Roulette Types

What’s up, Otaku Bettors!

Let me walk you through the different types of roulette!

Casino roulette comes in three flavors: European Roulette, American Roulette, and French Roulette.
Each one has its own wheel layout and number arrangement — experienced players often just call them the European Wheel, American Wheel, and French Wheel.

Looking at just house edge and payout rate, French Roulette looks like the obvious winner — but only for even-money bets. Each type has its own character, and the right fit really depends on how you play.

European Roulette (Single Zero)

European Roulette has 37 numbers — 0 through 36.
The house edge is 2.70%, and since there’s only one zero, it’s also called Single Zero roulette.

For what it’s worth, European Roulette is what I personally play most.

Wheel Layout

The number order on the European wheel is: 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.

Table Layout

The table layout has numbers arranged in order starting from 0.

American Roulette (Double Zero)

American Roulette has 38 numbers — 0, 00, and 1 through 36.
The house edge is 5.26%, and since there are both 0 and 00, it’s also called Double Zero roulette.

Two zeros means higher risk than European, so plenty of players steer clear of American Roulette — but depending on the version, player-friendly rules can sometimes apply!

Wheel Layout

The number order on the American wheel is: 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.

Table Layout

The table layout is identical to European Roulette, with 0 and 00 added.

Surrender

Surrender is a rule that applies to even-money bets in American Roulette.
When the ball lands on 0 or 00, you lose half your bet — but the other half comes back to you.

Say you bet $10 on Black and the ball drops on 0 or 00 — normally that’s a straight loss, but with Surrender, $5 comes back.

That pretty much covers outside bets’ biggest weakness!

So if you’re running an outside bet strategy, American Roulette with Surrender can actually give you a better shot than standard European.

French Roulette

French Roulette has 37 numbers — 0 through 36 — making it essentially the same specs as European Roulette. The table design is different, and on versions with the special rules, the house edge drops all the way to 1.35%.

Wheel Layout

The number order is the same as European: 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.

Table Layout

It’s called French Roulette for a reason — the table is labeled in French.
A few things are in slightly different spots, but it’s essentially the same layout as European.

And those empty boxes at the end of each row — those are the Column bets.

En Prison

En Prison is a rule that applies to even-money bets in French Roulette.
When the ball lands on 0, your bet gets locked in place for the next spin — it’s “imprisoned” (En Prison). Win the next spin and you get it back; lose and it’s gone.

Say you bet $10 on Odd and the ball drops on 0 — normally that’s a loss and you’re done. But with En Prison, if Odd hits on the next spin, your $10 comes back.

If you lose that next spin, it’s gone — but runs tend to repeat in roulette, so the odds of getting it back are actually decent!

La Partage

La Partage is a rule that applies to even-money bets in French Roulette.
When the ball lands on 0, you lose half your bet — but the other half comes back to you.

This is exactly the same rule as Surrender in American Roulette!

Just don’t assume it’s automatically in play on every French Roulette table… it’s not. Always check before you sit down.

And honestly, video roulette — which is my thing — rarely has French Roulette, so I’ve barely had a chance to use any of this myself…

Still, it’s good to have in the back of your head — file it away, Otaku Bettors!

Macao and Mexican (Triple Zero)

American, European, and French are the main three — but some casinos run weirder variations.

First is the “Macao” type — American wheel layout, but no double zero, so numbers run 0 through 36.
Some players actually find the American wheel layout easier to bet on.
Honestly, I kind of prefer the American wheel layout myself.

Then there’s the “Mexican” type — European wheel layout with 0, 00, and 000.
Triple Zero Roulette — AKA the “ripoff machine.” Yeah.
High house edge, and that many zeros… like, how many do you actually need.
The casino’s greed is showing so hard it kills the vibe.

Probably the most player-friendly roulette out there is a Macao-type wheel.

Maybe if I had one of those, I could actually hold my own at a live table!
Yeah, probably not.