The Wheel You're Looking At Has One Extra Pocket
You sit down at a roulette table and notice something you have not seen before: alongside the green 0 and 00, there is a third green pocket marked 000. That single extra compartment is not a cosmetic change. It quietly shifts the arithmetic of every bet on the layout, and it is the first thing to check before you put a chip down.
Roulette wheels are defined by how many numbered pockets they carry and how many of those pockets are green zeros. A European wheel has 37 pockets: the numbers 1 through 36 plus a single 0. An American wheel has 38 pockets: the same 36 numbers plus a 0 and a 00. A triple zero wheel adds a 000, bringing the total to 39 pockets. The numbered sequence on the wheel is rearranged to fit the extra compartment, but the betting layout keeps the same familiar grid of inside and outside bets.
What changes is not how you play. The sequence of a round, the placement of chips, and the dealer's procedure are the same as on any other roulette table. What changes is the rate at which the house edge works against each wager, because the green pockets are where most losing bets go to die.
How the Zero Pockets Shape Every Bet
Roulette bets pay as if the zeros did not exist. A straight-up bet on a single number pays 35 to 1, but on a triple zero wheel there are 39 possible resting places for the ball, not 36. The payout has not grown to match the extra pocket. The same principle applies to red or black, odd or even, and high or low: those even-money bets lose on all three green pockets, not just one or two.
That is the entire mechanism behind the difference in house edge. The house edge is the mathematical advantage the operator holds on a given game, expressed as a percentage of each wager. It is the complement of the return to player, or RTP: for the same bet under the same rule set, the two figures sum to 100%. When a wheel adds a pocket without adding a corresponding payout, the house edge rises and the RTP falls by the same amount.
The comparison across wheel types is straightforward to state in structural terms, even though the exact percentages depend on the bet you choose.
| Wheel type | Pockets | Zero pockets | What the extra zero does |
|---|---|---|---|
| European | 37 | 1 | Baseline layout; even-money bets lose only on the single zero |
| American | 38 | 2 | Adds a 00; even-money bets lose on two green pockets |
| Triple zero | 39 | 3 | Adds a 000; even-money bets lose on three green pockets, raising the house edge further |
For any given bet, the house edge on the triple zero layout is higher than on the American layout, which is in turn higher than on the European layout. The precise percentage depends on the bet. A straight-up number, a split, a street, and an even-money wager all carry different edges on the same wheel, and the same bet carries a different edge on each wheel type. The only way to know the exact figure for the table in front of you is to read the table's posted rules or the game information panel, which states the payout schedule and the wheel configuration.
Sitting Down: Buy-In, Chips, and the Round Sequence
The procedure at a triple zero table is identical to any other roulette table, so the habits you build here transfer anywhere. You buy in by placing cash on the table, never into the dealer's hand. The dealer exchanges it for roulette chips, which are colour-coded to you and have no value away from that table. When you are done, you exchange them back at the table; you cannot cash roulette chips at the main cage.
A round moves through a fixed sequence. The dealer clears the previous round's losing bets and pays the winners. The dealer then opens betting, and players place chips on the layout. Shortly before the ball drops, the dealer announces that no more bets will be accepted, often with a hand motion over the layout. The ball is spun in the opposite direction to the wheel, and when it settles in a pocket, the dealer marks the winning number on the layout and settles all bets.
Inside bets sit on the numbered grid: a straight-up on one number, a split across two, a street across three, a corner across four, and so on. Outside bets sit around the perimeter: red or black, odd or even, high or low, dozens, and columns. The distinction matters because inside and outside bets pay at different rates and lose on the zero pockets in different ways. On a triple zero wheel, the three green pockets sit together as a group on the layout, and some tables offer a bet that covers all three zeros at once. That bet exists only where the layout prints it, and its payout is whatever the table states.
What You Control and What You Do Not
No betting pattern changes the built-in edge of a negative-expectation game. A progression that doubles your stake after a loss does not remove the house edge; it redistributes outcomes, producing many small wins and occasional large losses. The same is true on a triple zero wheel as on any other. What you genuinely control is narrower and more useful: which bets you place, how much you stake per spin, how long you stay at the table, and the stopping rule you set before you sit down.
Bet selection is the largest lever you have, because different bets on the same table carry materially different house edges. On a triple zero layout, the gap between the best and worst bets on the felt is wider than on a single zero wheel. The tie bet in baccarat is famously the worst on its table; in roulette, the equivalent trap is any bet whose payout has not been adjusted for the extra zero. The posted payout schedule tells you exactly what each bet returns, and the wheel configuration tells you how many pockets that payout must cover.
Session length matters because roulette is a high-decision-rate game. The house edge expresses itself over a very large number of spins. The longer you play, the more spins you accumulate, and the more the short-run variance gives way to the long-run average. Variance is the distribution of payouts over time: a straight-up number pays rarely but pays large, while an even-money bet pays often but pays small. Neither changes the edge; both change how a session feels.
Procedural Mistakes That Cost More Than the Edge
The first mistake new players make at a triple zero table is assuming the payouts are the same as on a European wheel because the bet names are the same. The names are the same. The payouts may be the same. The number of losing pockets is not. Before the first spin, read the table's posted minimum and maximum, the payout schedule, and the wheel configuration. If the table does not state its wheel type, ask the dealer.
The second mistake is touching chips after the dealer has called no more bets. Roulette is a game of hand movements as much as chips, and a late adjustment can void a bet or, at a busy table, draw a warning. Place your chips fully inside the marked area for the bet you intend, and keep your hands off the layout once the ball is in motion.
The third mistake is treating roulette chips as cash. They are not. They have no denomination printed on them, they are unique to your seat at that table, and they must be exchanged before you leave. A player who walks to the cage with a stack of colour chips will be sent back to the table.
Where the Exact Numbers Live
This article deliberately avoids printing a single house edge percentage for the triple zero wheel, because the figure depends on the bet and the payout schedule the operator has chosen. The structural fact is stable: adding a 000 pocket without adding a corresponding payout raises the house edge on every bet compared with a double zero wheel, and the double zero wheel already carries a higher edge than the single zero layout. The exact percentage for the table in front of you is printed on the table's rules plaque, shown in the game information panel if you are playing online, or available from the dealer.
If you are playing an online version, the game information panel also states the RTP for the specific bet configuration. Remember that RTP is a long-run statistical average over a very large number of spins, not a per-session guarantee. A session of fifty spins can end far above or far below the RTP, because variance dominates the short run.
FAQ
Is 000 roulette the same as American roulette?
No. American roulette has a 0 and a 00, for 38 pockets. A triple zero wheel adds a 000, for 39 pockets. The extra pocket raises the house edge on every bet relative to the American layout, because payouts do not grow to match the additional losing compartment.
Does the 000 pocket change how the game is played?
The sequence of a round is unchanged: buy in, place bets, the dealer closes betting, the ball lands, and bets are settled. What changes is the arithmetic. Even-money outside bets lose on all three green pockets instead of one or two, and every payout must be read against a 39-pocket wheel rather than a 37- or 38-pocket one.
Can I bet on the 000 by itself?
If the layout prints a space for the 000, you can place a straight-up bet on it, and it pays at whatever rate the table states. Some triple zero layouts also group the 0, 00, and 000 into a single three-number bet. The availability and payout of that bet are set by the operator and printed on the table, so check the felt before you assume it exists.
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