Comparing European and American Roulette Wheels
There are 2 kinds of roulette wheels out there. We have the American Roulette Wheel and the European (or French) Roulette Wheel. Let's get the distinction between these different wheels.
The first roulette wheel of course is the European (or French) Roulette Wheel. When the game was brought to America the "00" was added to give the house some added leverage.
In American Roulette the roulette wheel has 38 slots where the ball can go. These slots are numbered 1 through 36, a "0", and one slot numbered "00." The numbers are not arranged in any consecutive order. In fact, at first glance the numbers would seem to be in random order. On the contrary the arrangement of the numbers achieves a mathematical balance.
You may also have noticed that the slots alternate in colors of black and red. All slots are in these two colors except for the '0' and the '00' which are in green. The arrangement of the numbers and the colors shows a perfect balance between even and odd numbers, red and black colors, and the high and low numbers. Notice that the two green slots are placed opposite each other and the numbers face the outside of the wheel.
If you would like to try and put some logic into the arrangement of the elements of the roulette wheel here's a bit of a summary how they're arranged. All the black numbers, if you care to check, would be placed opposite the red ones. The arrangement of the numbers (except for the "0" and the "00") would be in such a way that 2 even numbers would alternate with 2 odd numbers. Numbers alternate in colors of black and red. Every odd number on the roulette wheel would be laid out opposite to the next higher even number. Most of the time the numbers would be in a pair with a number in between them in which the sum of the pair would be equal to either 37 or 39.
In European and French Roulette the roulette wheel would only have 37 slots. Numbers are from 0 to 36 (there is no "00" in this type of a roulette wheel). A similarity with the American Roulette Wheel is that the arrangement of the numbers is not in any consecutive series and the red and black color alternate. The numbers on this roulette wheel face the inside of the wheel.
The lone green zero is significant in this roulette wheel. The arc to left would contain nine huge black numbers and nine small red numbers. The arc on the right however would have that in reverse â€" nine small black numbers and nine huge red numbers. The numbers on this roulette wheel would be arranged somewhat in this series â€" to the right of your green "0" you would have 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 32, and 10. To the left of the "0" you will have 26, 3, 35, 12, 28, 7, 29, 18, 22, 9, 31, 14, 20, 1, 33, 16, 24, and 5.
Whenever you go into a casino don't be surprised to see these two wheels. Knowing the difference between these roulette wheels will help you gain insight to some of the possible rules of play although each casino would have its own house rules, be advised to read the rules posted on each table.