Live American roulette is one of two versions of roulette you can play online with real dealers. It’s particularly popular with a cross-section of players because the betting options appear more straightforward than its counterpart, European roulette.
Even though the house edge is greater, the additional zero on the wheel with the alternative number layout gives gamblers a different roulette playing experience.
What has once been considered a niche game at live dealer casinos is now available at most of them. It’s possible to play live American roulette at most online casinos, with all of the major live casino software developers having a version on offer.
Live American roulette is one of two versions of roulette; the primary difference between the two is the number of zeros on the wheel and the house edge. American roulette has 38 pockets with two zeros, giving a house edge of 5.26%, while European roulette has 37 pockets with one zero and a house edge of 2.70%.
The earliest version of roulette can be traced back to Blaise Pascal, who first introduced a basic form of the game during the 17th century that had two zeros on the wheel. In 1843, at the Casino Bad Homburg in Germany, a modification was made to the wheel. One of the zeros was removed to allow the casino to compete with casinos offering the two-zero version of the wheel. It wasn’t until the 1860’s when the single-zero version of the wheel cemented its premier status in Monte Carlo and became the go-to game in Europe.
The double-zero game continued to be popular in America, with casinos preferring the house edge of the double zero over the single European version.
To this day, American roulette continues to remain popular in the USA, Canada, South America and the Caribbean. European roulette is popular everywhere else.
There are four main differences between American and European roulette.
The American roulette wheel has 38 pockets comprising 36 numbers (one to 36) and two zeros — a zero and double zero.
The European roulette wheel has 37 pockets made up of numbers one to 36 and one zero.
The way the numbers are distributed differs between the American and European wheels.
The number sequence on the American wheel sees the two zeros on opposing sides of the wheel.
0, 2, 14, 35, 23, 4, 16, 33, 21, 6, 18, 31, 19, 8, 12, 29, 25, 10, 27, 00, 1, 13, 36, 24, 3, 15, 34, 22, 5, 17, 32, 20, 7, 11, 30, 26, 9, 28
The European wheel has only one Zero.
0, 26, 3, 35, 12, 28, 7, 29, 18, 22, 9, 31, 14, 20, 1, 33, 16, 24, 5, 10, 23, 8, 30, 11, 36, 13, 27, 6, 34, 17, 25, 2, 21, 4, 19, 15, 32.
American roulette has a greater house edge, coming in at a whopping 5.26% compared to European roulette’s 2.70%.
There is no La Partage facility in American roulette, which offers half your losing even-money stake back if the ball lands on zero.
There is also no En Prison rule, which keeps your even-money bet on the table for the next round if you lose to a zero.
French sections are not depicted on the table layout or racetrack. If you want to bet on sections of the wheel, you’ll need to use the neighbour bet facility.
The answer is yes, and I’ll explain why.
Firstly, the tables, wheels, and associated equipment are all real. There is no random number generator computer program deciding the winning number. A live dealer spins the wheel and introduces a real ball into the wheel, just as it’s done every day in real land-based casinos.
These studio tables are monitored and streamed in real-time. In fact, there is probably more auditing going on, with even spin and result being analysed to ensure there is no bias in place that can be exploited by the casino or player.
The dealers are trained to a high level and their performance is monitored just as closely as the wheel.
Maintenance is performed on the wheels, and outside licensing agencies regularly send in inspectors to ensure everything is above board.
What’s more, the casinos don’t host the tables themselves. They use a third-party game supplier to provide the games. Therefore, the casino is unable to control the game, table, or dealer like it may be able to in a real casino.
Above all, there is no advantage in a provider or casino trying to cheat players.
Many different casinos use the same table. If one casino gained an advantage, another wouldn’t, so it would soon become clear if the game was bent.
Trust is everything when gambling. If a casino loses the trust of its players, it will soon go out of business.
So why bother cheating when there’s an edge already built into the game?
Land-based casinos in the US, especially in places like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, only offer live American roulette tables. You’ll very rarely see a single-wheel table on the main casino floors. These are normally reserved for the very high rollers and VIPs and is tucked away in the exclusive Salon Privé.
Fortunately, it’s easy to find American roulette online.
Most live casino operators provide a version and have at least one table available. Some casinos even offer live-streamed American roulette from inside land-based US casinos.
Currently, there are no Live Casino operators streaming American Roulette from Land-Based casinos in the US.
Evolution used to stream from Atlantic City, but this table closed.
I’ll update this section with the casino should streaming start again.
Visionary iGaming was perhaps the first casino supplier to have a table. Unfortunately, its playing interface hasn’t kept pace with modern developments, so it appears a bit outdated. That said, if you like noisy, Latin American tables, this is a great place to play.
Evolution Gaming was the first mainstream provider to open a studio table and live stream from the USA. You can immediately see how slick the playing interface is. The land-based table is streamed from the Atlantic City Casino in the USA.
Playtech has also followed the trend and implemented its own table, also referred to as American roulette. This is a studio-based table streamed from Latvia.
BEST EVOLUTION AMERICAN ROULETTE
| 4 / 5 Stars | |
BEST FOR PLAYTECH AMERICAN ROULETTE
| 4 / 5 Stars | |
BEST FOR VISIONARY iGAMING AMERICAN ROULETTE
| 4 / 5 Stars |
If you’ve got this far, you’re probably looking for some help to play or perhaps a strategy to help you win!
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