European vs American Roulette: Which Version is Better?

One of the most common confusions in the game is the difference between American roulette and European Roulette. In this guide, I will teach you exactly what differentiates them.

I'm sure that if you're reading this, you know that all roulette games are not created equal – especially for the players. 

And the two main types of Roulette are American Roulette and European Roulette.

With that in mind, let's discuss the differences between the two and the best game version for you to play.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• What is French Roulette and How is it Different from European Roulette?
  • American Roulette - Single Zero Wheel
  • European Roulette Wheel - Double Zero Wheel
  • The ‘La Partage’ and ‘En Prison’ rules - Are They Good for the Player?
• Similarities between European Roulette and American Roulette
• Differences Between the European Wheel and the American Wheel
• Strategies and Tips for Playing the Different Versions of the Wheel
  • The 2nd Dozen Section Play
  • The Biased Wheel
  • Roulette Computers
• Expert Advice: Which Roulette is Better for You?

Before we go there, let's do a little housekeeping and clear up a possible source of confusion.

What is French Roulette and How is it Different from European Roulette?

Sometimes you’re going to hear that European and French Roulette are exactly the same game.

While it’s true that they use exactly the same wheel, there are actually some differences between the two games:  

1. French roulette is played on a larger, wider table;
2. There are two croupiers sitting opposite each other at the head of the table, and if the game is busy, there is room for a third at the foot of the table;  
3. The croupiers use a rake to move the chips around the table;
4. The French layout is different in that the Outside bets are named in French (so Odd/Even are called Impair/Pair and Low/High are called Manque/Passe, and Red/Black are called Rouge/Noir);
5. The Outside bets are split onto both sides of the Inside Bets area on the layout;  
6. The players sit on both sides of the table on a French Roulette game.

The game is overseen by a supervisor, seated on a highchair to facilitate a complete view of the entire game.

Nowadays, it's going to be very unusual to see a French Roulette game anywhere except perhaps in the VIP rooms of a very high-end casino with a $100 minimum bet or more. 

It takes up so much space, and the labor cost of running this slow game is very high. 

The European (and American) game has all the players seated on the opposite side to the dealer(s). 

American Roulette - Double Zero Wheel

How do we calculate the House Advantage (HA) on an American wheel and how does that affect the player’s odds?

The House Advantage on an American wheel is 5.26%.  

What that means is that in the long term, the house will win $5.26 for every $100 you bet.

But how do we know that this number is correct?

If you look at an American wheel, you will see that there are 36 regular numbers (i.e. 1 – 36) and two extra numbers, the zero and the double zero. Which totals 38 numbers.

If you were to bet a single chip on each number, you would lose 2 chips on every spin, because you keep the chip you bet on the winning number, and the additional 35 you get paid, for a total of 36 chips.

But you bet 38 chips, so you lose 2 chips every spin.

If you divide the 2 chips by the 38 numbers, it will give you a number of 0.0526, and then multiply it by 100 and you will get a House Advantage of 5.26%. 

European Roulette Wheel - Single Zero Wheel

How do we calculate the House Advantage (HA) on a European wheel and how does that affect the player’s odds?

The House Advantage on a European wheel is 2.7%.  

1. What that means is that the house will win $2.70 for every $100 you bet in the long term.
2. But how do we know that this number is correct?
3. If you look at a European ‘single zero; wheel, you will see that there are 36 regular numbers (i.e. 1 – 36) and the zero, for a total of 37 numbers.
4. If you were to bet a single chip on each number, you would lose 1 chip on every spin, because you keep your initial bet on the winning number, and the additional 35 you get paid, for a total of 36 chips.
5. But you bet 37 chips, so you lose 1 chip on every spin.
6. If you divide the 1 chips by the 37 numbers, it will give you a number of 0.0270, and then multiply it by 100 and you will get a House Advantage of 2.70% 

The ‘La Partage’ and ‘En Prison’ rules - Are They Good for the Player?

On a European game, when the zero hits, all the even money Outside bets are subject to either the La Partage or the En Prison rule. They are never both in operation on the same game, so it’s an ‘either/or’ rule.

La Partage is French for ‘Sharing It’ or ‘The Split’ and what that means is that 50% of all bets on Red or Black, Odd or Even, and High or Low are returned to the player.  

