The first time I played American roulette, its most interesting feature – the extra zero on the wheel – was instantly obvious. What I didn’t know is how important the double zero is for the game’s unique bet types, house edge and more.
In this American roulette guide, I’m going to explore the various ways American roulette differs from the more popular European roulette game, including some small ones you may not have spotted. We’ll also cover the pros and cons of playing this variant and take a quick look at the top games to try if you’d like to give it a spin.
“There’s no getting round it – if you don’t love green zeros, American roulette probably isn’t your game”
Rules
American roulette is often called “double zero roulette”, which tells you virtually all you need to know about the game. If you’re already a roulette fan who knows the basics of the game, you can skip ahead to the American roulette wheel layout and bet types.
If not, let’s assume this is your first time at the table, and we’ll begin with the fundamentals of roulette. If you want to go deeper into any of these concepts, check out our roulette guide.
Aim of the game
In American roulette, a ball is spun around a wheel and lands in one of 38 numbered pockets. As the player, our job is to place bets on the table, to try and predict where the ball will land next,
Get it wrong and the casino will rake in your chips. Get it right and you’ll be paid out between 1-to-1 and 35 to 1 for your efforts.
Roulette is a game of pure luck and guesswork, where it impossible to predict the next number out. That doesn’t stop millions of American roulette fans trying, though everyone has exactly the same chance to win, and the probabilities of any number coming in are the same on every spin.
Wheel layout
Unlike European and French wheels which have 37 numbers, the American roulette wheel has 38 numbers – 1 to 36, 0 and an extra 00. Eagle-eyed players will also notice there’s also a different sequence of numbers around the wheel.
Table layout
The American roulette table displays all the single numbers plus other ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ bets. There’s also an oval racetrack for ‘special bets’.
Aside from the double zero, this layout is identical, which means we can switch between roulette types without any difficulty placing bets.
House edge
The house edge in American roulette is 5.26%, roughly twice as big as the 2.70% edge in other roulette types. There’s an exception however – the so-called ‘Basket bet’ (also called the ‘Five bet’). This inside bet covers the five numbers at the far end of the table (00-0-1-2-3) and it has a house edge of 7.89%.
Why? Well a 5-number combination doesn’t fit neatly when calculating probabilities and payout odds, because you can’t have payout odds of 6.5 to 1. So casinos round down to 6 to 1 rather than up to 7 to 1, as that would produce a lower house edge than 5.26%.
If you prefer using Return To Player figures, let’s flip those numbers to give you the American roulette RTPs. For the Basket bet, it’s 92.11%, and for all other bets it’s 94.74%.
The Basket is often called the worst American roulette bet and most American roulette strategy will tell you to avoid it because of the bigger house edge. That’s true to a point, but actually if you do want to cover those 5 numbers, all you need to do is place single bets on each of the numbers, or bet the 0-00 split and 1-2-3 line, and you’ll get the lowest house edge.
Order of play
You probably know how a game of roulette works, and actually you don’t really need to understand the order of play when playing American roulette online, as the software does it all for you. So let’s whizz through it as quick as possible!
#1 Betting opens: Croupier says “Place your bets”
#2 Place bets: Players have around 20 seconds to place bets on the table
#3 Ball is launched: The croupier or auto roulette table launches the ball
#4 Betting closes: As the ball slows down, the croupier or software says “no more bets!”
#5 Number selected: The ball lands in a numbered pocket and the croupier places the marker or ‘dolly’ on the winning number on the table
#6 Bets settled: The croupier rakes in losing bets and pays out any winning bets
#7 Betting reopens: Once all bets are paid out, betting reopens and the cycle continues
In a real casino, a single round of American roulette could take a couple of minutes, which is where playing the game online really comes into its own. A round of live dealer American roulette lasts around 40 seconds, and even less if you play traditional American roulette from GVG.
Bets and payouts
American roulette bets are grouped into 3 categories depending on their location on the table, rather than the wheel.
