European Roulette: The Single-Zero Wheel
The European wheel drops the American wheel's extra 00 pocket, cutting the house edge from 5.26% to 2.70% on every bet. The simulator below is preloaded in European mode so you can see it play out.
Bankroll
$1000
Spins
0
Realized edge
—
Theoretical edge
2.70%
Why one fewer pocket matters so much
A single-zero wheel has 37 pockets instead of 38 — a difference of one pocket in fifty. That sounds small, but it nearly doubles the house edge on the American wheel: 2.70% becomes 5.26%. Over 10,000 spins at $10 a bet, that difference alone is worth hundreds of dollars in expected loss.
Switch the wheel selector above between American and European and run a 10,000-spin batch on each — the realized edge will converge toward these two different numbers even though every other rule of the game is identical.
Frequently asked questions
What makes European roulette different from American roulette?
The European wheel has 37 pockets (1-36 plus a single 0) instead of the American wheel's 38 (1-36 plus 0 and 00). One fewer green pocket means better odds on every bet.
How much better is the European wheel?
The house edge on every bet drops from 5.26% on the American wheel to 2.70% on the European wheel — almost half. Over thousands of spins that difference compounds significantly.
Is "French roulette" the same as European roulette?
French roulette uses the same single-zero wheel as European roulette, plus an additional rule (La Partage or En Prison) that returns half your even-money bet if the ball lands on 0 — lowering the house edge further, to about 1.35% on those bets.