The Payout Is the Same as Any Single Number
A straight bet on double zero pays 35 to 1, exactly like a straight bet on any other single number on the layout. If you place one unit on 00 and the ball lands there, you receive your original unit back plus 35 units in winnings. The payout does not change because the pocket carries two digits or because it sits at the end of the layout. Every single-number bet on an American wheel pays the same.
What changes is not the payout but how often the event happens. An American wheel has 38 pockets: the numbers 0 through 36 plus the double zero. A European wheel has 37 pockets because it carries only a single zero. The extra pocket does not alter the 35-to-1 payout, but it does alter the relationship between that payout and the true odds of the bet.
Payout vs. True Odds
On an American wheel, a straight bet on any number wins on 1 pocket and loses on 37. The true odds against winning are 37 to 1. The house pays 35 to 1. The gap between those two numbers is where the operator's mathematical advantage lives on that bet.
On a European wheel the true odds against a straight bet are 36 to 1, while the payout remains 35 to 1. The gap is smaller because the wheel has one fewer losing pocket. That is the entire difference the double zero makes: not a different payout, but one more way to lose on every spin, for every bet on the table.
| Wheel | Pockets | Straight bet pays | True odds against a straight bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| European | 37 | 35 to 1 | 36 to 1 |
| American | 38 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 |
How the Double Zero Changes Every Bet
The extra pocket is not only relevant when you bet on 00 itself. It sits on the wheel for every spin, which means every bet on the layout loses on two zero pockets instead of one. An even-money bet such as red or black pays 1 to 1 on both wheels, but on the American layout it loses on 0 and 00. On the European layout it loses only on 0.
That is why the American layout carries a higher house edge across the board, not just on zero bets. The same payout schedule applied to a wheel with one more losing pocket produces a worse expected rate of loss for the player on every wager. The double zero does not make any individual payout smaller; it makes every outcome slightly less likely relative to what the payout promises.
Where the Double Zero Sits in the Betting Sequence
A round of American roulette follows the same sequence as any other roulette table. You buy chips at the table, place bets before the dealer closes the betting, watch the ball drop, and receive payouts on winning positions before the next spin. The double zero is simply one more betting spot on the felt, usually positioned at the opposite end of the layout from the single zero.
The presence of 00 also opens a bet that does not exist on a single-zero wheel: the five-number bet covering 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. It pays 6 to 1, and the true odds against it are worse than any other bet on the layout because it covers five pockets on a 38-pocket wheel while paying as if the odds were shorter. New players sometimes reach for it because it looks like broad coverage, but the arithmetic is the least favourable on the table.
What the Payout Schedule Looks Like
Roulette payouts are fixed by bet type, not by which specific numbers you choose. A straight bet pays 35 to 1 whether it sits on 7, 00, or any other single pocket. A split covering two adjacent numbers pays 17 to 1. A street covering three numbers pays 11 to 1. A corner covering four pays 8 to 1. The six-line pays 5 to 1, and the outside even-money bets pay 1 to 1.
| Bet type | Numbers covered | Payout | True odds against on an American wheel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight | 1 | 35 to 1 | 37 to 1 |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 18 to 1 |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 11.67 to 1 |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 8.5 to 1 |
| Five-number | 5 | 6 to 1 | 6.6 to 1 |
| Six-line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 5.33 to 1 |
The payout schedule is printed on the table layout or available in the game information panel at an online table. It is worth reading before you place a bet, because the numbers above describe the structure of the game rather than any particular venue's variation. Some tables add rule variants such as surrender or en prison on even-money bets, and those change the effective edge on those specific bets without changing the straight-up payout.
The Decision Points a New Player Faces
The first decision is wheel selection. If a venue offers both a single-zero and a double-zero table, the single-zero layout gives the house a smaller edge on every bet. That is a structural difference, not a strategy. The second decision is bet selection: inside bets pay more because they win less often, and outside bets pay less because they win more often. Neither changes the built-in edge; they change the shape of the session.
The third decision is how much to wager and when to stop. Roulette has no decision that alters the odds once the ball is moving. The only genuine controls are which table you sit at, which bets you place, how much you stake, and how long you stay. A player who understands the payout schedule and the true odds can read any bet on the layout and see the gap between what it pays and how often it wins.
Common Misreadings at the Table
One common mistake is assuming the double zero pays more because it is a special pocket. It does not. Another is assuming that covering more numbers improves the expected return. It changes the frequency of wins but not the edge, and the five-number bet shows that broader coverage can carry a worse edge than a single straight bet. A third mistake is moving between bet types in response to recent spins. The wheel has no memory, and no pattern of red, black, odd, even or zero results changes the probability of the next spin.
When you sit down, confirm the table minimum and maximum before buying in, and check whether the table is single-zero or double-zero. Those two facts matter more to the long-run arithmetic than any choice you make after the ball is spinning.
FAQ
Does betting on 0 and 00 together pay differently than a straight bet?
Placing chips on both zero pockets is two separate straight bets, each paying 35 to 1 if it wins. Some layouts also allow a split between 0 and 00, which pays 17 to 1 and covers both pockets as a single two-number bet.
Why does the double zero make the house edge higher if payouts are the same?
The payout schedule is fixed, but the wheel has one extra pocket that loses for every bet. Because each bet now wins on a smaller share of the wheel while paying the same amount, the operator's mathematical advantage on every wager increases.
Is the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 a good way to cover the zeros?
It covers five pockets but pays 6 to 1, which is a worse relationship between payout and true odds than a straight bet. Covering more numbers raises the frequency of wins but does not improve the expected rate of loss, and on that specific bet the arithmetic is the least favourable on the layout.
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