This is a good thing for the players who like to play those even money Outside bets, as it reduces the HA working against them to 1.35%. 

‘En Prison’ is French for ‘In Prison’ and this rule is that when the zero hits, all bets on Red or Black, Odd or Even, and High or Low are essentially ‘in escrow’ pending the outcome of the next spin.  

The dealer will place a small button on each bet indicating that it is ‘En Prison’.  

On the next spin, if the bet wins, the button is removed, and the bet is no longer ‘En Prison’.  If the bet loses, the dealer will take it as part of his normal dealing duties.

While it is true that La Partage is a marginally better option for the players because the money is only at risk once, unlike En Prison where it is at risk twice, the difference is so tiny as to be insignificant.  

In real terms, both La Partage and En Prison are a good thing for the players as they both reduce the HA to 1.35% for those Outside bets.   

And any casino game with a 1.35% House Advantage against the players is a good game to play.

Similarities between European Roulette and American Roulette

There are many similarities between these two versions of roulette:

• Both games are dealt on an American-style table and layout (which is very different to a French roulette table and layout);
• The method of dealing is virtually identical on both versions of the game.  How the chips are handled, how the bets are paid, how a buy-in is conducted and so on are all identical.  
• All the numbers on both wheels are set up to ensure that no section of the wheel is significantly higher or lower, or favors the odd or the even numbers, and they alternate between the red and black numbers consistently.

European vs American Roulette Wheel

The order of the numbers isn’t hugely significant but having only one zero changes the house advantage (HA) by cutting it almost in half. 

This is very good for the players.

Strategies and Tips for Playing the Different Versions of Roulette

The strategies can generally be divided into 2 different camps: 

1. The first is based on the numbers and how they can be organized into various systems;
2. The second is based on how the numbers are set up around the wheel and on the layout, and how they can be divided into various sections and ‘chunks’ to give you different types of area coverage.

The Gambler’s Fallacy

Before we begin, let’s talk about a well-known superstition, commonly called ‘The Gambler’s Fallacy’. Gamblers have this notion that if a certain bet hasn’t hit for a while, it must be due to hit soon.  

The alleged logic is ‘well, it’s going to hit because it hasn’t hit lately, so it must be due, right?’  

Wrong!  

The wheel doesn’t know what number just hit.  Or hit three spins ago, or ten spins ago!  It doesn’t know that it’s hit ten Black spins in a row, so now it has to spin Red.  The odds of any number coming up are exactly the same on every spin. Every time! 

Okay – now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it.

The Numbers Strategies That Work on Both the American and the European Wheel

• The LaBouchere Strategy
• The Andrucci Strategy  
• The D’Alembert Strategy
• The ‘Bond . . . James Bond’ Strategy
• The Fibonacci Strategy
• The Paroli Strategy

The Martingale Strategy 

This certainly the best-known system.  It’s a negative progression system and is very easy to understand and play.

Start off by betting one unit on one of the even money bets on the Outside.  Let’s say Odd.

• If you win, bet one unit again.
• If you lose, bet two units. If you win, go back to betting one unit.
• If you lose the two units, double your bet again, betting 4 units this time.
• If you lose, bet 8 units.  

And so on, keep doubling your bet until you win, and then go back to betting one unit. 

In theory, you keep doubling your bet until you win.  

Which is fine, until you run into the table maximum – and then you’re behind and can’t catch up. 

Not so good.

The Super-Martingale Strategy

Exactly the same as the Martingale, but instead of just doubling your bet after losing, you sweeten the bet by an additional amount after every loss.  Let’s say you’re going to add an additional two units every time you lose.

• So your second bet would be 2 units, plus the 2 additional units, for a total of 4 units.
• If you lose, you would double your bet to 8 units, plus an additional 2 units, for a total of 10 units.
• If you lose, you double your bet to 20 units, plus the additional 2 units, for a total of 22 units.
• If you lose again, you double your bet to 44 units, plus the 2 additional units, for a total of 46 units.

As you can see, you can get into pretty deep water very quickly with this strategy. 

The regular martingale gets you to 16 units on your 5th bet.  The Super Martingale gets you to 46 units on your 5th bet.

The other side of that is on the regular Martingale, you would be betting 16 units to win 1 unit.  On the Super Martingale, you would be betting 46 units, and win 13 units if you win after 5 bets. 

