American vs European Roulette

Beginner roulette players often want to know if there is a difference between European and American roulette, as well as if the differences work in the favor of the player. The only true difference between the two forms of roulette is that the American wheel has 38 pockets (1-36, 0, and 00), whereas the European wheel has 37 (1-37 and 0). Although this does seem like a minor difference, the addition of the double zero makes the chances that much worse for a roulette player on an American wheel. The house advantage in European roulette is nearly half that of the American edge of 5.26 percent.

You may notice differences between the way the numbers are distributed on an American roulette wheel compared to a European wheel, but the numbers are evenly distributed so that your chances of landing on any pocket is equal. For example, some players believe that there is a heavy and light side to the wheel, making it more or less likely to land on certain pockets. Unless you’re dealing with shoddy equipment, this is not the case. Roulette wheels have been rigorously tested to make sure they are in perfect working condition, and can maintain the house edge.

Although for most players the biggest difference between American and European roulette is the house advantage, there are other slight differences that apply. However, a beginner player will also need to take note of other exceptions such as chip color. In American roulette, players are given different colored chips, which make it easy to determine to whom the chips belong. European roulette on the other hand supplies all bettors with the same color chips and relies heavily on memory (and honesty).

An important distinction among European and American roulette is the use of the en prison rule, which simply put states that if a zero hits, you have the option of surrendering half of your outside bets, or hold over for the next round of betting. In addition to giving you another option rather than simply losing on the zero or double zero, the en prison or surrender rule further decreases the house advantage against you to 1.3%, compared to the typical European advantage of 2.63 percent.

The only consideration that needs to be made in terms of which form of roulette to play is the advantage and which one is easier to exploit. Generally, roulette players favor the European version of the game simply because the house advantage is much more reasonable, so playing doesn’t seem like a more often than not fruitless effort. If you have an active interest in roulette, learning the odds associated with each is highly recommended.