European Roulette
European roulette is the single-zero wheel: 37 pockets, numbered 1 to 36 plus one green zero. It is the default online, it is what most studios ship when they simply call a game "Roulette", and at 2.70% it is the cheapest wheel you will find without hunting for la partage.
The zero is the whole of the house's advantage. Bet on red and you win on 18 pockets out of 37, not 18 out of 36 — the payout is priced as though the green pocket were not there, and the gap between those two fractions is the 2.70%.
One Pocket, Twice the Cost
An American wheel is this wheel with a second green pocket added and every payout left exactly as it was. A straight up still pays 35 to 1; it simply wins 2.63% of the time instead of 2.70%. That single mismatch takes the cost from 2.70% to 5.26% — not quite double, and close enough that it is the only comparison worth making before you sit down.
If a casino offers both, there is no argument to be had. The games are identical to play and one of them keeps nearly twice as much of your money.
Every Bet Here Costs the Same
A straight up on a single number and a flat bet on red are priced identically: both cost 2.70% of what you stake. The single number wins about one spin in 37 and pays 35 to 1; red wins just under half the time and pays 1 to 1, and the arithmetic lands in the same place.
What differs is variance, not value. Inside bets take a bankroll on a longer and wilder ride to the same destination. The full table of bets, odds and payouts works every one of them out.
European Roulette Games
European Roulette: Pros and Cons
Select an option to sort the items by category or impact.
Advantages
Single zero
Thirty-seven pockets and a straight up paying 35 to 1 puts the whole table at 2.70%, against 5.26% on the American wheel.
The default online
Most studios build the single-zero wheel first, so it is the version you will actually find on a demo list rather than one you have to hunt for.
Every bet priced alike
A straight up and a bet on red cost the same per unit staked, so you can pick a bet by how you want the session to feel rather than by what it costs.
Disadvantages
The zero still takes everything
Without la partage, an even-money bet loses its whole stake when the ball lands on zero. A French table returns half of it.
No half-back rule
At 2.70% on even-money bets it is beaten by any French table running la partage, which charges 1.35% for the same chips on the same square.
Impact Analysis
European Roulette FAQs
Yes, and by a clear margin: 2.70% against 5.26%, for a game that plays identically. The European wheel has 37 pockets and the American has 38, while both pay a straight up at 35 to 1. Whenever both are on offer there is no reason to take the American one.
2.70% on every bet on the layout. It comes straight from the wheel: a straight up wins one spin in 37 and pays 35 to 1, so over 37 spins you stake 37 and get back 36. A French table applies la partage on top, which halves the figure to 1.35% on even-money bets only.
The wheel is the same — 37 pockets, one zero. What makes a table French is la partage or en prison, which return half an even-money stake when the ball lands on zero. Without one of those rules printed on the table, a single-zero game is European.