The Section Strategies That Work on Both the American and the European Game

Let’s look at the layouts of both the American game and the European game. 

One thing to be aware of here is that there are two betting areas on both layouts where there isn’t an even distribution of colors.

And that is in the middle and third column.  

The first column has an equal amount of black and red numbers – i.e. 6 each.

But the middle column has 8 black and 4 red numbers; the third column has 4 black and 8 red numbers.  

Now that we’re aware of this seeming discrepancy, how can we bet to take advantage of it?

Well, there are a few possibilities, and you can take your choice as to which is the best.  

Let’s start with dollar chips, and a $20 bet. 

So you think Black is going to hit next?  

You bet the first and middle column for 8 units each, and then bet 1 unit Straight Up on each of the 4 Black numbers in the third column, which are 6, 15, 24, and 33.  

The two bets on the columns give you 14 Black numbers vs 10 Red numbers which is a 40% higher chance of hitting a Black number there.

You have 4 Straight Up bets in the third column, which represent 33% of that column – each of which will pay 35 to 1 if they hit.  

If the first or middle column hits, you will win 4 units as the 8 units pays 16 units, giving you a total of 24 units. 

As you can see, this bet gives you a lot of coverage, and if one of the third column Straight Up bets hits, you will win 15 units, plus your initial 1 unit Straight Up bet for a total amount of 16 units, plus you will have your initial 20-unit bet returned to you.

The same logic applies if you think Red is going to hit next.

There is a similar bet strategy using the Dozens.

You’re playing with $5 chips.  And it’s a $150 bet.

$50 each on the first and second Dozen.  Then you’re going to bet $5 Straight Up on all the 3rd  Dozen numbers except the 25 and 29.  

Why the 25 and 29?  Because on the American Wheel, they are next to each other. That gives the dealer approximately 90% of the wheel to give you a push or a win. And when you win, it’s going to be $75, plus you get your $5 initial Straight Up bet returned to you.

And all of these ‘Section System’ bets are better for the player with a lower House Advantage on the European wheel, because there is only a single zero on the European wheel. 

We can include the neighbor bets in this group that works on both the European and American wheel, too, because you can bet ‘The Neighbors’ on either wheel.

The Section Strategies That Only Work on the European Wheel

Before we start looking at these bets, we need to do a little ‘housekeeping’ to make sure there is no confusion.  With that in mind...

 The dealer will then place the bet for the player.  The player will subsequently pay back the marker and the game continue.

This second definition is the one we’re concerned about here.  

There are several ‘call’ bets that can be made on a European roulette table, and they consist of Les Voisins du Zero, Les Tiers du Cylindre, the Orphelins, Jeu Zero and Les Finales. 

Please note that the sections below only exist on the European wheel.

Les Voisins du Zero 

The Voisins is a 9-unit bet.  

• 2 units on the 0-2-3 Trio
• 1 unit each on the 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22, and 32-35 Splits
• 2 units on the 25-29 Corner

This is a bet that covers 17 numbers, so almost ½ the wheel.  

Les Tiers du Cylindre

The Tiers bet is a 6-unit bet.

• 1 unit each on the 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30, and 33-36 Splits

Usually shortened to The Tiers (pronounced ‘The T-Air’) covers 12 numbers, or almost 1/3 of the wheel.

Les Orphelins

The Orphelins bet is a 5-unit bet

• 1 unit each on the 6-9, 14-17, 17-20, and 31-34 Splits
• 1 unit straight up on 1

Les Orphelins (which is French for ‘The Orphans’) are the two sections between the Voisins and the Tiers. One has 5 numbers, and the other has 3 numbers – together they cover 8 numbers.

Jeu Zero

Jeu Zero is a 4-unit bet on the 7 numbers that are around and include the number zero.

• 1 unit each on 0-3, 12-15, and 32-35 Splits
• 1 unit Straight Up on 26  

There is a regional variation to this bet that may be in place in some casinos of eastern Europe.  It becomes a 5-unit bet and adds a Straight Up on 19 to the above 4-unit bet.

Les Finales

The Les Finales bet may be a 4-unit bet or a 3-unit bet.

It is a bet on all numbers that end in the same digit, for example 2, 12, 22, and 32, or 8, 18, and 28.

