Born from Blaise Pascal’s perpetual motion machine, roulette has been one of the most popular casino games since the opening of the first casinos in Europe. This game of chance is simple to play — even beginners can learn the ropes in no time. It guarantees fun and excitement to players with its unique concept and plenty of betting options, many of which are excellently suited for experimentation with betting systems.
If you’re new to the game and don’t even know how many numbers on a roulette wheel there are, don’t worry, because by the end of this article, you will have all of your questions answered.
Get ready to kick back and have your questions answered! In this post, we’ll explain the roulette wheel layout, the roulette bet types, the roulette table layout, the logic behind the roulette wheel and the ball, as well as who manufactures roulette wheels. Is that comprehensive enough for your liking? If so, let’s dive in.
Roulette wheel layout
For starters, the roulette wheel layout is roughly the same; the only difference is brought to light when comparing a European wheel and an American wheel. We’ll talk more about that in this section.
For now, keep in mind that the numbers on the wheel are labelled in an alternating manner depending on the colour. The number ranges are different, but neither wheel showcases consecutive numbers. Instead, these are randomised in an effort to keep things interesting.
European roulette wheel
The 37 roulette wheel numbers on European tables are made up of 18 red pockets, 18 black pockets, and one green pocket for the number zero. On the roulette wheel, the numbers are arranged differently, with the colours alternating from red to black.
This timeless game offers action-packed entertainment and quick gameplay. If you’d like to take some European roulette tables for a spin, head over to HotSlots and kickstart a European roulette game.
American roulette wheel
Although American and European roulette are very similar (especially when it comes to the ball track, the base and the rotor), they have some very significant differences. There are 38 pockets on the American roulette wheel — compared to the 37 pockets of a European wheel. This is made up of all 36 digits, 0 and 00 included.
The ’00’ pocket changes not only the layout of the roulette wheel, but it raises the house edge significantly to a whopping 5.26%. Other than that, the American roulette wheel shares all the traits of the European roulette wheel. Should you wish to give an American wheel for a spin, you know where to go: HotSlots!
French roulette wheel
Similar to European roulette, French roulette also has two additional rules known as La Partage and En Prison. Here’s a quick explanation of what these two rules bring to the table.
- La Partage: When the ball lands in the “0” slot, this rule takes effect. All even-money bets will be split in half by the dealer, with half going to the house and the other to the player. The house edge is dramatically reduced thanks to this rule (from 2.70% to 1.35%), meaning that players have better odds when putting Outside bets.
- En Prison: Similar to the La Partage rule, the En Prison rule only applies to even-money bets. When the number “0” is the winning number, this rule comes into effect. In accordance with the La Partage rule, the player has the option of winning half of their bet or locking their bet for the following spin. This wager would afterwards be “imprisoned,” hence the name. If the player wins in the following round, they will receive a full refund of their initial bet; otherwise, the bet will be lost.
For instance, if a player wagers €100 on Even and the ball lands in the ‘0’ slot, they can either get half their bet back or keep it locked for the next spin. In the latter scenario, the player would receive their €100 back if the result of the subsequent spin was an even number.
Triple Zero roulette wheel
French and European roulette have the single-zero wheel, whereas American roulette has the double-zero wheel. How far away from the traditional roulette wheel have we come to see a triple-zero roulette wheel?
This type of roulette is considered one of the worst ways to play roulette, since the extra pocket further elevates the house edge to an incredible 7.69%. This makes your roulette odds worse than any other roulette table in existence; suffice to say that we strongly advise against playing at such online roulette wheels unless you’re feeling incredibly brave.
THE ROULETTE BETTING TABLE LAYOUT
Here’s what you need to know about the table layout of roulette. Inside the betting area, one will see all the individual numbers featured on the wheel. Keep in mind that this differs slightly depending on which type of roulette you play. The numbers are divided into three categories, and they can be wagered on by placing a dozen bet.
You will find columns for the Odd/Even and Red/Black bets outside the betting area, along with any other groups of numbers included in the Inside, Outside and Neighbour bets.
The numbers inside the betting area are arranged in twelve rows and three columns — placing a column bet will cover an entire column. When playing at a Live Casino, players are presented with a horizontal table layout where the Inside and Outside bets would be in the centre, and the Neighbour bets would be on the right. The placement of such bets might differ depending on the roulette variant being played.
EUROPEAN ROULETTE WHEEL BETS
Many of the betting options you can expect to find in European roulette include the iconic inside and outside bets, as well as neighbour bets, call bets, favourite bets and full complete bets. With that said, some European roulette wheels might even feature exciting side bets and bonuses to help boost gameplay.
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AMERICAN ROULETTE WHEEL BETS
What makes this roulette wheel particularly interesting is its additional double zero pocket, allowing players to bet on a total of 38 numbers as opposed to 37. This slight change to the roulette layout raises the house edge significantly.
Naturally, this also meant that the payout odds for roulette bets also saw a change. And on top of that, American tables also introduced new, exclusive betting options — namely, the basket bet or five-number bet.
