An American roulette wheel gives a single number a 2.63% chance to win. The probability improves to 2.70% on a European wheel. This small difference creates a house edge of 5.26% versus 2.70% for straight bets.
Key Takeaways
- The probability of landing on a single specified number on an American roulette wheel is 1/38 (≈2.6316%), because there are 38 possible outcomes on an American wheel.
- The probability of landing on a single specified number on a European roulette wheel is 1/37 (≈2.7027%), because there are 37 possible outcomes on a European wheel.
- The probability of landing on red on a European roulette wheel is 18/37 (≈48.6486%).
Straight bets hit a specific number about 2.70% on European wheels and 2.63% on American, powering higher house edge.
Related reading
01 · Category
Odds & Probabilities30 stats
01
The probability of landing on a single specified number on an American roulette wheel is 1/38 (≈2.6316%), because there are 38 possible outcomes on an American wheel.
02
The probability of landing on a single specified number on a European roulette wheel is 1/37 (≈2.7027%), because there are 37 possible outcomes on a European wheel.
03
The probability of landing on red on a European roulette wheel is 18/37 (≈48.6486%).
04
The probability of landing on black on a European roulette wheel is 18/37 (≈48.6486%).
05
The probability of landing on green (zero) on a European roulette wheel is 1/37 (≈2.7027%).
06
The probability of landing on red on an American roulette wheel is 18/38 (≈47.3684%).
07
The probability of landing on black on an American roulette wheel is 18/38 (≈47.3684%).
08
The probability of landing on green on an American roulette wheel is 2/38 (≈5.2632%).
09
The roulette house edge on European roulette is 2.70% (≈1/37) for straight bets due to the single zero.
10
The roulette house edge on American roulette is 5.26% (≈2/38) for straight bets due to the double zero.
11
The payout odds for a straight bet (single number) are 35:1 on European roulette (excluding stake).
12
The payout odds for a straight bet (single number) are 35:1 on American roulette (excluding stake).
13
The payout odds for a split bet (2 numbers) are 17:1 on European roulette.
14
The payout odds for a split bet (2 numbers) are 17:1 on American roulette.
15
The payout odds for a street bet (3 numbers) are 11:1 on European roulette.
16
The payout odds for a street bet (3 numbers) are 11:1 on American roulette.
17
The payout odds for a corner bet (4 numbers) are 8:1 on European roulette.
18
The payout odds for a corner bet (4 numbers) are 8:1 on American roulette.
19
The payout odds for a six-line bet (6 numbers) are 5:1 on European roulette.
20
The payout odds for a six-line bet (6 numbers) are 5:1 on American roulette.
21
The payout odds for a dozen bet (12 numbers) are 2:1 on European roulette.
22
The payout odds for a dozen bet (12 numbers) are 2:1 on American roulette.
23
The payout odds for a column bet (12 numbers) are 2:1 on European roulette.
24
The payout odds for a column bet (12 numbers) are 2:1 on American roulette.
25
The payout odds for an even-money bet (red/black or odd/even) are 1:1 on European roulette.
26
The payout odds for an even-money bet (red/black or odd/even) are 1:1 on American roulette.
27
The probability of winning an even-money bet (red) on European roulette is 18/37 ≈ 48.65%.
28
The probability of losing an even-money bet (red) on European roulette is 19/37 ≈ 51.35% (includes green).
29
The probability of winning an even-money bet (red) on American roulette is 18/38 = 47.37%.
30
The probability of losing an even-money bet (red) on American roulette is 20/38 = 52.63% (includes both zeros).
Interpretation
Odds & Probabilities Interpretation
Whether you bet on one magic number, a whole color, or an entire dozen, roulette always finds a way to be “fair” in the math and unfair in the payout, with European odds of 1 in 37 (about 2.70 percent) and American odds of 1 in 38 (about 2.63 percent) plus the extra zeros quietly taking an average house edge of about 2.70 percent on straight bets in Europe and about 5.26 percent in America.
More related reading
Reference
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APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Roulette Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/roulette-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Roulette Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/roulette-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Roulette Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/roulette-statistics.
Sources & references
4 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level