Inside bets
Inside bets are the bets with the biggest American roulette payouts, but it also means they are the most difficult bets to win.
| Straight Up | Numbers: 1 | Odds: 35 to 1 |
| Split | Numbers: 2 | Odds: 17 to 1 |
| Street | Numbers: 3 | Odds: 11 to 1 |
| Corner | Numbers: 4 | Odds: 8 to 1 |
| Basket | Numbers: 5 | Odds: 6 to 1 |
| Line | Numbers: 6 | Odds: 5 to 1 |
Outside bets
Outside bets in American roulette cover either a third or half of the wheel, and they’re a chance to double or triple your money. If you prefer low volatility casino gaming, these are the bets for you.
| Column | Numbers: 12 | Odds: 2 to 1 |
| Dozen | Numbers: 12 | Odds: 2 to 1 |
| Odd or Even | Numbers: 18 | Odds: 1 to 1 |
| High or Low | Numbers: 18 | Odds: 1 to 1 |
| Black or Red | Numbers: 18 | Odds: 1 to 1 |
Special bets
Experienced roulette players who want to bet on multiple numbers without having to place lots of chips can use the ‘special’ bets or ‘exotics’ as a shortcut.
They often have unusual names such as ‘neighbours’, ‘orphelins’ or ‘tiers’, but really they are simply a shorthand way of placing several bets with one tap of the screen.
Because these bets are identical to specials found at all other types of roulette, I’m not going to cover them here, but if you’re interested in learning more, here’s how roulette odds and payouts work.
There is however one special bet that is unique to American roulette – the ‘Complete’ bet on 00. This is an 18-chip bet consisting of all inside bets related to 00. That includes Straight Up on 00, all of the Splits, Corners, Lines and the Basket. If the ball lands on any number between 00 and 3, you’ll win, though the payout will be biggest for 00, and smaller for other numbers.
Popular American roulette games
Though it’s called American roulette, it’s just as easy to find an American roulette table online in the UK as it is to find a European or French table.
That said, it’s not as popular and you won’t get as many tables to choose from, you can still play both live roulette and traditional RNG roulette with American rules at PlayOJO.
All of these American roulette games are high quality, fair and work perfectly on mobile. If you’d like to play American roulette for free, start with GVG’s edition.
American Roulette Pro by GVG
No live dealers, just the classic version where you play online roulette against the computer. Choose from standard, VIP and high roller versions depending on your preferred table betting limits.
Live American Roulette by Evolution
Evolution have long been the gold standard of live roulette, and in my opinion it’s hard to find a better version of American roulette online.
American Roulette by Playtech
Whatever Evolution does, Playtech can do just as well, as you can tell from this slick American roulette game. There’s not much to choose between them, it comes down to which interface you prefer and a few small gameplay features. I’ve got huge respect for everything Playtech, but for me, Evolution’s American roulette game is the pinnacle.
FAQs
How do you play American roulette?
American roulette plays exactly the same as all other roulette types. Players place bets on the table, a dealer or machine then launches the ball the opposite direction around a spinning wheel, and the ball eventually lands in one of the 38 pockets to decide the winning number. Players who placed winning bets will then get paid out according to particular payout odds for the table.
What is the difference between roulette and American roulette?
On most wheels, there is only 1 green zero, but American roulette wheels have a green double zero too. They also have a different wheel configuration, and an extra bet on the American roulette table called the Basket or Five bet.
Which is better, American roulette or European roulette?
It depends how you are measuring ‘better’, but for most players, the lower the house edge, the better. In this case, European roulette has a lower house edge than American roulette, because it has only 1 zero. But some players love American roulette precisely because of the double zero and the extra betting options, as well as the unique number layout on the American roulette wheel.
What is the best bet on American Roulette?
Aside from the Basked bet, each American roulette bet has the same RTP, so no bet stands out as offering better value than any other. No number will come out more often either, which puts to bet any myths about common roulette numbers. However, if you’re a player who likes to win often, outside bets with even money odds like red or black may be best for you. For experienced players who want to explore the specials, neighbours bets are a great place to start.
What is the worst bet on American Roulette?
That said, in terms of house edge, the Basket bet on 00-0-1-2-3 has a higher house edge than all other American roulette bets, so that is generally considered to be the worst.
Can I play American Roulette for free?
Yes, you can play American roulette online for free at PlayOJO. Simply sign up and search for GVG’s American Roulette Pro, then select Try For Free. There aren’t any demo versions of Live American Roulette, but you can play at Evolution and Playtech tables from 20p per spin.
How do you win at American roulette?
In the short run, anyone can win at American roulette, if you have luck on your side. But in the long run, it’s impossible to beat the house edge, and even the best known roulette strategies will fail to deliver a consistent profit.
