American Roulette: Quick guide to playing

Deciding on your favourite online casino game can be hard enough, without adding in the fact that are numerous variations or each one, including roulette.

At Roulette.ca we don't want anyone to feel lost or confused, because online gambling should be easy and most importantly, fun!

That's why we've put together this straightforward guide on one of the most popular roulette variations, American Roulette.

We aim to provide you with:

  • A how to play guide
  • Information on how it varies to standard roulette
  • The history behind the game
  • The game's availability
  • And answer any questions you may have

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How to play American Roulette

American Roulette is the version of the game that Canadian players are most likely to recognise from TV and movies, as it is used in all the big Las Vegas casinos and consequently appears in most Vegas-based shows where roulette features. If you have watched a movie that centres around a casino in Las Vegas, chances are you've seen an American Roulette wheel at some stage.

While certain features of the game make it less profitable in the long run for players, American Roulette is one of the most readily available variants at online casinos as well as mobile and tablet roulette sites, and its familiarity makes it endearing to many online roulette fans. However most online casinos will also give players the opportunity to play different roulette variants if they prefer.

The basics of the American Roulette variation

An American Roulette wheel has 38 slots on it, one for each of the numbers 1-36, half red and half black as well as the zero (0) and double zero (00), both of which are green. Players can bet on individual numbers, groups of numbers or fifty-fifty shots like red/black or odd/even, and place their bets by putting their chips in the betting area which has squares numbered to correspond with the numbers on the wheel. Among the more popular bets are:

  • 'Straight Up': A bet on a single number, pays out 35:1
  • 'Split': Two numbers pays out 17:1
  • 'Street': a row of three adjacent numbers: pays out 11:1
  • 'Corner bet': four numbers, pays out 8:1
  • 'Five-number bet': unique to American Roulette due to the presence of the double zero, this covers 1, 2, 3, 0 and 00 and pays out 6:1
  • 'Six-line': six numbers, pays out 5:1
  • 'Column': 12 numbers, either 1,4,7,10,13,etc., 2,5,8,11,14,etc. or 3,6,9,12,15,18,etc. This pays out 2:1
  • 'Dozen': A specific set of 12 numbers, either1-12, 13-24 or 25-36. This also pays out 2:1
  • 'Even-money bet': Either red, black, odd, even, 1-18 or 19-36. This pays out 1:1.

History of American Roulette

It is widely believed that, after French settlers brought roulette in its original form to the United States, the American version was developed some time in the 19th century. The French population of New Orleans has been linked to the growth of roulette in American casinos and in American society in general.

If you think the double zero wheel gives the house a significant edge, this is nothing compared to the original version which had numbers 1-28, a zero, a double-zero and an American Eagle. Players seemed to wise up to this pretty quickly though, and the version you see today has been in existence for more than 100 years.

Availability online vs offline

American Roulette is popular at land-based casinos across Canada, with many of the largest venues in the country offering this particular variant. You can go to many land-based venues and find more than one American Roulette wheel, offering a variety of betting limits.

The game can also be found at pretty much any Canadian online casino, and many offer a wide selection of betting limits at their American Roulette tables. You can generally bet for lower amounts online than offline, and fit in more hands per hour as the speed of play is significantly quicker. Online roulette sites will also often allow players to try American Roulette for free before graduating to real money play.

American Roulette FAQ

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