The Wheel That Changes the Arithmetic
You sit down at a roulette table and the first thing you notice is a green pocket marked 000 next to the usual 0 and 00. That single extra pocket changes the arithmetic of every wager on the layout, and it is the reason this variant exists. The game still looks and feels like roulette, but the odds are not the ones you may have memorised from a single-zero or double-zero wheel.
A standard European wheel carries 37 pockets, numbered 0 through 36, with one green zero. An American wheel carries 38 pockets, adding a double zero. A triple zero wheel carries 39 pockets: the numbers 0 through 36, plus 0, 00 and 000. The three green pockets sit together on the wheel, and the table layout gives them their own betting space alongside the other zeros.
The object of the game is unchanged. You place a wager on where a small ball will land after the wheel is spun in one direction and the ball is launched in the other. You can bet on a single number, a group of numbers, a colour, odd or even, or a range. If the ball settles in a pocket your bet covers, you are paid according to the posted odds for that bet. If it settles anywhere else, the wager is collected.
What the Third Zero Does to the House Edge
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 Return to Player: for the same bet under the same rule set, house edge and RTP sum to 100%. The extra pocket on a triple zero wheel is not a neutral addition. It creates one more losing outcome for every bet on the layout while the payouts stay the same as they are on wheels with fewer zeros.
On a single-zero wheel, a straight-up bet on one number pays 35 to 1, and the wheel has 37 pockets. On a triple zero wheel, that same bet still pays 35 to 1, but the wheel now has 39 pockets. The payout has not changed; the number of ways to lose has. The same logic applies to every bet on the felt. A red or black bet pays even money on all three wheel types, but on a triple zero wheel the three green pockets all sit outside the red and black wagers, so the even-money bets lose more often than they do on a wheel with fewer zeros.
The exact house edge on any given bet is a calculation you can do from the wheel's structure. A straight-up bet on a 39-pocket wheel wins on 1 pocket and loses on 38, while paying 35 to 1. The edge is the difference between the true odds and the posted odds, spread across all outcomes. You do not need to memorise the figure; you need to understand that every extra zero pocket widens that difference in the operator's favour, and that a triple zero wheel widens it more than either of the other two common layouts.
| Wheel type | Pockets | Green pockets | Straight-up payout | Effect on even-money bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European | 37 | 1 | 35 to 1 | One green pocket sits outside red/black and odd/even |
| American | 38 | 2 | 35 to 1 | Two green pockets sit outside red/black and odd/even |
| Triple zero | 39 | 3 | 35 to 1 | Three green pockets sit outside red/black and odd/even |
Inside Bets: Higher Payout, Lower Probability
Inside bets are the wagers placed on the numbered section of the layout. They pay more because they cover fewer numbers. The straight-up bet covers one number. A split bet covers two adjacent numbers on the felt and pays 17 to 1. A street covers three numbers in a row and pays 11 to 1. A corner covers four numbers that meet at a point and pays 8 to 1. A six-line covers two adjacent rows of three and pays 5 to 1. On a triple zero layout, some operators also offer a basket bet that covers the three zeros together, or a combination that includes 0, 00, 000 and the number 2.
Each of these bets has a different probability of winning because each covers a different number of pockets. The payouts are fixed by the table rules, not by the wheel type, so the presence of a third zero lowers the expected return on every inside bet relative to the same bet on a wheel with fewer zeros. The bet that covers the most numbers inside the layout still leaves the majority of pockets uncovered, and every uncovered pocket is a losing outcome.
Outside Bets: More Coverage, Even-Money Risk
Outside bets sit around the perimeter of the layout and cover large groups of numbers. Red or black covers 18 pockets of one colour. Odd or even covers 18 numbers of one parity. Low or high covers 1 through 18 or 19 through 36. Dozens cover 12 consecutive numbers. Columns cover 12 numbers arranged vertically on the layout. The even-money bets pay 1 to 1; dozens and columns pay 2 to 1.
On a single-zero wheel, an even-money bet wins on 18 pockets and loses on 19. On a triple zero wheel, the same bet wins on 18 pockets and loses on 21. The payout has not changed, but the proportion of losing pockets has grown. The same applies to dozens and columns: they win on 12 pockets and lose on 27 on a triple zero wheel, against 25 losing pockets on a single-zero wheel. No outside bet covers any of the green pockets, so each additional zero is simply another way for every outside wager to lose.
