The Roulette Wheel – American and European
The game of Roulette has been around for a long time. Since the time of the 18th century, in fact, and there’s a chance that it might go back even farther. While the game was starting to make its presence known in 1796 France, it began to eventually find its way through American casinos in places such as New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gold Rush era of California. And, of course, those Americans just had to change it a little… (we jest – we love the American version as well.)
The big difference between an American Roulette Wheel and a European Roulette Wheel is in the numbers, and therefore, the odds. For example, the European Roulette wheel has a standard numbers between “1” and “36”, but also houses a space for a “0”. American Roulette wheels, however, use “00” as well. There are two notable reasons for this; the first being a means to expand the house odds, and the additional number also makes the numbers “even” from a symmetrical standpoint.
This makes a difference between the two types of wheels in regards to odds. For starters, due to the extra “00” on the American wheel, the house edge is bigger. The payoff for a standard number bet is 35-1. But there are 37 numbers (if you could 0 and 00). Admittedly, it’s not THAT big a difference, but it will certainly feel like it when you make a big bet, then have to part with your money tearfully because Lady Luck decided to visit someone else (she always seems to do that to us!)
The numbers are not arranged in numerical order – they are laid out based on the odd and even numbers, and the high and low numbers, ensuring an even distribution of each throughout the wheel. The clockwise numerical layouts on each wheel are generally as follows:
European (single 0) wheel: 0-32-15-19-4-21-2-25-17-34-6-27-13-36-11-30-8-23-10-5-24-16-33-1-20-14-31-9-22-18-29-7-28-12-35-3-26
American (0 and 00) wheel: 0-28-9-26-30-11-7-20-32-17-5-22-34-15-3-24-36-13-1-00-27-10-25-29-12-8-19-31-18-6-21-33-16-4-23-35-14-2
The red and black colors also alternate, and on an American wheel, the green 0 and 00 are on opposite sides of the circle.
Even betting is different when it comes to the two games. In a European casino, the chips that a player can use for any type of game can be used in this game. In an American game, however, most casinos actually prefer the use of specialized chips used for Roulette, where they are largely used to keep track of individual player bets.
There have been times where a European game is being played on an American wheel. If this is the case, a ball landing in 00 will be declared a voided spin by the dealer, and will result in a new spin with all bets remaining on the table.
Ok, now you know the ins and outs of the Roulette wheel, and should be comfortable whether you are playing in the Old Country, or in the US of A.
