Roulette is one of the most popular casino games in the world. All land-based gambling houses with table games feature at least one roulette table (but usually more). When the game reached US soil in the 1800s, the Americans decided to change it a bit and make it different from the European version.
Truth be told, American roulette is not that different from its, more globally popular, predecessor — European roulette. Let’s take a look at American roulette rules and where to find it on the web.
How to Play American Roulette in Five Steps
If you don’t have experience playing roulette, please take a look at the five-step guide below. This process can also be applied to European and French roulette.
- Select a casino that offers American roulette — All popular online casinos offer roulette, so make sure to select the one that you like the most. Please pay attention to its security, legality, bonuses, customer support, and other vital aspects that could affect your overall experience.
- Open an account and make a deposit — After you choose a casino, register and use one of the accepted payment methods to make a real-money deposit. Many casinos also allow free play (also called practice play), meaning you can skip this step if you don’t want to play with real money.
- Select American roulette — Roulette is often found in the table games section in online casinos. Alternatively, you can select one of the live roulette options if available.
- Choose your bet — American roulette offers the same betting options as its European counterpart, except there’s one more number you can bet on — 00.
- Wait for the ball to land in one of the pockets — After the ball is tossed into the wheel, it will randomly land in a numbered pocket. If you made the right bet, you’ll receive your payout.
Available Bets in American Roulette
Just like in European roulette, there are two main categories of bets:
- Inside bets
- Outside bets
The inside bets are the following:
- Single number bets
- Two or more number combination bets
- Split bet
- Street bet
- Corner bet
- Six-line bet
- Trio bet
- Basket bet
The outside bets are:
- 1 – 18 or 19 – 36 (low/high or manque/passe)
- Red or black
- Even or odd
- Dozen bet
- Column bet
- Snake bet
If you have experience playing roulette, you probably know most of these bets. However, if you’re a first-time player, make sure to learn more about these bets and their respective advantages, disadvantages, and odds.
American Roulette in Online Casinos
It’s difficult to say whether American roulette is more popular than its European and French counterparts. One thing is certain, though — online casinos often offer all three versions, so choosing a gambling site that offers American roulette is easy.
But picking the best site for you requires a bit of research. Before selecting an online casino, make sure to check the following things:
- Available roulette games — How many roulette games are there? Is American roulette offered? Are the games provided by reputable casino content developers? Can you play live roulette?
- Bonuses and promotions — Are there any welcome bonuses and promos for regular players? Can you use the bonus money to play all roulette games? Can you play live roulette with it?
- Available payment methods — Can you use a payment method you like to make a deposit or withdrawal? What are the minimum and maximum limits?
- Customer support — Is the customer support team always there to help you?
How Is American Roulette Different?
The only thing that makes American roulette different from the European and French ones is that it features two zero packets — 0 and 00.
Therefore, the number of pockets on the wheel is 38 instead of 37, as seen in other versions.
Still, this does not affect the payout of 35 to 1 on straight bets, which means that playing American roulette comes with a higher house edge of 5.26% compared to 2.7% in European roulette.
American vs European/French Roulette Payout
First, let us say that European and French roulette have identical payout structures, except that French comes with la partage and en prison rules. We’ll compare the payouts in American roulette to those in the European version in the following table.
| Type of bet | European roulette odds of winning | American roulette odds of winning |
| Red or Black | 48.65% | 47.37% |
| Odd or Even | 48.65% | 47.37% |
| Low or High | 48.65% | 47.37% |
| Dozens | 32.43% | 31.58% |
| Columns | 32.43% | 31.58% |
| Six-Line | 16.22% | 16.22% |
| Five-Line (Top Line) | – | 13.16% |
| Square | 10.81% | 10.53% |
| Street | 8.11% | 7.89% |
| Split | 5.41% | 5.26% |
| Straight | 2.70% | 2.63% |
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this article helped you understand how American roulette works and choose the best casino for playing the popular game.
Overall, American roulette is easy to learn and master. However, you should bear in mind that it’s a game of chance, meaning you’ll always have to consider the element of luck as a natural part of roulette.
FAQ
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Is American roulette available in non-American online casinos?
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How is American roulette different from European roulette?
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Does American roulette have a lower house edge compared to French roulette?
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Where can I play American online roulette?