Roulette Wheel Zero
The double zero wheel is found in the U.S., Canada, South America, and the Caribbean, while the single zero wheel is predominant elsewhere. The sum of all the numbers on the roulette wheel (from 0 to 36) is 666, which is the “Number of the Beast”. The European wheel has 37 pockets, including numbers one through to 36, and just a single green zero. The European wheel house edge is -2.7%. See the roulette odds page for more detail. The payouts for each of the wheel variations are exactly the same, but the odds are not because the American wheel has the extra pocket.
Some casino games are just meant to be avoided due to their high house edges. Such games give the casino a much larger advantage than they deserve.
Big Six, Bonus Six, and keno are all good examples of games that aren’t worth playing if you hope to win. I personally think keno is especially bad, considering that it has up to a 30% house edge in some cases.
Unfortunately, some games with low odds of winning can be deceiving. You may have heard that roulette is a good game with regards to beating the casino.
But you might also fall for the triple zero version. I’m going to discuss more on triple zero roulette and why it’s so bad.
What Is Triple Zero Roulette?
The vast majority of roulette wheels are either of the European or American variety. A European roulette wheel features 37 pockets, while an American wheel has 38 pockets.
- For instance, if you bet on 0 on a European roulette wheel, the odds against you winning are 36/1. The expected value on a $1 bet is -$0.027 on a European roulette wheel. If you bet on 0 or 00 on an American roulette wheel, the odds against you winning at 37/1, thanks to the addition of the extra number.
- Rumor was that Blanc had made a deal with the devil to learn the secrets of Roulette, explaining why the numbers added to 666. While gambling halls in Paris at the time had both a zero and double zero for the house, Blanc advertised patrons had better odds of winning because his wheels only featured a single zero.
- The American roulette wheel has 38 divisions including numbers from 1 to 36, 0, and 00. Numbers from 1 to 36 are alternately colored red and black, while the single zero and the double zero are marked in green.
I’ll discuss more on these games later and why they’re both better than the triple zero version. But the key point is that these are the most common types of roulette.
The rare triple zero wheel features 39 pockets. The pockets include numbers 1-36, zero, double zero, and triple zero.
Roulette Wheel Picture Double Zero
The latter is what truly defines this game. Triple zero roulette is the only variation that offers a pocket with three zeros.
Why Is Triple Zero So Bad?
At first glance, the triple zero wheel might just seem like an opportunity to enjoy a new style of roulette. The reality, though, is that it’s designed to give the casino a larger edge.
The first thing to understand here is that each zero pocket, or those colored green, gives the house an advantage on most bets.
If you take “black” on a red/black wager, for example, then you have 18 chances of winning. This is because the 1-36 pockets feature 18 black spaces.
The triple zero wheel has 21 pockets that can cause you to lose. Pockets 1-36 contain 18 red spaces. Additionally, pockets 0, 00, and 000 can result in a loss.
You may not immediately notice how bad of a deal this is. But you’ll fully understand when you calculate your chances of winning and the house advantage.
Here’s the math:
- 18 / 39 = 46.15 chance of winning
- 3 / 39 = 7.69% house edge
Again, you have 18 chances of both winning and losing within numbers 1-36. But the kicker is that three special spaces give casinos an extra advantage.
Triple zero roulette’s 7.69% house edge is one of the worst in all of gambling. Its sole purpose is to trick unknowledgeable gamblers so that casinos win more money.
How Can You Avoid Triple Zero Wheels?
The great thing about triple zero roulette is that it’s not available in abundance. In fact, the vast majority of gambling venues don’t carry this game.
One reason why is because of gamblers are knowledgeable enough about roulette to avoid the triple zero wheel. They’d rather choose a more favorable European or American wheel.
Even those who don’t understand the roulette house edge may notice that their money vanishes much faster with a triple zero version. Eventually, they’ll just go back to playing the variation(s) they enjoyed before.
Triple zero roulette is most commonly found at charity gambling events. Therefore, you’re unlikely to see it in your local casino.
If you do spot it, then you won’t have much trouble figuring out how to avoid it. You simply need to look at the wheel and notice that there are three green pockets.
Green typically means “go” in most situations. In this case, though, it should mean “stop” or stay away.
Is There Any Advantage to Triple Zero Roulette?
I want to reiterate that you should avoid triple zero wheels at all costs. They’ll drain your casino gaming bankroll much faster than a common wheel.
But one small benefit that triple zero roulette offers is more comps. A pit boss that sees you playing this game will think you’re losing more money with it.
Casinos have already worked out the math on all games to ensure that they still make hefty profits when rewards are included. Even when you’re receiving more comps through triple zero roulette, you still aren’t getting a better deal.
What Are Some Better Roulette Options?
You can see why triple zero roulette is such a terrible game to play. But what can you play in its place if you still want to enjoy roulette action? You can try any of the following games, which are explained in detail.