A 3-unit bet would be on any number ending in 7, 8, or 9.

A 4-unit bet would be on any number ending in 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 

Les Finales can be bet on both types of wheel, although it would be very unusual for an American dealer to immediately recognize this bet.  Of course, it wouldn’t be difficult to explain it and get it placed by an experienced dealer on either wheel. 

Neighbor bets

A Neighbor bet is a 5-unit bet made on a specific number and the two numbers to each side of it.

For example, 17 and the neighbors would be a 5-unit bet, with one unit each bet Straight Up on 2, 25, 17, 34, and 6

Neighbor bets are called (or ‘announced’) by the player in a bricks and mortar casino and placed by the dealer. The dealer will place these bets on a separate part of the layout called ‘The Racetrack’, which is specifically designed to be used for this purpose by the dealer.  

Of course, if the casino doesn’t have the racetrack as part of the layout, the dealer will place the bets on the main layout itself. 

The European Wheel Racetrack

To make it easier to place these bets, many casinos have added ‘The Racetrack’ to their single zero layouts.  

It is a graphic representation of the numbers as they appear on the European wheel, and has the Sections clearly marked so the bets can be placed quickly and easily by the dealers.

Sometimes the player would prefer the dealer to place the bets on the layout rather than on The Racetrack (because it’s luckier etc), and then the dealer would put the chips in place on the layout.

The Racetrack also allows the player to see and request the 5-unit neighbor bets easily.  

And then the players end up choosing their own sections to bet, perhaps of 10 or 15 numbers, or more!

It’s a fun game to deal when knowledgeable players are sitting at the table.

The Section Strategies That Only Work on the American Wheel

While the American roulette wheel has its disadvantages, there are certain strategies that work exclusively in this version of the game. 

Let’s find out more. 

How to Combine Section and Number Play

One of the other strategies you can use only works on a double zero American wheel.  

Dealer behavior, sometimes called ‘dealer signature’, is a part of this strategy because dealers sometimes get into ‘a groove’.  Dealers are trained to vary their spin and the speed of the wheel every spin, but often don’t.  

• On a European game, the wheel direction and ball direction are usually alternated every spin.  This automatically changes the speed and weight of the wheel and the ball every spin.  
• On an American game, the ball is always spun clockwise and the wheel is always spun counter-clockwise.  

However, experienced dealers on both games are used to the way the wheel looks and the force they use to project the ball around the wheel, so frequently they end up with the same speed and weight in spite of the requirement to change them.   

While the ball is spinning, the dealers will be cleaning up the chips from the previous spin and/or checking the layout for ambiguous bets, etc. and many dealers just give the ball the ‘maximum power’ spin as it also gives the players more time to finish making their bets. 

Often, the dealers are thinking about the players betting, whether they’re getting the time they need, do they have enough chips and so on, and not really thinking about the speed of the wheel or the ball.  

The speed of the wheel ‘just looks right’, and the speed of their release of the ball, particularly on a busy game, is consistently ‘full power’.  

Sometimes the dealer is consistently advancing the section around the wheel every spin.  

It may be half the wheel or a third of the wheel and so on.  

If you keep track of where the ball is landing, you may see there is an overall pattern to the winning numbers.

Hitting a section is more likely to occur on an older wheel, one that is made with frets and pockets, because the dealers use the frets to increase or decrease the wheel’s speed.  

Over time, the pockets may get wider, deeper or shallower just by the usage of the wheel.

Newer wheels, made with the numbers and ‘pockets’ in one cast piece are much more random, and it’s not unusual to see a ball roll or bounce across the wheel a few times without actually landing in a number at all.

The 2nd Dozen Section Play

The American wheel below has a section that starts at the single zero at the bottom of the wheel and goes to the right, counter-clockwise.  

It’s approximately a quarter of the wheel and consists of 6 Red numbers that are all in the 2nd Dozen.

The red numbers are 14, 23, 16, 21, 18, and 19.  

If you bet 1 unit Straight Up on each of those, and then 6 units on ‘Black’, you have covered almost half the wheel with the bet on ‘Black’, and a quarter of the wheel with the red numbers.  

Then, if you hit a black number, you will get your 6 units back and can replace your Straight Up bets on the six 2nd Dozen Red numbers.  

