American Roulette
There are two main roulette variations available in online casinos. These are American Roulette and European Roulette. The difference between these two games is extremely small, yet significant from a winning odds perspective. In this article we’ll be talking about American Roulette.

History of American Roulette
As strange as it might sound, American roulette was not invented in America but instead in the 18th century France. American Roulette is basically the original variation of Roulette. The game was eventually introduced to the United States by French colonists where it became extremely popular.
The game was initially also called French Roulette but it adopted the name American Roulette after in Europe and in France a new roulette variant become popular and people stopped playing the traditional French Roulette variant. Being only popular in America, the game became known in time as American Roulette.
Nowadays American Roulette is still only popular in land-based casinos in the United States. However most online casinos still offer this roulette variant even in case they only target players outside of America. Online casinos greatly contributed to the reviving of the popularity of this Roulette variant.
How to Play American Roulette
There’s only one difference between American Roulette and European Roulette. In American Roulette, the roulette table and roulette wheel have two pockets with the number “0” instead of just one pocket of this kind like in European Roulette.
This is the only difference between the two games. Anything else, such as betting types available, gameplay rules, player etiquette or more are exactly the same. Inexperienced casino players are often under the impression that this aspect is insignificant however this is completely wrong.
Role of the “zero” pockets in roulette
In case you didn’t know, the “0” pockets are the casino’s money making insurance. Each time the roulette ball lands in the “zero” pocket players will automatically lose all their bets placed. Casinos need this in order to have an edge over players in the long run.
If there would be no “zero” pocket, then overall, after a very large number of rounds played the casino would neither win or lose any money. The money some players would manage to win will be exactly the same as the money lost by the remaining players.
However, if there’s a “zero” pocket that if hit will result in players losing, then the casino will have a very small edge over players collectively. This way, in the long run and after a very large number of rounds played the casino will be able to have a profit margin on their roulette tables.
So, the number of “zero” pockets matters a lot
Based on the above, it’s obvious that the number of “0” pockets in a game of roulette has a great deal of influence on players’ winning odds. As explained, the “zero” pocket is a no-win pocket, so the more “zero” pockets are present in a game, the lower players’ winning odds will be.
Winning Odds in American Roulette
If you read all the above then by now you’ll know that American Roulette is a roulette variant that offers lower winning odds than European Roulette. This is because in American Roulette there are two “zero” pockets instead of just one pocket like in European Roulette.
In American Roulette, the following winning odds apply:
- Red or Black, Odd or Even and Column Bets – 47.36% winning odds
- Dozen Bets – 31.57% winning odds
- Straight Bets – 2.63% winning odds
- Street Bets – 7.89% winning odds
- Split Bets – 15.78% winning odds
- Line Bets – 15.78% winning odds
- Corner Bets – 10.52% winning oddsThe winning odds above refer to one single individual round. For example, if you place a bet on black, in American Roulette your winning odds for that round will be 47.36%. If you check the winning odds related to European Roulette in our European Roulette article then you’ll notice that the wining odds in American Roulette are worse.
Should You Play American Roulette or European Roulette?
In our opinion you should only play American Roulette in case you’re really like the game for some reason and don’t care about winning odds. American Roulette offers no advantage or extra features to players compared to European Roulette. The two games work and function exactly the same.
However American Roulette offers worse winning odds than European Roulette. So, to be honest, there’s no reason why someone should prefer American Roulette over European Roulette. In our opinion, players should always choose European Roulette at an online or land-based casino if both roulette variations are provided.
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