The House Edge: The Truth About American Roulette

Posted by Harry Kane on Wednesday, February 15, 2017

If you are an avid roulette player, you will probably be most familiar with French and European iterations. There are multiple variations of this game available online, which offer a dramatically reduced house edge and theoretically make it possible to win more within a particular playing session.

On a similar note, American roulette is often overlooked by players as it has a typical house edge that is more than double that of its European alternative – 5.26%. This increases even further when you bet on the first five numbers, reaching a prohibitive 7.89% and forcing many players to seek out alternative games.

Thinking Beyond House Edge and Exploring Probability

While this is understandable, some will argue that American Roulette is often unfairly discarded. The reasons for this delve beyond the prevailing house edge, which is entirely different to the precise odds associated with each individual wager. The American version of the game also pays out in exactly the same manner as European roulette, meaning that the difference between the two is not necessarily as vast as you may think.

So while considering the house edge is one of many things you should keep in mind when selecting a game and online casino, it is not the only one by any means.

In basic terms, outside bets offer a higher probability of winning (varying from 31.58% to 47.37%). It is column bets between one and 12, 13 and 24 and 25 and 36 that offer a one-in-three chance of success, for example, while red, black, odd, even, one to 18 and 19 to 36 deliver a win probability in excess of 47%. With fluctuating odds of between 2/1 and 3/1, these wagers should be the basis of any sound American roulette strategy, regardless of the precise betting system that you choose to utilise.

So what about inside bets? This is where the odds in increase, although once again the same principle can easily be applied to European and French iterations of the game. No single inside wager offers a win probability higher than 15.79%, which is why they should be used sparingly during the course of a session. A six line, six number bet is the most likely inside wager to win with a probability of 15.79%, while you have just a 2.63% of succeeding with a single number flutter. The four number, corner bet is a popular option among players, although the probability of winning with this is just 10.53%.

Beyond House Edge: Separating Fact from Fiction

While the margins are fine, this makes high-risk roulette betting systems (such as Lucky Number concept) and negative progression strategies largely unsuited to American roulette. Despite this, the win probability associated with specific wagers is favourable to players who choose this version of the game, with outside bets enabling you to balance risk with consistent reward.

So while you are well within your rights to choose European roulette thanks to its lower house edge, do not think that this makes the U.S. version unsuitable. After all, the house edge is merely the ration of the average loss to the initial bet, meaning that it has no direct correlation to the odds of certain wagers. With a conservative outlook and a positive progression strategy, you can still make American roulette work for you as a player.