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FRENCH ROULETTE WHEEL BETS
Although there are clear differences between American and European roulette, many players fail to see how European and French roulette differ.
In reality, French roulette tables do not differ all that much from European ones. French roulette includes all the same betting options you can expect to find at European roulette games. That said, French roulette features an extra low house edge at 1.35% due to the two rules that we’ve mentioned previously: the La Partage and En Prison.
CHART (same as European)
Most Popular Roulette Wheel Numbers
Throughout all of roulette wheel history, players have been incessantly trying to figure out which numbers hit the most. This is, and always will be, a lost battle since (legitimate) roulette games operate through a Random Number Generator that serves to randomise the outcome of each spin. That way, the roulette table remains as unpredictable as possible — one of the staple traits a casino game can ever hope to have.
Your best bet is to opt for either even or odd numbers. This places your chances of success at 48.6% instead of 1/37 (or 1/38 if you’re playing at an American roulette table).
Nevertheless, if you really want to have an idea of the numbers that seem to hit the most in roulette, we won’t leave you hanging. The numbers 7, 17, 23 and 24 are thought to hit the most, whereas numbers 3, 6, 13 and 34 are thought to hit the least. Having said that, please keep in mind that the selection of those numbers is more superstitious than it is based on actual mathematical evidence.
Roulette Wheel Layout Logic
Most seasoned players have mastered the wheel pattern through constant practice rather than study, whether it is a single-zero roulette wheel or a double-zero wheel. With that said, it is a good idea to understand the logic behind both types of roulette wheels before really diving into the game.
The arrangement of single-zero and double-zero roulette wheels may confuse new players. It’s crucial to remember that a roulette wheel has a very specific layout that ensures it is precisely balanced, regardless of the type being discussed.
- Numbers on the roulette wheel alternate between low numbers (1–18) and high numbers (19-36) in a clockwise sequence. On a European roulette wheel, the area where the number five is close to the number 10 is the only exception to this rule. Seeing as there are considerably more deviations from this pattern on the American roulette wheel than on the European one, the former is thought to be less balanced.
- On a roulette wheel, the colours red and black alternate, with the zero’s designated green pocket being the only exception. The second green pocket is reserved for the 00 on the American wheel.
- Since all wheels alternate between odd and even numbers, odd numbers are never close to one another. Only two odd or even numbers can ever be close to one another.
If you’re a new roulette player, we’d recommend concentrating on the betting layout rather than the layout of the roulette wheel because the former is far more important for bringing in some winning chips than the latter. You can rest assured that the roulette wheel (at reputable online casinos) is set up to randomly select the ball’s next spin, regardless of the outcomes of prior spins. This ensures that the results of any bets can never be predicted.
Once you’ve mastered the layout of the roulette table, feel free to study both the American and the European wheel to become familiar with their designs. With that said, this will only help you keep track of the locations of all the roulette numbers; it won’t enable you to call bets effectively before the ball begins to spin.
To wrap up this section, it is important to note that the roulette wheel’s design was skillfully constructed to produce a stable platform on which a ball can spin. Roulette is extremely popular among online casinos precisely because of its random nature.
TYPES OF POCKETS ON ROULETTE WHEELS
The large number of manufacturers explains why there is such a wide variety of roulette wheels, and by extension, pockets. There is a pattern where most casinos use shallow pocket roulette wheels, which results in a wide ball scatter. The pockets themselves can be split either by forging them into a metal block or by cleverly using metal separators.
Small walls on the metal separators (called ‘frets’) allow the ball to jump between the numbers. The height of the frets is calculated with the intention of allowing the ball to hop between the numbers, but not lock into place prematurely.
The roulette community strongly encourages manufacturers to modify the roulette wheel without hurting the gameplay itself. Although maintaining fairness is required, manufacturers have a lot of creative freedom when changing the size and style of the pockets and frets. Even though roulette continues to be very unpredictable, players nevertheless enjoy trends and modifications to the wheel — which has remained largely unchanged throughout the years.
ROULETTE BALL
At an actual casino, as well as other studios that specialise in live dealer games, the roulette ball is highly important. In fact, the weight and size of the ball are constantly switched in order to keep the game as unpredictable as possible.
The majority of roulette balls used to be made of ivory, however, this is not usually the case anymore. Nowadays, most casinos use plastic, ceramic, or occasionally even ivorine balls, which are made of synthetic ivory. Nevertheless, the goal underlying these decisions is to preserve the element of surprise that characterises all roulette games.
ROULETTE WHEELS MANUFACTURES
There are many roulette wheel manufacturers out there, but only a select few stand out. The most noteworthy aspect of Cammegh, one of the industry leaders with headquarters in Kent, UK, is that it operates as an independent manufacturer.
John Huxley is another well-known trademark, although few people are aware that it was acquired by the TCS company. Therefore, the company is now known as TCS John Huxley. Last but certainly not least is Paul-Son, a business that was bought by Gaming Partners and has a stellar reputation.
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