Roulette Odds

It is apparently that roulette is believed to be one of the most popular gambling games in Europe and all over the world. Sure thing, it is mainly due to its clear rules and charming atmosphere, which attracts a great deal of gamblers. Besides, roulette odds are really high, if to bet correctly.

It should be mentioned that majority of people consider that they know roulette wheel, but, indeed, it is not quite so. Actually, there are 2 basic modifications of the wheel. They are a European wheel and an American wheel. Consequently, there are the following modifications of the game: European roulette and American roulette.

European and American Roulette

As far as European wheel is concerned, it consists of 37 pockets: 36 numbers from 1 to 36 and a zero pocket. On the other hand, American wheel contains 38 pockets: there is one more pocket, which is called double zero.

Besides, the numbers of the European wheel are placed randomly, while the numbers of the American wheel are located in certain groups (1 opposite to 2, 3 to 4, etc.). All these slight differences, as it may seem from the first sight, contribute sufficiently to the house edge.

House Edge

Actually, it is estimated that the house edge of American roulette is one the highest. It is about 5.26 percent. As you can see, it is all due to zero and double zero pockets. As far as the house edge of European roulette is concerned, it is about 2.6 percent. So, we can arrive to a quite logical conclusion that it is more preferable to play European roulette than American.

It should be noted that if you play online roulette, there can be some variations of the game, which allow winning back bets after zero appears. It means that the house edge in such modifications of the game is extremely low. It is 1.35 percent.

On the other hand, if you decide to put the so-called Basket bet while playing American roulette, the house edge is unbelievably high - 7.89 percent. Basket bet is a stake, which is put on 5 numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3 and 00. Probably, it is considered to be the worst bet, which can be made.