Single zero against double zero: a practical look at the two roulette wheels
Walk into any live lobby and you may see two roulette tables side by side that seem identical. Look at the wheel closely and one has an extra green pocket. That small detail is the whole story, and it changes what each pound of stake costs you. This is written for adults of legal gambling age. Play Jango is one of many lobbies that list both versions.
Counting the pockets
The wheel known as European holds 37 slots: 1 to 36 plus one zero. The American wheel holds 38, adding a second zero marked 00. Bets on red, black, odd, even, or any column all lose when the ball drops into a green slot.
Same payouts, different probabilities
A bet on one number pays 35 to 1 on either wheel. On the single-zero wheel, the true odds are 36 to 1 against; on the double-zero wheel they are 37 to 1. The payout is unchanged, so the gap goes to the house:
- single zero: about 2.7% of stakes retained; - double zero: about 5.3% of stakes retained.
Put into a simple example, an evening of £250 in total bets costs you roughly £6.75 on average at the first wheel and £13.15 at the second.
Rules that soften the zero
Some single-zero tables apply a rule that returns half of an even-money stake, or holds it for the next spin, when the ball lands on zero. That brings the cost on those bets down to about 1.35%. The rules summary beside the table states whether it is in force.
A bet to skip
The American layout includes a combined bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3. Its edge is about 7.9%, noticeably higher than the rest of the layout.
Choosing between them
When both wheels are open at similar limits, the single-zero version is the cheaper one. Occasionally, an American table is the only one with a low minimum or a particular studio format, so confirm the table name and rules before betting.
A tiny pre-game routine
1. Zoom in on the wheel or read the rules line. 2. Check for the zero-return rule. 3. Fix your stake as a share of your session budget. 4. Set a time reminder.
No pattern of bets removes the edge, since each spin is independent. Picking the wheel with one zero merely makes the entertainment a little cheaper.