Betting Odds on American and European Roulatte Wheels
Would it surprise you to learn that there are differences in the American and European versions of Roulette? Since there are differences in everything else (heck, we can’t even agree on a measurement), well, why not Roulette?
Truth be told, there are big differences, mainly in the roulette wheels themselves. And of course, those differences make for different bet odds, which we’ll go over in this article.
In Roulette, “Bet Odds” are the probability of your bet winning. This includes single numbers coming up as well as other combinations like “Street bets”.
Assuming an American Roulette wheel, the ball is going to land on one of the 38 spots (1 - 36, zero, or double zero). So, assuming a single number bet, there’s a 1 in 38 chance the bouncing ball will land in your spot and a 37 in 38 chance that it will land somewhere else. Since the payouts are slightly less than the odds (35-1 on single number bets), a casino enjoys a “House edge”. That’s what you can be expected to lose over time (however, the casinos like to think of it as what they can be expected to win.)
The European Roulette Wheel, with its 37 slots, well, it has an obvious advantage to the player. There’s one less slot for the ball to land in. Therefore, the bet odds are reduced by one. Meaning if an American wheel has a 38:1 chance to land on any single number, a European wheel carries a 37:1 chance. This continues for all bets – a “dozen bet” (first second or third) carries a 38:12 chance on an American wheel, where it carries a 37:12 chance on a European Wheel. Same for red or black (38:18 on American, 37:18 on European.)
Now, we’ll admit the differences are nominal, and really should only matter to an international jet-setter (or perhaps James Bond). That’s because, if you’re in Vegas and want to play Roulette, well, are you really going to hop a plane to Europe for one less number? Wouldn’t that be a little silly?
The question remains as to “why”? Why these differences? Well, the answer lies (like most answers to anything lie) in money. Cold hard cash. While it may not matter much on any one bet, over the course of an evening (week, month, year) that one extra number on the American wheel adds up to millions (and even billions) of dollars (so THAT’S why American casinos are so… American!)
Now that you know the differences, how about a trip to Europe??