Some triple zero tables post a rule that returns half of an even-money wager when the ball lands in one of the zero pockets. This is a table-specific rule, not a standard feature, and it changes the arithmetic only for the bets it names. If a table offers such a rule, it will be printed on the layout or the table's rule card. Read it before you bet, because the same rule does not necessarily apply to every outside wager or every table in the same venue.
How a Round Runs From Buy-In to Settlement
A round of triple zero roulette follows the same sequence as any other roulette variant. You buy in at the table by placing cash on the felt; the dealer exchanges it for roulette chips, which are typically colour-coded to your seat so the dealer can tell wagers apart. You place chips on the layout before the dealer closes betting. The dealer spins the wheel, launches the ball, and announces when no more bets may be placed. When the ball settles, the dealer marks the winning number on the layout, collects losing wagers, and pays winning ones.
The decision points happen before the spin. You choose which bets to place, how many chips to commit to each, and whether to combine inside and outside wagers on the same spin. You cannot change a wager after the dealer has closed betting, and you cannot remove a losing wager after the ball has landed. The round ends when all winning bets have been paid and the dealer clears the layout for the next spin.
One procedural point catches new players more than any other: roulette chips are not the same as cash chips. You cannot take colour chips from the table and cash them at the cage. When you finish playing, you must exchange your colour chips for cash chips at the table, and only then take those to the cage. If you walk away with colour chips, they have no value at the cage.
Where the Numbers You Need Are Posted
The payouts for every bet are printed on the table layout or on a card at the table. The minimum and maximum wagers are posted on a sign at the table or on the electronic display. The rule about half-back on even-money bets, if it exists, is printed on the layout. The wheel type is visible on the wheel itself: count the green pockets before you sit down, because the difference between one, two and three zeros is the single most important fact about the table.
If you are playing an electronic or live-dealer version of the game, the same information appears in the game's rules or information panel. Open that panel before your first spin. It will state the wheel type, the payouts, and any table-specific rules. The game's RTP, if published, is a long-run statistical average, not a per-session guarantee, and it applies to the game as configured, not to any individual spin.
What Strategy Charts Do and Do Not Do
Roulette does not have a strategy chart in the sense that blackjack does, because there is no decision that changes the composition of the wheel after the bet is placed. The choices available to you are which bets to place, how much to wager on each, and when to stop. None of those choices changes the number of pockets on the wheel or the payout printed on the layout.
What does change from table to table is the wheel type and any table-specific rules. A published strategy for one rule set does not transfer cleanly to another. A betting system that assumes a single-zero wheel is not the same system when a third zero is added, because every losing outcome arrives slightly more often. The only reliable way to compare two tables is to compare the wheel type and the posted payouts, not to assume that one roulette table is the same as another.
No betting pattern changes the built-in edge of a negative-expectation game. A progression that doubles a wager after a loss redistributes outcomes: it creates many small wins and occasional large losses, rather than removing the edge. The edge lives in the wheel's structure, and on a triple zero wheel that structure includes one more pocket that no player bet covers.
FAQ
Is triple zero roulette the same as American roulette?
No. American roulette has two green pockets, 0 and 00, for 38 total pockets. Triple zero roulette adds a third green pocket, 000, for 39 total pockets. The payouts are the same on both wheels, but the extra pocket changes the probability of every bet.
Can you bet on the three zeros together?
Some triple zero layouts offer a basket bet or a dedicated zeros bet that covers 0, 00 and 000 in a single wager. Whether that bet is available, and what it pays, is set by the table rules and printed on the layout. It is not a standard feature on every triple zero table.
Does the third zero change the payouts?
No. The posted payouts, such as 35 to 1 for a straight-up bet or 1 to 1 for red or black, are the same as on other roulette wheels. What changes is the number of losing pockets on the wheel, which lowers the expected return on every bet relative to a wheel with fewer zeros.
Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly. For help, call the helpline printed in the footer below.
Play responsibly
Gambling should be treated as paid entertainment, never as a way to earn income or recover losses. 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738)
18+ or 21+ depending on where you are; follow the minimum age that applies to you.
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.