What is American roulette?
American roulette uses a wheel with 38 pockets — numbers 1 through 36 plus both 0 and 00. The extra double-zero pocket raises the house edge to 5.26%, making it significantly worse for players than European roulette.
The impact of the double zero
On any outside bet (red/black, odd/even, etc.), both 0 and 00 are losing outcomes. With two green pockets instead of one, the casino wins those bets nearly twice as often from zero-related losses. For straight-up number bets, the payout is still 35:1 but you’re now betting on 1 number out of 38, making the house edge 5.26%. In European roulette the same bet is 1 in 37, cutting the edge to 2.7%.
The five-number bet
American roulette has a unique bet called the basket or five-number bet, covering 0, 00, 1, 2, and 3. It pays 6:1 and carries a house edge of 7.89% — the worst bet on the table. This bet doesn’t exist in European roulette. Avoid it even on an American wheel. There’s no situation where the five-number bet is the correct choice.