The wheel you are looking at has 38 pockets, not 36
Most people who ask this question are standing at a table, or looking at a game screen, and trying to work out the odds. The quick answer is that an American roulette wheel carries 38 numbered pockets: the numbers 1 through 36, plus a single zero and a double zero. The two zero pockets are what separate the American layout from the European one, and that difference is not cosmetic. It changes the arithmetic on every bet you can place.
The numbers 1 through 36 alternate between red and black. The zero and double zero are green. The wheel is arranged so that high and low numbers, odd and even numbers, and red and black pockets are spread around the circumference rather than grouped together. The sequence is fixed for the American layout, but the sequence itself matters less to a new player than the count: 38 total pockets, of which 36 are ordinary numbers and two are zeros.
Why the double zero changes the house edge
Roulette payouts are built as if the zeros did not exist. A straight-up bet on a single number pays 35 to 1, which would be a fair price on a wheel with 36 pockets. On a 38-pocket American wheel, the same bet still pays 35 to 1, but there are two extra losing pockets. The operator's mathematical advantage comes from that gap between the payout and the true odds.
House edge and RTP are complements: they sum to 100% for the same bet under the same rule set. A European wheel has 37 pockets and a single zero; an American wheel has 38 with a double zero. The extra pocket increases the house edge on the American layout. That statement holds for every bet on the table, because the payout table is the same while the wheel has one more losing pocket.
This does not mean an American wheel is unwinnable in a given session. It means the expected rate of loss is higher than on a single-zero wheel, all else equal. A player choosing between two tables should read the wheel itself: if it has a double zero, it is the American layout, and the edge on every bet is larger than on a single-zero wheel.
The sequence of a round, from buy-in to settlement
Knowing the pocket count is only useful if you know how a round proceeds. The sequence is the same whether you play at a physical table or on a screen.
You begin by buying in. At a live table, you place cash on the layout and the dealer exchanges it for roulette chips. These chips are typically colour-coded to you so that the dealer can tell bets apart when several players are at the same table. Online, you select a chip denomination from the cashier or the table interface and the balance is drawn from your account.
The dealer opens the betting window. You place chips on the layout, and you may keep placing or adjusting them until the dealer announces that no more bets are accepted. After that moment, the wheel is spun in one direction and the ball is released in the opposite direction. When the ball settles into a pocket, the dealer marks the winning number on the layout, removes losing bets, and pays winning bets according to the payout table. The next round begins when the dealer clears the layout and reopens betting.
Online, the same sequence is compressed into a few seconds: you place bets before the spin button locks, the RNG or live wheel produces a result, and the interface credits or debits your balance automatically.
What each bet type means and how the edges differ
Every bet on an American roulette table is a wager on which pocket the ball will land in. The bets differ only in how many pockets they cover and how they pay. A bet that covers more pockets wins more often but pays less; a bet that covers fewer pockets wins less often but pays more. The house edge on the American layout is the same across all of these bets, because the payout ratios are all built on the same 36-number assumption while the wheel has 38 pockets.
The one exception is a rule variant found at some tables, commonly called a surrender rule or a la partage variant, where an even-money bet that loses to a zero returns half the stake. That rule reduces the house edge on the even-money bets only. Whether a table offers it is printed on the layout or in the game rules panel, and a player should check before assuming it applies.
| Bet type | Pockets covered | Payout | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight-up | 1 | 35 to 1 | A single number, chip placed fully inside the number square |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | Chip on the line between two adjacent numbers |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | A row of three numbers, chip on the outer edge of the row |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | Four numbers meeting at one corner, chip on the shared corner |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | Two adjacent rows, chip on the outer edge where they meet |
| Dozen or column | 12 | 2 to 1 | First, second or third dozen, or one of the three vertical columns |
| Even-money | 18 | 1 to 1 | Red or black, odd or even, high or low |
The zero and double zero are not covered by any of the even-money outside bets, the dozens, or the columns. That is where the house edge lives. A straight-up bet on zero or double zero is a separate wager with the same 35 to 1 payout as any other single number.
Where strategy ends and the wheel begins
Roulette has no decision points after the bet is placed. Unlike blackjack, where a player chooses to hit, stand, split or double, roulette offers no choices that change the outcome once the ball is released. The only decisions a roulette player makes are which bets to place, how much to stake, and when to stop.
Because the house edge is identical across almost all bet types on the American layout, no combination of bets changes the expected rate of loss. A player who covers 30 numbers with many chips is not reducing the edge; they are redistributing the same edge across more of the layout. The only structural choice that changes the edge is table selection: a single-zero wheel has a lower house edge than a double-zero wheel, and a table with a surrender rule lowers the edge on even-money bets only.
Progression systems, such as doubling an even-money bet after a loss, do not change the edge. They change the shape of the outcomes: many small wins punctuated by occasional large losses. The expected loss over a large number of spins remains the product of the house edge and the total amount wagered.
Procedural mistakes new players make at the table
The first mistake is betting after the dealer has closed the window. At a live table, late bets are returned or pushed back, and a player who repeatedly bets late will be warned. The betting window is shorter than most new players expect, especially on a busy table.
The second mistake is touching chips after the result is called. Once the ball has landed, the layout is frozen. A player who moves a losing bet to a winning number is attempting to alter a settled wager, and venues treat that as a serious matter. The same applies to adding chips to a winning bet after the fact.
The third mistake is misreading the table minimum. The minimum applies to the total of a player's outside bets, inside bets, or a combination depending on the house rules printed on the table. A player who places several inside bets that each meet the minimum individually may be wagering far more per spin than intended.
The fourth mistake is assuming the zeros are covered by an outside bet. Red or black, odd or even, and high or low all lose when the ball lands in a zero pocket on a standard American table. A player who wants coverage on the zeros must bet them separately.
FAQ
Does the American roulette wheel have 37 or 38 numbers?
The American wheel has 38 pockets in total. That is the numbers 1 through 36, plus a single zero and a double zero. A wheel with only a single zero is the European layout and has 37 pockets.
Why does the American wheel pay the same as the European wheel if it has an extra pocket?
The payout table is built on the 36 ordinary numbers, as if the zeros did not exist. Adding a second zero pocket gives the operator two extra winning pockets on every spin without changing any payout, which is why the house edge is higher on the American layout.
Can I bet on the zero and double zero at the same time?
Yes. The zero and double zero sit next to each other on the layout, and a split bet placed on the line between them covers both pockets at 17 to 1. You can also bet each zero individually as a straight-up wager at 35 to 1.
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This article is general information about how these mechanics work. It is not legal advice and not a recommendation to gamble or to use any particular operator. Availability and legality differ by jurisdiction — check the rules that apply where you are.