American roulette odds and the 0 and 00
American roulette has 38 pockets: 1 to 36, 0 and 00. Every bet pays as if there were only 36 numbers, so every bet returns 36/38 = 94.74% over the long run, a 5.26% house edge. The one exception is the five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3: it pays 6 to 1 and returns 92.11%. The 0 and 00 lose every outside bet.
Every bet
| Bet | Numbers | Pays | Chance | Return (RTP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight | 1 | 35 to 1 | 2.63% | 94.74% |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 5.26% | 94.74% |
| Street | 3 | 11 to 1 | 7.89% | 94.74% |
| Corner | 4 | 8 to 1 | 10.53% | 94.74% |
| Five-number (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | 5 | 6 to 1 | 13.16% | 92.11% |
| Six line | 6 | 5 to 1 | 15.79% | 94.74% |
| Dozen or column | 12 | 2 to 1 | 31.58% | 94.74% |
| Red/black, odd/even, 1-18/19-36 | 18 | 1 to 1 | 47.37% | 94.74% |
Why every bet returns the same
A bet on n numbers pays 36/n - 1 to 1. A straight bet covers 1 of 38 pockets and pays 35 to 1, so it returns 36/38 of the stake on average. The same sum works for every bet except the five-number bet, which would need to pay 6.2 to 1 and pays 6.
American or single zero?
A single-zero wheel has 37 pockets and returns 36/37 = 97.30%. The extra 00 is what lowers the American return to 94.74%. OpalRove plays the American wheel.
Questions
- What are the odds of hitting a number in American roulette?
- 1 in 38, or 2.63%. A straight bet pays 35 to 1.
- What is the house edge on American roulette?
- 5.26% on every bet except the five-number bet, where it is 7.89%.
- Do 0 and 00 count as red, black, odd or even?
- No. They lose every outside bet: red/black, odd/even, 1-18/19-36, dozens and columns.
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Updated 2026-11-05.