Picture two tables side by side with the same minimum, the same dealer and the same payout card. One wheel has a single green pocket and the other has two. On the second table, a player betting C$10 a spin for 100 spins can expect to lose about C$52.63 over the long run, against C$27.03 on the first. All of it comes from one extra slot on the American roulette wheel, marked 00.
This guide works through that number, the one bet on the American layout that is worse still, and where double-zero tables are still running in Canada. For the comparison with every other wheel type, see the roulette variants hub.
A wheel with 38 pockets
The American wheel carries 1 to 36 in red and black, a green 0 and a green 00. Going clockwise from zero, the order is 0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2.
That order is nothing like the European one. The two zeros sit directly opposite each other, and consecutive numbers face each other across the wheel: 1 opposite 2, 3 opposite 4, and so on round the rim. It is a tidier pattern on paper, and it means the French call bets, which depend on the European sequence, do not translate. You will rarely find a racetrack on a double-zero table for that reason.
Why one extra pocket doubles the edge
Payouts on an American table are identical to those on a single-zero table. What changes is the denominator. A straight-up still pays 35 to 1, but it now wins 1 time in 38.
Run 38 spins of C$1 on a single number, with each pocket landing once. The win pays C$35; the 37 losses cost C$37. You are C$2 down on C$38 wagered, an edge of 2/38, which is 5.26 %. A bet on black does the same sum differently: 18 wins of C$1, 20 losses (18 reds, 0 and 00), C$2 down over 38 spins. Every standard bet comes out at 5.26 %.
Compare that with 1/37, or 2.70 %, on the European wheel, and the American edge is 1.95 times as large. Our house edge guide has the full derivation for every wheel, and the roulette odds page lists the payouts side by side.
Here is the chance per spin for the main bets on a 38-pocket wheel.
| Bet | Pays | Chance on American | Chance on European |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 35 to 1 | 2.63 % | 2.70 % |
| Split | 17 to 1 | 5.26 % | 5.41 % |
| Street | 11 to 1 | 7.89 % | 8.11 % |
| Corner | 8 to 1 | 10.53 % | 10.81 % |
| Five-number (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) | 6 to 1 | 13.16 % | not offered |
| Six line | 5 to 1 | 15.79 % | 16.22 % |
| Dozen or column | 2 to 1 | 31.58 % | 32.43 % |
| Even money | 1 to 1 | 47.37 % | 48.65 % |
The gaps look small spin by spin. They add up quickly over a session.
Reading the American layout
On the cloth, 0 and 00 sit side by side at the head of the grid, above the first row of 1, 2 and 3. A split between 0 and 00 pays 17 to 1, and the trios 0-1-2 and 00-2-3 pay 11 to 1. Those are the usual prices for a split and a street, so they carry the usual 5.26 %. The five-number bet sits on the outer corner where the zero boxes meet the first row. Our table layout guide shows where every bet goes on both layouts.
The five-number bet: the worst price on the table
There is one bet the American layout has that the European one does not, and you should skip it. The five-number bet, sometimes called the top line or basket, covers 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3 with a single chip and pays 6 to 1.
Here is the working. Over 38 spins of C$1, the bet wins 5 times and collects 5 × C$6 = C$30. It loses the other 33 times, costing C$33. Net: minus C$3 on C$38, which is 3/38, or 7.89 %. A fair payout for a five-number bet on this wheel would be 6.6 to 1; the table pays 6, and the shortfall is bigger than the zeros alone produce anywhere else.
To put C$ on it: C$10 a spin for 100 spins on the five-number bet costs C$78.95 on average, against C$52.63 on any other American bet and C$27.03 on a European wheel. Same stake, same number of spins, three very different bills.
The chance of finishing ahead, wheel by wheel
An edge is easier to picture as a probability. Take 100 even-money bets of C$10, C$1,000 in all, which cost C$27.03 on average at a European table and C$52.63 at an American one, and ask how often you finish with more than you started. At a European table the answer is about 35.5 %, with another 7.7 % of sessions ending exactly level. At an American table it drops to about 26.5 % ahead and 6.9 % level.
Those figures come straight from the binomial distribution. You need 51 or more wins out of 100, at a chance of 18/37 per spin on one wheel and 18/38 on the other. Roughly one session in three ahead on a single-zero wheel, one in four on a double-zero wheel, and both shares shrink as the session grows: after 1,000 even-money bets they are 18.8 % and 4.5 %. Over one evening the gap is easy to miss. Over a season of evenings it is the difference between losing about C$27 and about C$53 for every C$1,000 wagered.
What zero and double zero do to outside bets
Both green pockets beat every outside bet. Red, black, odd, even, high, low, dozens and columns all lose when the ball finds 0 or 00. That leaves an even-money bet winning only 47.37 % of the time here.
A short side trip, because it is a rule many players have never heard of. Atlantic City applies a surrender rule on double-zero tables: when 0 or 00 comes up, an even-money bet loses only half its stake, which brings the edge on those bets down to 2.63 %. We have not seen that rule on Canadian double-zero tables, online or on a floor. If a table you play does offer it, the rules panel or the dealer will say so.
American roulette online in Canada
Live studios still carry the double-zero game for players who prefer it. Evolution’s American Roulette table runs on a wheel with 1 to 36, 0 and 00, and its Auto Roulette range includes an American version with a machine-launched ball. The payouts at both are the standard ones above, so the edge is the standard 5.26 %.
Evolution’s tables are carried by several casinos registered in Ontario, so where an American table is listed, single-zero tables usually sit right beside it. Our honest view: play the double-zero wheel only when it is the only table open and you have already decided the session is entertainment you are paying for. If you want to compare what is on offer, our Ontario roulette page covers the casinos registered in the province. A tip that saves money: the table name is not always enough, so check the wheel graphic for a second green pocket before you place a chip.
Double-zero tables on Canadian casino floors
Casino Rama Resort says on its own site that it runs a double-zero wheel: Double 00 Roulette in an automated mode. Most other venues do not state the wheel type at all. Our land-based casinos page collects what each venue publishes, and the etiquette guide covers how to ask at the table without slowing the game.
If the double-zero table is the only one open
Sometimes there is no choice: a floor with one wheel running, or a late-night lobby with one table open. Two adjustments keep the damage down.
Stay off the five-number bet. Every other bet on the layout costs 5.26 %, so straight-ups, splits, dozens and colours are all equally priced, and the basket alone is dearer.
Lower the stake. The edge is about 1.95 times the European one, so to keep the same average cost per session, cut the stake roughly in half. The exact figure: C$10 a spin at a European table costs the same on average as about C$5.14 a spin at an American table, since C$10 ÷ 37 and C$5.14 × 2 ÷ 38 both come to about C$0.27 a spin. If you were planning C$10 bets, C$5 bets on the double-zero wheel keep the evening’s average bill slightly below what you had budgeted.
Strategy on a double-zero wheel
Nothing changes the 5.26 %. A betting system on an American wheel is a betting system with a steeper slope underneath it: the Martingale, for example, runs into a long losing streak slightly more often here, because an even-money bet loses 52.63 % of the time instead of 51.35 %. Ten even-money losses in a row come up with a probability of (20/38)^10, about 0.16 %, against (19/37)^10, about 0.13 %, at a European table. Our roulette strategy guide tests each system against the edge, and the responsible gambling page is there if losses are adding up faster than planned.