn't a huge difference, but in the long run, it does makes an impact. To put this in real, monetary terms: for every $100 you put on the table, your decision to play at a single-zero, European roulette wheel will you will save $2.52 (on average).

In a standard casino setting, even if you are just making $5 bets, you'll be wagering a total of $105 an hour (at 35 decisions per hour). In a day, even at these low limits, you'll be saving enough to get a few drinks or a meal, and at higher limits, the savings can become pretty noticeable.

'En Prison'

En prison is a special rule that can be applied to roulette. Although this rule can be used with either American wheels or European wheels, it is much more common outside of North America. Basically, en prison protects your even-money, outside bets (even/odd, red/black, high/low) from losing but only when a zero is shown. Let's look at an example to see how this works in your favor.

Let's say you have a $50 bet on 'even', but the ball comes to rest in the '0' pocket. Normally you would lose all $50, and that would be it, but if the casino is employing en prison rules, you get an option. You can cut your losses and request that $25 be returned to you or you can ask the dealer to put you in prison. Once in prison, your bet remains on the table with an en prison marker. After going in to prison, the follow can occur:

If the following spin is a zero (or '00') the casino rules may dictate that you lose your wager OR your bet may remain on the table.
If an odd number is shown, then you lose all $50.
If an even number appears, your money is returned to you (with no winnings).

Finding a casino that offers en prison rules with a European roulette wheel is probably one of the best things you can do to improve your odds. When you can find a table that meets both of these requirements, the house edge drops to a measly 1.35%.

Putting it All Together

Here's what we've learned. European, or single-zero, roulette wheels are mathematically better than their American (double-zero) counterparts. While American wheels are the norm in much the western hemisphere, European roulette wheels are often used to draw players to some of the smaller casinos in big gambling cities like Vegas.

If you are serious about playing roulette and protecting your bankroll, you owe it to yourself to search for these single-zero wheels, particularly if they are allowing en prison rules. Remember, if you are ever unsure, the zero-pockets are green. Two green pockets are found on American wheels, but only one is present on the superior European wheels.

European Wheels Online

Some of the best online casinos offer European roulette. To save you the trouble of going through countless online casinos, below are a few of the Internet's best casinos that let you play roulette with single-zero wheels.