The roulette wheel is an essential part of the roulette game. Having very simple design it operates complicating function. The function of the roulette wheel is to provide the winning numbers in a random way. In online casinos the roulette wheels have an RNG chip that has much in common with that of a slot machine. It also generates the numbers in a random way. There are two basic roulette wheels: European and American. Below you may see the main peculiarities of them:

European and American Roulette Wheels

European roulette wheels have 37 pockets. The American roulette wheels have 38 pockets. The main difference is that American roulette has oo, while European – only 1 zero. The extra pocket in American roulette makes it not so profitable for players in comparison with European. Roulette wheels have the same numbering sequence. No matter either you play roulette online or offline, the rules remain the same. European roulette has house edge 2.70%, and American roulette - 5.26%. You see the difference is pretty sound and casino odds are also different.

Roulette Wheel Colors

The pockets on the roulette wheel are of red and black color. These colors are used in pockets. Red pocket stands from the very center to the outside area and then goes black pocket and again in turn. Green pockets have zero (European roulette) and double zero (American roulette). Standard roulette wheel is usually found in these 3 colors but you may also find the wheels which are represented in higher variety of colors.

Numbers on Roulette Wheel

You need to know that the roulette wheel numbers go to 36. Nevertheless, you may see more than thirty-six pockets on the wheel (in American roulette). European roulette contains thirty-seven pockets due to the fact that numbers start with zero and go up to 36. American roulette wheel has thirty-eight pockets as they start with 00 and only then zero (e.g. 00, 0, 1, 2…36).

It is necessary to keep in mind that the roulette wheels numbers are not located in sequent order. So, you will not find the numbers that go in increasing progression. For example, zero and double zero are located in the opposite way. And if you want to learn how to play roulette, you should learn the rules first.