Understanding how roulette wheels work is important if you want to be successful at the game. While you can’t really affect the odds you face while playing, you can learn a few general rules about the game that will lead you to make better bets.
Firstly, you may not know this, but there are some differences between the numbers on American and European roulette wheels. Secondly, understanding the table layout is also important in making better bets. We get into all of this and more down below.
Play Roulette Online Here
American vs. European Roulette Wheels
Here is all you need to know about American and European roulette wheels:
American
An American roulette wheel has 38 pockets. Numbers go from 0 to 36, but there is an additional 00 pocket. The standard house edge sits at 5.26%, which is the highest in all roulette variations.
The sequence of numbers on the wheel is laid out as follows when working in a clockwise direction:
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
European
A European roulette wheel has 37 pockets. Numbers run from 0 to 36. The absence of the 00 pocket means that the house edge in European roulette games sits at an average of 2.7%.
The sequence of numbers on the wheel is laid out as follows when working in a clockwise direction:
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
The European roulette wheel is better at balancing numbers. High don’t often lie next to high numbers, and low numbers don’t often lie next to low numbers. This also adds to making a completely random experience.
What’s the Reason for the Sequences?
So, if you took the time to read the sequence of numbers on each of the wheels, you will have noticed that they are different. Believe it or not, there are reasons for this.
The most important is probably the fact that the design ensures no bias to one section of numbers. For example, the ball heading towards the left side does not mean it will definitely land on red, or the ball heading towards the right side does not mean it will definitely land on a low number, etc.
While the American roulette wheel is a little less balanced than the European wheel, you still won’t have any situation where one set of outcomes is favored over another.
Numbers on the Roulette Table
Roulette table layouts differ less than wheels. The only real differences are that the American roulette table has a space for the extra pocket on the wheel. The French roulette table features best on both ends of the table, but numbers are laid out in the same way as the European roulette table.
Understanding how the table works is essential if you want to place bets. After all, you need to indicate your bet on the table before the wheel is spun. Trust us; you don’t want to lose money because you placed an erroneous bet on the table.
Are All Wheels the Same?
Theoretically, there is no strategy involved with roulette. The croupier spins the wheel, adds the ball, and then it lands in a random pocket. However, this is only true if all wheels were built the same way.
When you play at an online casino, you are always assured of a random outcome. However, at land-based casinos, a roulette wheel could vary from one venue to the next. For example, a wheel could have a deeper pocket on a specific number or more shallow pockets on other numbers.
While wheels aren’t meant to have such advantages, sometimes they do. When you visit a brick-and-mortar casino, look at the wheel, and see if there are any noticeable differences between the pockets. You may be one of the few players ever to manipulate advantage play in roulette.
Check out our other roulette guides:
- Expected Value
- Roulette Calculator
- Roulette En Prison Rule
- American Roulette
- European Roulette
- French Roulette
- Roulette Royale
- How to Play Roulette
- Online Roulette Simulator
- Live Roulette
- D’Alembert Roulette System
- James Bond Strategy
- Oscar’s Grind System
- Reverse Martingale/Paroli System
- Roulette Computers
- Roulette Payouts