American Roulette
An American roulette wheel has 38 pockets, including 1-36, zero, and double zero. The two zero pockets give the casino a 5.26% house advantage (2/38).
This house edge is still high in the grand scheme of gambling. However, it’s better than what the triple zero wheel offers.
European Roulette
A European wheel has 37 pockets, including 1-36 and zero. The lone zero pocket only gives the house a 2.70% edge (1/37).
This game is certainly preferable to both triple zero and American roulette. It also offers one of the friendlier house advantages in the gambling world.
French Roulette
French roulette is also played on a European wheel. However, it differs from European roulette in one major way.
The French version features a special rule called “la partage.” This rule pays half back on any losing even-money bet when the ball lands on zero.
As explained earlier, the European wheel normally leads to a 2.70% house edge. But la partage cuts this figure down to 1.35% as long as you stick with even-money wagers.
Mini Roulette (With La Partage)
Mini roulette is played on a small wheel with just 13 pockets. The pockets include 1-12 and zero.
As is, this wheel gives the casino a 7.69% house edge (1/13). You might be thinking, “How is this any better than the triple-zero version?”
Many mini roulette games feature the la partage rule just like the French game. Therefore, this variation has a 3.85% house edge on even-money bets.
The mini version still doesn’t give you a great chance to win in comparison to French or European roulette. But it’s better than both American and triple zero roulette.
Conclusion
Casinos aren’t able to build lavish resorts because they lose to gamblers on a regular basis. Instead, they have a built-in casino edge in almost every scenario.
Most of the time, gambling venues are fairly reasonable with their edges. They actually give you a decent shot to win in the case of French and European Roulette.
American and mini roulette aren’t the greatest games. But at least the casino isn’t trying to rob you with them.
The same can’t be said of triple zero roulette. Due to three house-friendly pockets, it features an atrocious 7.69% house edge.
Roulette Wheel Green Zero
Few casino games are worse in this regard. I’ve mentioned most of them at the outset, including Big Six, Bonus Six, and keno.
You might as well add triple zero to the list of difficult games. It’s presented as a harmless and fun variation of roulette.
But the truth is that it’s only harmless and fun for the casino. You, on the other hand, will take the matter much more seriously when you lose money quicker on a triple zero roulette wheel than you would with any other version.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Why European Roulette is Better Than American Roulette
A normal European roulette wheel only has a 0, and it does NOT include a 00. So a European, or single-zero, roulette wheel only has 37 numbers total, 0-36. An American wheel, on the other hand, has 0-36, but it also has a 00, which gives a total of 38 numbers on the wheel. This doesn't mean you won't ever see a roulette game in Europe with a 00, and it also doesn't mean that no casinos in America have single zero roulette; those are just the standards in the two areas.
In fact, the Monte Carlo Casino in Las Vegas, which has a European theme, definitely has a single zero roulette game. And in competitive casino markets like Mississippi, it's not hard to find a single zero roulette game either. You just have to be on the lookout for one.
The odds of any given number coming up on a single zero roulette wheel are 36 to 1. On a standard American roulette wheel, the odds are 37 to 1. In either case, roulette pays out 35 to 1 for the bet, so it's pretty easy to see how the casino makes its profit at a roulette table. This makes the house edge on American roulette 5.26%, which means for every $100 bet, a player will lose an average of $5.26 over time. Since the odds are better on European roulette, the house edge is only about 2.7%, which means you'll only lose $2.70 per $100 bet.
Compared to blackjack, which has a house edge of 0.5% when played with perfect strategy (2% when you don't know basic strategy), roulette doesn't seem like a very good bet, even the single zero version. In fact, craps has a house edge of 1.4%, so it seems like a better bet too. (Although some of the craps bets that are available are just dreadful in terms of odds.) But in terms of hourly cost, a single zero roulette can become downright competitive with these other games, because a player will almost always be making fewer bets per hour.
A blackjack game can offer 50 bets per hour at a full table, and if there are fewer people at the table, you might make 200 bets per hour. Often a craps table will have 100 rolls per hour. But roulette, with its slower and more elegant pace, tops out at about 65 bets per hour, and at a full table, usually averages closer to just 30 spins per hour.
Let's say an average blackjack player bets $5 per hand and plays 50 hands per hour, or $250 of action per hour, and loses 2%. That's an average $5 per hour cost to play blackjack. Compare that with 30 roulette spins in an hour at $5 each. That's $150 in action with a 2.7% edge, for a total cost of $4.05. Order a couple of premium beers and you've made a profit at the roulette table.
Some single zero roulette games also offer an optional rule called en prison, which allows a player who loses an even money bet to consider his bet 'in prison' instead of lost. If your next spin comes in as what you bet originally, you get your bet back, but no winnings. If you lose again, then you lose the bet. This cuts the house edge on a European roulette game with the en prison rule in effect to a respectable 1.35%, which is a pretty low house edge.