European Roulette

European Roulette is offered in some Las Vegas casinos, but rarely. It is a popular on-line variation of roulette. What is the difference between American roulette and European roulette? The double zero. The European wheel does not have one.

The implication of this one change is that the odds of winning improve slightly for the player and against the house. The house still has a positive edge, and in the long run the roulette player will always lose, but the amount of the loss is less for the same comparative amount of time at playing.

Instead of 38 pockets on the wheel, the European version has 37, since double zero is gone. The payouts are the same.

Recall that in American roulette the odds of winning by betting on a specific number are one chance in 38 pockets, or 37:1. This calculates to 2.6316%. The payoff is 35 to one. So the player is facing an edge of -5.26%. (This is the total payoff, which is 36, times the probability of getting it, which is 2.6316%, divided by the cost of the bet, which one, all subtracted from 1.0). The same calculation for a 37-pocket roulette wheel, with the same payoff schedule, is a slightly better 2.7027% chance for a win, times the total payoff of 36, subtracted from 1.0 (or 100%) to give -2.70%, a significant improvement.

Inside bets, outside bets, split bets, etc. are the same in both games. Casinos are eager to remind the players that it is perfectly fine to place more than one bet on a spin of the wheel. From the table below an important point should be obvious: No matter which bet is made, the house edge is the same! So, just as is true with the American version of roulette, if it is really important to a player to have a winning strategy, the best decision is to choose a different game, preferably where winning in the long run is possible. If winning or the “long run” are not so important at the moment, but the fun of playing table games in a casino is the priority, then you can play European roulette longer than you can play its American cousin, just because the odds are a little better. Here is a refresher on the bets available.

Inside Bets (refers to the inside portion of the table layout)

• Straight Bet. Place a chip on a specific number and receive 35:1 if you win.
• Split Bet. Place a chip on the border between two numbers, and the action applies to both. If either wins, the payoff is 17:1 (not as good a deal as a straight bet).
• Street Bet. Place a chip at the end of a row of a group of three numbers, and the action applies to all three. If one of them wins, the payoff is 11:1 (not as good a deal as either a straight bet or a split bet).
• Square Bet. Place a chip on the common corner of four numbers’ boxes and receive 8:1 if one of them wins. (The edge is progressively going in the wrong direction for the player!).
• Line Bet (also “Box of Six”). Place a chip on the line at the end of and in between two adjacent rows on the layout. The action will then apply to all six of the numbers in those two rows. The payoff is 5:1.

Outside Bets (the outside portion of the table layout)

• Column Bet. Place the chip in the area designated for one of three vertical columns, and any number in that column will win. The payout is 2:1.
• Dozen Bet. Place the chip in the area designated for dozens, either first, second or third. The payout is 2:1.
• Odd-Even/Red-Black/First Half-Second Half. Place the chip in the appropriate area in the outer portion of the table layout. Each bet is designating a different set of 18 numbers. The payout is 1:1.