If you hit one of the Straight Up bets, you will get paid 35 units for the 1 you bet.  

If you notice that the dealer is hitting that section, this is a great bet to make.

The Black numbers from the 2nd Dozen are also in a section, which is opposite the Red 2nd Dozen numbers.  The section starts at the double zero and goes to the left.  

It includes the numbers 13, 24, 15, 22, 17, and 20.  

If you observe a similar section hitting and playing the same way, your bet on the Outside should be on ‘Red.’ 

You can bet the Dozens if you want to play a different version of this ‘2nd Dozen’ game. 

Instead of betting the 6 units on Black, you bet 6 units each on the 1st and 3rd Dozen.  

You still bet 1 unit Straight Up on each of the Red numbers in the 2nd Dozen and one additional unit on the Split between 0 and 00.

• If you hit the 1st or 3rd Dozen, you get paid 12 chips, replacing the losing 6 Straight Ups and the other 6-unit Dozen bet.  All you need to do then is add the single chip on the 0, 00 Split.
• If you hit one of the Straight Ups, you get paid 35 chips and can replace the losing 18 chips, leaving you with a win of 17 chips. 

The Biased Wheel

You’ve probably seen some of the advice from ‘how to win at roulette’ websites that includes finding a biased wheel.  Well, good luck with that these days. 

They usually cite the stories of Joseph Jagger, who won £65,000 in Monte Carlo, or Gonzalo Garcia-Pelayo, who won a million Euros at a casino in Madrid in the 1990s.  

These stories are well-publicized, which means the casinos are very familiar with them.  Oh, and by the way, Mr. Jagger won his £65,000 in 1873.  

His £65,000 is worth approximately £9 million in today’s money. 

Modern roulette wheels made by companies like TCS Huxley and Cammegh (pronounced Camay) are extremely well made.  

They are high-precision pieces of engineering, and in a casino that maintains them regularly, by checking the ball bearings within, checking that the wheel itself is mounted perfectly flat and balanced and so on, the casino ensures that the game is perfectly fair to all the players.

It may be possible to find a biased wheel in a small provincial casino that doesn’t do the required maintenance on an old wheel, but it’s highly unlikely, especially in a more sophisticated casino.

Roulette Computers

I’m sure you’ve seen the ads from people online or on YouTube who say they guarantee you will win on roulette if you buy their system.  It’s proven to win, and lots of people have won using their system.

What they fail to mention is that roulette computers, computers that track the speed of the wheel and the ball to determine where the ball is likely to land, are illegal.  

In any well-regulated jurisdiction, they’re illegal.  

And if you’re playing in an unregulated casino, you may have more problems to deal with than an illegal device in your possession.

So – yes, you can buy their system – but don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

Expert's advice: Which Roulette is Better for You?

The European game is a better option for all the players. 

With a House Advantage of 2.7% (possibly only 1.35% if the player limits his play to the even money bets on the Outside), the European game is a much better option. 

The only time this would be different is if you're playing in an online casino that offers promotions and better bonuses for playing the American game.

Finding a European game with a low enough minimum available on the retail floor may be difficult in bricks and mortar casinos.  

If that's the case, then the American game is the preferred choice because it's no fun to play when it is so expensive that you get only a couple of spins for your entire budget for the session.

On the other hand, It should be easy to find a European game with the right limits if you play online. Please check out our free roulette games collection where we have lots of opportunities to find the right game for you.  

Conclusion

Roulette is a lot of fun to play, no matter which version of the game you choose to play. The European game has a lower House Advantage than the American game, so it should be your first choice and easy to find if you like to play online. Find out more about the math behind roulette from our complete odds guide.

It may be challenging to find a European game if you like to play in a live casino, but it's worth the time and effort if you can.

Getting into the European game's call bets makes the game more interesting. The way the wheel is laid out and how those bets reflect certain sections of the wheel fascinated me when I was learning to deal with the game in London.  

And once I learned about the French mathematician Blaise Pascal's alleged 'perpetual motion machine' for Roulette and his work exploring the notion of 'Expected Value' in probabilities (i.e., gambling), I came away with a new level of curiosity about him and his 'Little Wheel.' 

Don't forget to check out my other roulette guides in the Academy, you will definitely learn something new about the game.

Good luck!