American Roulette vs. European Roulette – Which Is Best?

As back as the 19th century, European Roulette came with 38 pockets with 1 to 36 numbers and two pockets of single and double zeros. Yes! You read that right! Even European Roulette had double zeros. The spin-off of the European Roulette was American Roulette that came with just 31 pockets that had 1 to 28 numbers and also single and double zeros along with an eagle pocket.

american roulette vs european roulette

Fast forward to current times, you can find European Roulette table with single zero and American Roulette with single and double zeros. This has remained standard for a few decades now. But this is not the only difference between these two most popular table games. There are much more differences that prevail between these two, read on to know more.

House Edge difference between European and American Roulette

The American Roulette comes with the house edge of 5.26% while the European comes with 2.7%. Looking at the figures, it is evident that the American Roulette that comes with double zeros has a higher edge compared to the single zero European Roulette.

Special Rules in European and American Roulette

Both the forms of Roulette game come with their own set of special rules that gives certain privileges to the players.

  • Basket Bet

In American Roulette, basket bet options lets the players wage on the first five numbers i.e., 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. These numbers come with a house edge of whopping 7.89% which is sure to keep the players satisfied by this game. Also, there is a 13.16% odds of winning this game.

  • Surrender Rule

This rule is also applicable in American Roulette and is inculcated in the game by certain American casinos at certain times only. According to this rule, if the player bets on an even number and loses because either 0 or 00 is elected, they get refunded half of their wager amount.

  • La Partage

In European Roulette, La Partage option is given to the players which are somewhat similar to the surrender rule of American Roulette. This option is for the players that bet on even numbers and loses it when the ball lands on 0. In this case, players get half of their wager returned to them. The house edge reduces on the even-money bets to about 1.35%.

  • En Prison

This option can also be found in the European Roulette game. Even this gets applied only on even number bets. Here is how it works: Consider the ball stops on zero in the wheel. Now the dealer keeps a marker by the wage amount which shows that the rule of ‘En prison’ will be applied further. The dealer spins the ball again and if the player wins in this spin he is allowed to keep his original waging amount completely.

Meaning if the player wagers $50 on any of the even numbers and an even number appears on the wheel immediately after a zero, then the players wins the game and gets to keep his waging amount. If an odd number appears after a zero, then the players lose his entire bet.

Both games have certain similarities and certain differences. Now it is up to the player to choose the appropriate ones that they think is best for them.

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