Roulette
Roulette is the simplest table game on the casino floor and one of the highest house edges in the table-games category. The math is fixed: the wheel has either 37 (European, single 0) or 38 (American, 0 + 00) pockets. The 0 (and 00 in American) is where the house edge comes from. There is no strategy that beats the math; the only meaningful decision is which roulette variant to play.
How to play roulette
- 1Choose a roulette variant: European (single 0, 37 pockets) or American (0 + 00, 38 pockets). French roulette is European with the "La Partage" rule that halves house edge on even-money bets.
- 2Place bets on the layout: a single number (35:1), red/black (1:1), odd/even (1:1), 1-18/19-36 (1:1), columns/dozens (2:1), and various combinations.
- 3Dealer spins the wheel. Ball lands in a pocket; payouts are settled.
- 4Most-popular bets: red/black, odd/even (each pays 1:1 with ~48% win rate on European, ~47% on American).
What the numbers actually say
| House edge — European (single 0) Best version commonly available | 2.70% |
| House edge — French (with La Partage) Even-money bets refunded on 0; rare in crypto casinos | 1.35% |
| House edge — American (0 + 00) Almost twice as bad as European. Avoid. | 5.26% |
| Probability — red on European | 48.65% |
| Probability — single number on European | 2.70% |
| Probability — red on American | 47.37% |
The rules that actually matter
Always play European or French. Never American.
Why · American adds the 00 pocket which doubles the house edge from 2.70% to 5.26% with zero player benefit.
Even-money bets aren't safer EV
Why · Red/black pays 1:1 but loses 48.65% of the time on European (vs winning 48.65%). The 0 is what makes it −EV. There is no probability gap to exploit.
Martingale and other progression systems do not work
Why · Doubling after losses sounds reasonable until you hit the table limit. The house edge applies to every spin regardless of bet sizing pattern.
Lightning Roulette / Quantum Roulette can be +EV vs base game
Why · Live game-show variants add RNG multipliers up to 500× on straight-up numbers. Net house edge is similar (~2.7%) but multiplier hits transform single-number EV.
Common mistakes that cost real money
Our take, scored
Gamsites editorial rating · weighted aggregate combines all four dimensions · see manifesto for the rubric
Casinos with roulette
How we sourced this
House-edge figures are standard roulette math. Lightning Roulette / Quantum Roulette base RTP from Evolution / Pragmatic Live documentation.
Roulette questions, answered
What is the house edge in roulette?+
With optimal strategy, Roulette carries a house edge of ~1.35% (French) / 2.70% (European). Typical (non-optimal) play runs at ~5.26% (American) / 2.70% (European). The gap between the two is the recoverable EV — see the strategy section.
Can you beat roulette with strategy?+
Always play European or French. Never American. American adds the 00 pocket which doubles the house edge from 2.70% to 5.26% with zero player benefit.
What is the most common mistake in roulette?+
Playing American roulette Cost: Doubles your expected loss vs European. No exception.
Where can I play roulette?+
Roulette is carried by 11 of the casinos we cover. See the "where to play" section on this page for the full list with tracked sign-up links.