A Beginner’s Guide To American Roulette

American Roulette is a popular table game at every online and brick-and-mortar casino across the country despite having a less player-friendly house edge than other roulette versions. The big difference between this casino classic and European versions of roulette is the addition of a double zero pocket on the wheel. It may seem like an insignificant change, but it’s not. Adding just this one number dramatically impacts the game’s house edge, almost doubling it from 2.7% to 5.26%.

Here’s an even more detailed look at American Roulette, what its higher house edge means for you, and how you can play American Roulette online all over the US.

How to play American roulette online

American Roulette involves betting on where a tiny ball will land after it is sent rolling into a spinning wheel. There are 38 different pockets on the wheel where the ball might land, numbered 0, 00, and 1 to 36. Half of the whole numbered pockets are black, and the other half are red. The two zero pockets are green. You place bets on a table with all the possibilities laid out beside the wheel. You can bet on any number, different groups of numbers, black or red, and odd or even. Here are the bet types available.

Playing American Roulette online means the physical ball and wheel are replaced by computer graphics, and the outcome of each round (or spin) is determined by a random number generator. While dealers clear the table of all losing bets and pay out winners after each live round, this occurs instantly online. Plus, the next spin starts when you click a button online. It starts a prescribed amount of time after the betting begins in the live game.

Where to play American roulette online

Here’s a look at the best state-licensed online casino sites in the country when it comes to American Roulette tables and what they have to offer.

BetMGM Casino

BetMGM online casino has an extensive collection of themed American Roulette games, traditional American Roulette titles, and Live Dealer American Roulette. The collection includes:

• BetMGM Roulette Pro
• NHL Roulette
• 76ers Roulette
• NY Jets Roulette
• American Roulette
• First Person American Roulette
• Lightning American Roulette
• Evolution Live Dealer American Roulette
• Evolution Live Dealer American Auto Roulette

DraftKings Casino

DraftKings online casino has branded American Roulette games, classic American Roulette, and Live Dealer American Roulette. The list includes:

• DraftKings American Roulette
• DraftKings Basketball Roulette
• DraftKings March Mania Roulette
• DraftKings Touchdown Roulette
• First Person American Roulette
• Online Roulette with DraftKings Casino

FanDuel Casino

FanDuel Casino hosts branded Live Dealer American Roulette, traditional American Roulette, and more. American Roulette on the FanDuel platform includes:

• FanDuel Live Dealer American Roulette
• American Roulette
• Roulette Advanced
• First Person American Roulette
• Live Dealer Roulette

BetRivers

BetRivers doesn’t have the most American Roulette titles, but it covers the basics. Its list of American Roulette offerings includes:

• Live Roulette
• American Roulette
• Platinum Roulette

Caesars Casino & Sportsbook

The list of American Roulette games at Caesars online casino may be small, but the classics are found here, including:

• American Roulette
• Advanced Roulette

House edge comparison

The American Roulette wheel has a house edge of 5.26%. That’s almost double European Roulette’s 2.7% house edge. Adding just that one double zero pocket on the wheel makes a big difference. Moreover, adding a third additional 000 pocket in Triple Zero Roulette pushes the house edge on that game up to a whopping 7.89%.

What does all this house edge stuff mean for you? Ultimately, it means you’re going to lose more of your money at a faster rate. House edge is essentially the percentage of all the money players put into a game that the casino expects to keep. The rest is going to be paid back in winnings to players.

If you get lucky and your timing is right, you could end up on the right side of that equation and walk away a winner. But over the long haul, you should expect to lose at least the percentage of all the money you put into the game prescribed by its house edge.

Choosing games with a lower house edge will mean losing less and, therefore, an increased possibility of winning.

Live dealer American roulette

Live Dealer American Roulette is a return to the classic game online. While online American Roulette replaces the physical ball and wheel with computer graphics and a random number generator, Live Dealer American Roulette brings it all back.

Here’s how it works: rounds of American Roulette play out live from a casino studio. You watch a simulcast of it over the internet and can bet on it using the online betting interface. It’s the best of both worlds. It’s traditional real money roulette with the ball and wheel run by real people instead of computers. However, you don’t have to wait for the dealer to clear the table and pay all the winning bets after each round. Since betting is all electronic and online, this process happens in a snap.

How to beat American roulette online

The only way to beat American Roulette for real money is to avoid playing it. European Roulette is basically the same game with about half the house edge. So if you can choose between the two, European Roulette is the obvious pick.

That said, there’s no reason why you can’t get lucky sometimes, buck the odds, and win playing American Roulette. Over the long haul, you’ll win some, lose some, and likely leave behind close to 6% of what you put into the game. But you’ll have a whole lot of fun along the way. Remember never to put more into the game than you can afford to lose, and American Roulette should provide you with a more-than-adequate online gambling experience.

In the meantime, there are some popular board-covering strategies you can employ. Below is a quick rundown of a couple of popular American Roulette tactics. For more, check out our roulette strategy page.

• The Double Street Quad: Cover 17 numbers with just six bets. Place one Straight Up Bet on any number, one Corner Bet, and two double Six-Line Bets. The bigger Six-Line Bets should keep you in the game long enough to get lucky and hit your Straight Up or Corner Bets.
• The Five Quad: Cover 21 numbers with just six bets. Place one Straight Up Bet on any number and five Corner Bets. You win eight and lose four when you hit any of the Corner Bets. But you win 35 and lose just 5 when your Straight Up Bet hits.