The count changes with the wheel, not with the question
Before counting anything, you need to know which wheel you are looking at. A European roulette wheel carries 37 pockets numbered 0 through 36. An American wheel carries 38, adding a double zero alongside the single zero. That extra pocket changes several counts on the layout, including the one behind this question.
The numbers 1 through 36 are identical on both wheels. What differs is the presence of the zeros, and the zeros are neither even nor black under the standard colour and parity assignments used on the layout. So the answer to how many even black spots exist depends on whether the wheel has one zero or two, and on how carefully you separate "even" from "black" from "both at once."
Counting the even numbers
On the numbers 1 through 36, exactly half are even and half are odd. That gives 18 even numbers and 18 odd numbers on either wheel. The zeros sit outside this split: zero and double zero are not counted as even numbers on a roulette layout, even though a mathematician might group zero with the evens in other contexts.
So the even-number count is 18 on a European wheel and 18 on an American wheel. The wheel type does not change this figure, because the additional pocket is a zero rather than a numbered even value.
Counting the black numbers
The colour distribution is also fixed across the numbered pockets. On the numbers 1 through 36, there are 18 red numbers and 18 black numbers. The zeros are green on both wheel types. Therefore the black-number count is 18 on a European wheel and 18 on an American wheel.
What changes between the wheels is the total pocket count, not the count of black or red numbers. The American wheel simply adds one more green pocket, which dilutes the proportion of black outcomes without changing how many black numbers exist.
The overlap: spots that are both even and black
This is the figure most people are after when they ask the question. A spot qualifies only if the number is even and the pocket is black. The two conditions must hold together. An even red number does not count, and a black odd number does not count.
Across the numbers 1 through 36, the even black numbers are 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20, 22, 24, 26, and 28. That is 10 spots. The even red numbers are 12, 14, 16, 18, 30, 32, 34, and 36, which is 8 spots. The odd black numbers are 11, 13, 15, 17, 29, 31, 33, and 35, also 8. The odd red numbers are 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 19, 21, 23, 25, and 27, which is 10.
The zeros are excluded from all four groups. They are green and neither even nor odd for betting purposes. The table below lays out the full split for the numbered pockets.
| Category | Count on numbers 1-36 | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Even and black | 10 | 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 |
| Even and red | 8 | 12, 14, 16, 18, 30, 32, 34, 36 |
| Odd and black | 8 | 11, 13, 15, 17, 29, 31, 33, 35 |
| Odd and red | 10 | 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27 |
| Zero pockets | 1 or 2 depending on wheel | 0, and 00 on American wheels |
Why the overlap matters at the table
Roulette bets are built from these categories, and the overlap between even and black is exactly what makes certain bets behave the way they do. A bet on black covers 18 pockets. A bet on even covers 18 pockets. A bet that required both conditions would cover only the 10 even black spots, which is a materially different wager with a different probability of landing.
Casinos do not offer a standard "even and black" combined bet on the main layout, but the count still matters for anyone trying to understand how the outside bets relate to each other. It also explains a common misreading: people sometimes assume that because there are 18 black numbers and 18 even numbers, the overlap should be 9. It is not. The distribution of colours across odd and even numbers is deliberately uneven, with 10 even black and 10 odd red numbers, against 8 even red and 8 odd black.
That imbalance does not create a winning opportunity. It is a fixed property of the layout, and every bet on the table carries a house edge that remains in place regardless of how the numbers are grouped. The European wheel's single zero gives the house a smaller edge than the American wheel's double zero, but neither wheel turns the even-black overlap into a profitable pattern.
How the zeros change the arithmetic
The zeros are the reason the outside bets do not pay at their true odds. A bet on black covers 18 pockets out of 37 on a European wheel, which is 18 winning pockets against 19 losing ones. The payout is even money, meaning a winning bet returns the stake plus an equal amount. Because the zero is neither black nor even, it sits outside the bet and tilts the outcome against the player over many spins.
On an American wheel, the same black bet covers 18 pockets out of 38, with 20 losing pockets. The double zero adds one more unfavourable pocket to every outside bet, which is why the house edge on the American layout is larger than on the European one for the same wager. The count of even black spots stays at 10 either way, but the probability of any given category landing shifts because the total pocket count changes.
Reading the layout before you bet
If you want to verify any of these counts at a table or in an online game, the layout itself carries the information. The numbered boxes are printed in their colours, and the outside betting areas are labelled for even, odd, red, black, and the various column and dozen bets. The wheel type is also visible: a European wheel shows a single zero, while an American wheel shows both zero and double zero.
Before placing any wager, confirm which wheel you are on. The difference between 37 and 38 pockets changes the payout probability on every outside bet, even though the number of even black spots remains the same. The game information panel in an online roulette title will state the wheel type and the rules in use, and the table limits are printed on the layout or shown in the game interface.
FAQ
Are the zeros counted as even numbers in roulette?
No. Zero and double zero are green pockets and are not treated as even or odd for betting purposes. They sit outside the even-money outside bets, which is part of how the house edge is built into the game.
Does the number of even black spots change between European and American roulette?
The count stays at 10 on both wheels, because the numbers 1 through 36 are identical on each. What changes is the total number of pockets, from 37 to 38, which alters the probability of any outside bet landing but not the count of even black numbers.
Can I bet on even and black at the same time as a single wager?
Standard roulette layouts do not offer a combined even-and-black bet. You can place separate bets on even and on black, but each is settled independently, and a spin that lands on an even red number wins the even bet while losing the black bet, and the reverse for an odd black number. The overlap of 10 spots is a property of the layout, not a bet type.
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