Key points
- European roulette has one zero (37 pockets) and a house edge of 1/37, about 2.70%.
- American roulette adds a double zero (38 pockets), for an edge of 2/38, about 5.26%. Triple-zero wheels are worse still.
- La partage or en prison rules, where offered, halve the edge on even-money bets on single-zero wheels.
- Betting systems do not change the expected loss on any bet.
Wheels and house edge
| Wheel | Pockets | House edge on most bets | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|---|
| European (single zero) | 37 | 2.70% | 1 ÷ 37 |
| French (single zero, with la partage) | 37 | 1.35% on even-money bets; 2.70% on others | Half the stake is returned on zero |
| American (double zero) | 38 | 5.26% | 2 ÷ 38 |
| Triple zero | 39 | 7.69% | 3 ÷ 39 |
Where the edge comes from
A straight-up bet pays 35 to 1. On a single-zero wheel there are 37 pockets, so a fair payout would be 36 to 1. Bet €1 on every number and you stake €37. The winning number returns €36 (your €1 plus €35). You lose €1 per spin on average, which is 1/37 of your stakes. The same logic gives 2/38 on a double-zero wheel.
Main bets and payouts
| Bet | Numbers covered | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 1 | 35:1 |
| Split | 2 | 17:1 |
| Street | 3 | 11:1 |
| Corner | 4 | 8:1 |
| Six line | 6 | 5:1 |
| Dozen or column | 12 | 2:1 |
| Red/black, odd/even, 1–18/19–36 | 18 | 1:1 |
The American five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) pays 6:1 and has a higher edge of about 7.9%.
La partage and en prison
On some single-zero tables, even-money bets that lose to zero are half returned (la partage) or held for the next spin (en prison). This halves the edge on those bets to about 1.35%. The rule applies only where the table's rules say so. Check the help screen.
Betting systems
Systems such as Martingale (doubling after each loss) do not change the house edge. They trade many small wins for occasional large losses, and table limits cap how far you can double. The expected loss per euro staked stays the same.
Live and RNG roulette
RNG roulette uses a random number generator. Live roulette streams a real wheel. "Lightning" or multiplier variants change the payouts, usually lowering the straight-up payout to fund multipliers. Read the paytable.
Sources
Limitations: house-edge figures are calculated from the standard payout tables shown. Variant games can differ, so check each game's rules screen.