How to Play Online Casino Roulette: The Wheel

The wheel is a wonder of stochastic technology. Essentially a giant bowl, it is almost three feet across, with slightly canted walls. It weighs approximately one hundred pounds, and its surface walls are separated into thirty-seven (or thirty-eight) internal slots, called "pockets". Each pocket is just large enough to hold the twirling ball once it rests.



The pockets alternate between red and black (and odd and even). Each pocket has a number between 1 and 36. The exclusions to this are the zero pockets, which are painted green. The numbers are not in sequence nor are their placements totally random. The numbers have been arranged to attain the best balance between red and black, odd and even and high and low.



If you look at the wheel, you will notice that, placed directly across from each odd number is the next even number. Two odd numbers alternate with two even numbers. You can also see a version of this system near the zero pockets.

Two main types of wheels are available—European American. The sole distinction between the two is that the American version has two zero pockets, single zero (0) and double zero (00), while the European version has only the single zero pocket. This minor modification yields a substantial difference in the casino advantage. With a European wheel, the house advantage is roughly 2.70%, a good deal lower than the American wheel, whose house edge is 5.26%.