American Roulette Guide
A popular version of Roulette is American Roulette, which although the board and the wheel look the same as any other Roulette game, American Roulette slightly differs to European or French Roulette versions of the game. Online, you can play on Android, iOS, desktop, MAC and Windows versions of American Roulette.
What is the Difference between American Roulette and European Versions?
The main noticeable difference is that American Roulette has a double zero on the board, which slightly changes the odds of a straight bet on the entire board.
Play & Practice Free American Roulette:
What are the Odds of a Straight Bet with an Extra Zero?
As there are 36 numbers and 2 zeros, there are 38 spots on the board. A straight bet is a wager that is placed directly on one of the numbers on the board. With 38 numbers, the odds of you hitting the number you bet are 37:1. Therefore, with a pay-out of 35:1 for landing the ball on the number you bet is −$0.053 per $1.00.
With these type of odds, overall if you continue betting, there is very little risk per bet, and if you hit a straight bet before the 37:1 odds come in, you’ll be in for a profitable session.
How do you play American Roulette?
Before we go into the actual bets available on American Roulette, the simple explanation of how to play this game is easy. Just pick a spot on the board that you would like to bet and let the wheel spin. If the number or colour that you bet lands on the wheel, then you win odd according to the pay-outs listed below in the inside bet and outside bet sections.
However, before you begin to place bets, you should at least have some knowledge of how the board works. Roulette is split into 2 parts; Outside Bets have a lower risk of losing your bet and lower odds paid back when you win; while, Inside Bets come with a higher risk of losing your bet and have a higher return if you win.
Outside Bets
There are 5 main outside bets on the American Roulette board. The betting areas for these outside bets are found on the surrounding edges of the Roulette Board and are labelled quite well, so you’ll find and learn them pretty easily.
The first 3 outside bets pay back 1:1 (even odds) if you win:
- Odds or Evens – ‘Odd’ and ‘Even’ betting spots are clearly labelled
- High or Low – place your chips on 1-18 or 19-36 found on each corner of board
- Red or Black – place your chips on the red spot or the black spot
The next 2 betting options will pay back 2:1 on any bets that are successful:
- Column Bets – this is 3 lines with 12 numbers in each running horizontally up the board. Place chips on any of the numbers at the bottom of the board named ‘2 to 1’ in order to bet the columns
- Dozen Bets – this is 3 chunks of 12 numbers labelled ‘1st 12’, ‘2nd 12’ or ‘3rd 13’
Inside Bets
In order to wager an inside bet, you need to place your chips directly on the roulette board where the numbers are shown; hence the name Inside Bets. Even though it may not be clear at first site, when you watch other play Roulette or when you start clicking your mouse around the board, you’ll notice you can place your chips in almost any position on the board.
Here is a list of Inside Bets you can use on an American Roulette Board:
Row Bet – place chips on the line between the ‘0’ and ‘00’. (17:1 Pay-Back)
Split Bet – place chips on the line between two adjacent numbers – either horizontally or vertically. (17:1 Pay-Back)
Basket – Place chips on the line that connects the ‘0, 1, 2’ or ‘00, 2, 3’ or ‘0, 00, 2’. (11:1 Pay-Back)
Street Bet – Place the chip on the horizontal line at the side of the Roulette board 1, 2, 3 or 4, 5, 6, etc. (11:1 Pay-Back)
Corner Bet – Place a chip on the + section of any 4 numbers for a corner bet, which will give you 4 numbers. (Example: ‘1, 2, 4, 5’ or ‘16, 17, 19, 20’) (8:1 Pay-Back)
Top Line Bet – Place the chip on the very top line on the line that connects the 3 and 00 or the line that connects the 1 and 0. This activates a bet on numbers 0, 00, 1, 2, 3 (6:1 Pay-Back) – this is a very popular bet because of the pay back comes with 5 numbers, but a higher pay-out than there are numbers!
Six Line Bet – any six numbers from two horizontal rows (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 17, 18, 20, 21, 32). This would be a bet on the ├ or on the ┤on the other outside part of the board, so this covers 3 number across and 2 numbers deep effectively betting on 6 numbers. (5:1 Pay-Out)
Roulette Strategy & History Counters
There are many Roulette strategies out there. Some people like to bet multiple ‘Straight’ and ‘Split’ bets and continue to place their chips on these bets for multiple spins until that number comes in. After they win, they will choose another section of the board or straight bet using the history counter as a guide. A player is more likely to select a number that has not come up on the ‘History’ board because this reduces the odds of losing.
Other black/red, odd/even and high/low strategies are also quite popular as side bets. There are some very interesting tactics out there, and in essence, these are the fairest of bets on the entire Roulette board.
The Zero Rules and Outside Bets
It is worth noting that if the zero lands on the Roulette wheel, it has no colour, does not count as odd or even and does not count as high/low.
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