American Roulette Rules Explained
American roulette is the double-zero version of the game. The wheel has 38 pockets (0, 00, and 1-36), the house edge is 5.26% on standard bets, and the additional 00 pocket affects every bet's long-term expected value.
How an American Roulette Spin Works
The basic flow is identical to European roulette: place bets, wait for the ball to land, collect winnings, and start the next round. The differences live in the wheel and the math, not the procedure.
Inside Bets and Payouts
Payouts are the same as European roulette, but win chances are slightly lower because the wheel has 38 pockets instead of 37.
| Bet | Numbers | Payout | Win chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight-up | 1 | 35:1 | 2.63% |
| Split | 2 | 17:1 | 5.26% |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 | 7.89% |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 | 10.53% |
| Six-line | 6 | 5:1 | 15.79% |
| Top-line (five number bet) | 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 | 6:1 | 13.16% |
The five-number bet is unique to American roulette and is the only bet on the table with a worse house edge than the standard 5.26%. Most experts recommend avoiding it.
Outside Bets and Payouts
| Bet | Numbers | Payout | Win chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Column / Dozen | 12 | 2:1 | 31.58% |
| Red / Black | 18 | 1:1 | 47.37% |
| Odd / Even | 18 | 1:1 | 47.37% |
| 1-18 / 19-36 | 18 | 1:1 | 47.37% |
House Edge on American Roulette
The standard American house edge is 5.26% per spin - roughly twice the European figure. The five-number bet pushes the edge to 7.89%. The extra 00 pocket is the source of the higher edge across all standard bets.
American vs European at a Glance
| Feature | American | European |
|---|---|---|
| Pockets | 38 | 37 |
| Zeros | 0, 00 | 0 |
| House edge | 5.26% | 2.70% |
| Top-line bet? | Yes | No |
When to Play American Roulette
American roulette is worth playing for variety, for higher variance, or when no European table is available. For system testing and serious bankroll management, the European wheel is the better choice. The free roulette demo lets you switch variants without committing real money.
For more on roulette mechanics, variants, and odds, return to the main roulette guide. To put these ideas into practice, the free roulette demo on the homepage is built for risk-free experimentation with every bet type and variant covered here.