You're looking at 37 or 38 pockets, not just a number range
Walk up to a roulette table and the wheel tells you most of what you need to know before you place a chip. The numbered pockets run from 0 to 36, which gives you 37 slots on a European wheel. An American wheel adds a second green pocket marked 00, bringing the total to 38. The highest number on either wheel is 36, but the wheel's real character comes from those zero pockets, because they sit outside the red-black and odd-even splits and quietly reshape every bet you can make.
The numbers are not arranged in counting order around the wheel. They are scattered in a fixed sequence designed so that high and low, red and black, and odd and even alternate as much as the layout allows. The betting table, by contrast, shows the numbers in neat rows from 1 to 36 in three columns, with the zero pockets set apart at one end. The wheel is the physical sequence; the table is the betting map. You read one to see where the ball lands, and the other to decide what to wager on.
That distinction matters more than most new players expect. A number's position on the wheel does not change its probability, but the presence or absence of the double zero changes the house edge on nearly everything. Before you buy in, check which wheel you are standing at.
How a round moves from buy-in to settlement
You exchange cash for coloured chips at the table. Roulette chips are typically unique to that table, which is why you cash them back before you leave rather than carrying them to another game. The dealer announces when betting opens. You place chips on the layout, and you can keep placing them until the dealer calls an end to betting, usually with a hand motion and a spoken phrase as the ball slows.
The dealer then spins the wheel in one direction and sends the ball travelling the other way around the outer track. When the ball drops into a pocket, the dealer marks the winning number on the layout with a marker, clears losing bets, and pays winners. Settlement is where the bet types diverge sharply, because a straight-up number pays at one rate while an outside bet covering eighteen numbers pays at another. The payout is always described as the win on top of your returned stake, so a winning straight-up bet at 35 to 1 returns your chip plus 35 more.
One procedural point catches new players more than any other: reaching for chips after the dealer has called no more bets. Even if the ball is still moving, touching the layout once betting has closed is treated as a serious breach. Wait for the marker to come off the previous number and for the dealer to signal that betting is open again.
What the zero pockets do to every bet
The zero and double zero are neither red nor black, neither odd nor even, and they do not sit in any of the three columns. That means every outside bet that relies on those categories loses when a zero lands, and that is precisely where the house edge on the American layout grows. The extra pocket does not change how much a winning bet pays; it changes how often the bet wins.
Here is how the two common wheel types compare at a structural level.
| Feature | European wheel | American wheel |
|---|---|---|
| Numbered pockets | 37 (0 to 36) | 38 (0, 00, and 1 to 36) |
| Zero pockets | 1 (single zero) | 2 (single and double zero) |
| Highest number | 36 | 36 |
| Effect on outside bets | Zero loses on red-black, odd-even, high-low | Both zeros lose on red-black, odd-even, high-low |
| House edge on the same bet | Lower | Higher, because of the extra pocket |
The exact edge on any given bet is printed in the game's information panel or the operator's rules page, and it differs by bet type. The structural point you can rely on is that the American layout's second zero increases the house edge on the same wager compared with the European wheel. That is not a small print detail; it is the single most important thing to check before you sit down.
The bet types and where their edges diverge
Roulette bets split into inside bets, which sit on the numbered grid or its boundary lines, and outside bets, which occupy the boxes around the grid. Inside bets cover fewer numbers and pay more; outside bets cover more numbers and pay less. The trade-off is not a secret system but a straightforward exchange of payout size against win frequency.
The table below lays out the main bet types, what they cover, and the structural shape of their payouts. The payout ratios are fixed multiples of your stake and are printed on the table layout, so you can read them at the table rather than memorising them in advance.
| Bet type | What it covers | Payout shape | Where the edge sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight-up | One number | Highest payout, lowest win frequency | High variance; long losing runs are normal |
| Split | Two adjacent numbers | Half the straight-up payout | Moderate variance |
| Street | Three numbers in a row | Lower again | Moderate variance |
| Corner | Four numbers meeting at a corner | Lower than a street | Moderate variance |
| Six line | Six numbers across two rows | Lower than a corner | Lower variance |
| Red or black | Eighteen numbers of one colour | Even-money payout | Zeroes lose; edge sits in the green pockets |
| Odd or even | Eighteen numbers | Even-money payout | Zeroes lose |
| High or low | 1-18 or 19-36 | Even-money payout | Zeroes lose |
| Dozens and columns | Twelve numbers | 2 to 1 payout | Zeroes lose |
Different bets on the same table carry materially different house edges, and on the American wheel some five-number bets have a worse edge than the rest of the layout. The general rule is that the zero pockets are the house's built-in advantage, and the more a bet depends on categories that exclude the zero, the more that advantage shows up over time.
What a strategy chart can and cannot do
Roulette does not have a basic-strategy chart in the sense that blackjack does, because there is no decision after the bet that changes the outcome. You choose a bet, the wheel spins, and the result is independent of the previous spin. A number that has not appeared for fifty spins is not due; the wheel has no memory, and each spin starts from the same set of probabilities.
What you can control is bet selection and session structure. Choosing a bet with a lower house edge changes the expected rate of loss, not the direction of it. Choosing a high-variance bet changes the shape of the session: longer losing runs, punctuated by larger wins, against a lower-variance bet that returns smaller amounts more often. Neither choice changes the long-run average, but they feel very different to sit through, and knowing which one you are playing is part of playing correctly.
If you do look up a published strategy chart for any table game, the chart derives from the exact rule set in use. In roulette that means the wheel type, the presence or absence of the double zero, and any table-specific rules such as a la partage or en prison option, which some European tables apply to even-money bets when zero lands. A chart built for one rule set does not transfer cleanly to another.
Three procedural mistakes that mark a new player
The first is buying in mid-round. Wait until the marker is off the layout and the dealer has finished paying the previous spin. Placing cash on the table while the ball is in motion forces the dealer to stop and clarify your intention, and on a busy table it slows everyone down.
The second is stacking chips in a way that leaves your bet ambiguous. A chip that straddles two numbers is a split; a chip that sits on a line between a number and an outside box may be read as either. Place chips fully inside the area you mean, and if you want a split, put the chip on the line itself and tell the dealer what you intend.
The third is leaving the table with coloured roulette chips. They have no value at the cashier cage. Before you stand up, ask the dealer to colour you up into value chips, which you can then take to the cage or to another table. It is a small step, but it is the one most likely to catch someone playing roulette for the first time.
FAQ
Does a roulette wheel go up to 36 or 37?
The numbered sequence runs from 0 to 36, so the highest number is 36 and there are 37 numbered pockets on a European wheel. The American wheel has the same 0 to 36 range plus a 00 pocket, making 38 pockets in total.
Why does the American wheel have a double zero?
The double zero is a second green pocket that sits outside the red-black, odd-even and high-low splits. Its structural effect is to increase the house edge on most bets compared with a single-zero wheel, because outside bets lose on both zero pockets instead of one.
Are all numbers on a roulette wheel in order?
No. The wheel sequence is fixed but not numerical. The betting table shows 1 to 36 in rows and columns, while the wheel scatters the same numbers around the rim in a sequence designed to alternate colours and values. The number's position on the wheel does not change its probability.
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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.