American roulette rules are basically no different from the rules for European roulette. The goal of the game is quite the same: the players are supposed to make bets on the numbers they assume to be winning.

The main feature that distinguishes American roulette rules from the European roulette rules is the introduction of the second zero slot ('00') on the American roulette wheel. This is the basic reason to prefer European roulette. Compared to American roulette, European variant of the game is a much better bet as far as it has a significantly reduced house edge - 2.63%, while the house edge in American double-zero roulette makes over 5.2%.

In fact, American roulette rules are considered to be simpler and more straightforward than those in European roulette, especially that American roulette ignores the rules of La Partage and En Prison. Nevertheless, it is strongly recommended to play European roulette rather than its American counterpart as far as the former is more profitable.

American roulette wheel and layout

As it was stated above, the American roulette wheel differs from that in the European roulette by way of introducing the second zero slot. This makes the number of colored pockets on the American wheel 38 (numbers from 1 to 36 plus '0' and '00') and increases the American roulette house edge.

There are more differences between the European and American roulette wheels. The numbers on American roulette wheel are arranged in a way to create balance between different numbers - Black-Red, High-Low, Odd-Even, while the numbers on the European wheel are arranged in a rather random order. The American wheel is actually more symmetric than the European wheel.

• Like in European roulette, red and black numbers on the American wheel change. Besides, all red and black numbers oppose each other on the wheel.
• Two odd numbers are usually changed by two even ones.
• Each odd number opposes the next higher number that is even.
• All numbers face the outer side of the wheel.

The American table layout is basically no different from the table layout in European roulette. It is divided into two sections - inner and outer - and represents numbers that correspond to numbers on the wheel.

Types of bets

American roulette rules allow the players to make all kinds of inside and outside bets based on the situation of numbers on the roulette table layout. Inner section of the layout represents numbers from 1 to 36. The player may bet either on any single number or a group of numbers considering their vicinity on the layout. The outer section displays larger groups of numbers:

• Even-Odd, Red-Black, High-Low (also called even-money bets paid at 1 to 1) and
• Columns or Dozens (paid out at 2 to 1).

There is an additional bet available in American roulette called the Five number bet. It is made on five numbers - the two zeros - '0' and '00', 1, 2 and 3. It pays out at 6 to 1 and the ball is supposed to land in a pocket representing any of these numbers. It is generally recommended to avoid this bet considering its highest house edge of about 7.9%.

Considering the additional zero in the American wheel, the house edge is increased, which makes the American roulette odds lower compared to the odds in European variant of the game.