American Roulette: How the Double Zero Game Works

What is American roulette?

Picture a standard roulette wheel, then add a second green pocket marked 00. That is the American game. It is sometimes called double zero roulette or US roulette, and it is the version that fills the majority of US tables. The single zero wheel spread through Europe, while the double zero wheel became the house standard in America.

The extra pocket does not change a single payout. A number still pays 35 to 1, a dozen still pays 2 to 1, and red still pays even money. What changes is how often you win. With 38 ways for the ball to land instead of 37, every bet wins a little less often, while the casino pays the same amount when it does.

How to play American roulette, one round at a time

1. Buy in. At a casino table you get wheel chips in a color nobody else at that table has. Each chip is worth whatever you set at the buy in.
2. Place your chips. Set them down on a number, across a line shared by two or more numbers, or inside one of the outside boxes. The 0 and 00 boxes take chips just like 17 or 32.
3. Wait for the ball. Wheel and ball travel in opposite directions, and "no more bets" comes before it drops.
4. Read the result. A small marker, the dolly, gets set down on the number that hit.
5. Get paid. The dealer sweeps away the losing chips, then pays each winner. Chips that won stay where they are unless you pick them up.

That is the full set of American roulette rules for a standard table. There is no strategy step where a choice changes the odds. Your only real decisions are which bet to make, how much, and when to stop. For a slower walk through a first visit, read how to play roulette.

The American roulette board and its 00 box

Thirty six numbered boxes run down the board in three long columns of twelve. At the head of the board, above 1, 2 and 3, sit two green boxes, one for 0 and one for 00. A one zero board uses that same spot for a single wide 0 box.

Around the numbers are the outside boxes: three dozens, three columns, and the six even money boxes (1 to 18, even, red, black, odd, 19 to 36). Inside bets go on the numbers or the lines between them.

One bet exists only on this board. A chip on the corner where the 0 and 00 boxes meet the 1, 2 and 3 row covers five numbers at once. Casinos call it the top line or the five number bet, and the name basket is used for it in some places, though that word means other things elsewhere. See the full map of every box on the roulette table layout page.

American roulette odds, payouts and what you get back

Here is each bet on a double zero table, sized at 10 units so the math is easy to follow. "Back if it wins" includes your 10 unit stake.

A double zero trio takes in 2 with both zeros, or 3 and 2 with the 00. Note that every one of these wins less often than the payout suggests. A straight up bet would need to pay 37 to 1 to be fair on 38 pockets, but it pays 35. Those two missing units out of 38 are the 5.26% edge. The payouts and odds page has the same math for every wheel.

The house edge in units, with a worked example

Say you bet 5 units on black for 40 spins. That is 200 units pushed across the felt in total. Multiply by the edge: 200 times 0.0526 is about 10.5 units. That is the average cost of the session. Some nights you finish ahead, some nights well behind, but over many sessions the results drift toward that number.

Now spread the same 200 units across single numbers instead. The average cost stays the same, about 10.5 units, because the edge is the same on nearly every bet. Only the swings change: you will lose more often, then hit bigger wins.

A few US casinos, mostly in Atlantic City, offer a surrender rule: when 0 or 00 lands, an even money chip gives back half instead of losing it all. That cuts their edge to about 2.63%. It is not the norm, so read the table sign.

American vs European roulette: what the second zero costs

The two games share the same payouts and nearly the same board. The difference between American and European roulette comes down to one pocket, and that pocket nearly doubles the price of playing.

If a casino offers both, the single zero table is the better deal on every bet, even when its minimum is higher. Our European roulette guide covers that version in depth, and the triple zero page covers the even pricier third version.

Practice on the free American roulette simulator

The simulator above opens on a double zero table, so you can play American roulette for free with credits that have no value. Nothing is stored and nothing needs a download.

1. Pick a chip size: 1, 5, 25 or 100 credits.
2. Tap a number, one of the two zeros, or an outside box to place it. Tap again to stack more.
3. Press spin. The wheel strip shows where the ball landed, then the payout and your new balance appear.
4. Check the history panel: it lists the last 20 numbers with a red, black and zero count.

A test worth running: start with the 1,000 credit balance and bet 10 credits on red for 50 spins. That is 500 credits wagered, so the average cost is about 26 credits. Note your balance, press reset, and run it again. You will see results scatter well above and below that average, and you will notice how often 0 or 00 wipes out every outside bet. When you are done, switch the same test to the single zero simulator and compare.

Playing smart on a double zero table

• Avoid the top line. No other square on this felt costs more.
• Pick bet size by your budget, not by a hunch. Every bet costs the same 5.26% on average, so a smaller bet means a cheaper night.
• Ignore the history board. Ten blacks in a row do not make red due; each spin starts fresh.
• Look for a single zero table first. In Las Vegas they exist, though they are fewer and often carry higher minimums.

Curious whether a betting system changes any of this? It does not, and betting systems shows the numbers.