Roulette House Edge: The Formula, Every Bet's Edge and How It Compares With Other Games
Quick answer
The roulette house edge is the share of each bet the casino keeps on average: zero pockets divided by total pockets. That is 2.70% on a single-zero wheel (1 ÷ 37), 5.26% on an American double-zero wheel (2 ÷ 38) and 7.69% on a triple-zero wheel (3 ÷ 39). La partage or en prison cut even-money bets to about 1.35%.
| Single zero (37 pockets) | 2.70% on every standard bet |
|---|---|
| American double zero (38 pockets) | 5.26%; five-number bet 7.89% |
| Triple zero (39 pockets) | 7.69% |
| La partage / en prison (even-money bets) | about 1.35% |
| Expected loss on 1,000 USDT wagered | 27.0 / 52.6 / 76.9 USDT by wheel |
| Betting systems | Do not change the edge (2.6 to 2.8 USDT lost per 100 wagered in our test) |
The roulette house edge is the average share of every bet the casino keeps, and it comes entirely from the zero pockets. On a single-zero wheel it is 2.70%, on an American double-zero wheel 5.26%, and on a triple-zero wheel 7.69%, figures confirmed by the Wizard of Odds roulette basics. Every standard bet on a wheel carries the same edge.
This guide shows where the edge comes from, the formula for any bet, the edge on every bet across three wheels, the two rules that halve it, and how roulette's casino advantage compares with other games we have calculated.
What the house edge means
The house edge is the expected loss per unit you bet, expressed as a percentage. A 2.70% edge means that, over a very large number of bets, you lose 2.70 USDT for every 100 USDT wagered. Its mirror image is the return to player (RTP): 100% minus the edge, so 97.30% on a single-zero wheel.
The UK Gambling Commission's explanation of how RTP works makes the key point: RTP is an average over a very large number of games, and short runs can be far from it. The same applies to the edge. It describes what happens to the total amount you wager, not to any single spin.
Three things follow:
- The edge applies to turnover, not your bankroll. Betting 10 USDT a spin for 100 spins means 1,000 USDT wagered, so a 2.70% edge costs about 27 USDT on average, even if you started with 50 USDT.
- It never switches off. Every bet you place carries it, including bets made with winnings.
- It is fixed by the wheel and the rules, not by the dealer, the time of day or your recent results.
The roulette house edge formula
Roulette pays every bet as if the wheel had 36 pockets. A single number pays 35 to 1, so a winning 1 USDT bet returns 36 USDT. That would be a fair price on a 36-pocket wheel, but real wheels add one, two or three zeros.
house edge = 1 − (numbers covered × (payout + 1)) ÷ total pocketsStraight up, single zero: 1 − (1 × 36) ÷ 37 = 1 − 0.9730 = 2.70%. Red, double zero: 1 − (18 × 2) ÷ 38 = 1 − 0.9474 = 5.26%.
For every standard bet, numbers covered × (payout + 1) equals 36. That gives a shortcut:
house edge = zero pockets ÷ total pockets1 ÷ 37 = 2.70%; 2 ÷ 38 = 5.26%; 3 ÷ 39 = 7.69%.
Worked example: 1,000 USDT of action on each wheel
Say you bet 5 USDT a spin for 200 spins. Your total wagered is 1,000 USDT.
- Single zero: 1,000 × 0.0270 = 27.0 USDT expected loss
- Double zero: 1,000 × 0.0526 = 52.6 USDT
- Triple zero: 1,000 × 0.0769 = 76.9 USDT
The wheel you sit at changes the cost by a factor of almost three. No choice of bet comes close to that.
House edge on every roulette bet, all three wheels
The table lists the edge on every bet type, from our exact calculations. A dash means the bet isn't offered on that layout.
| Bet | Payout | Single zero (37) | Double zero (38) | Triple zero (39) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight up | 35 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Split | 17 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Street | 11 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Corner | 8 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Six line | 5 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Dozen / column | 2 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Red/black, odd/even, high/low | 1 to 1 | 2.70% | 5.26% | 7.69% |
| Five-number (0,00,1,2,3) | 6 to 1 | – | 7.89% | – |
The pattern is the point. The edge is a property of the wheel, not the bet. Red, a dozen and a single number all cost the same per USDT wagered. They differ only in how often they win and how much they pay, which is the subject of our roulette risk and reward guide.
The American roulette house edge and the five-number bet
On an American wheel, the standard edge is 5.26%. The five-number bet (0, 00, 1, 2, 3) is the exception. It covers 5 numbers and pays 6 to 1, so it returns 5 × 7 = 35 units per 38 spins instead of 36:
five-number edge = 1 − (5 × 7) ÷ 38 = 1 − 0.9211 = 7.89%The Wizard of Odds lists the same 7.89%. It is the most expensive bet on a double-zero table.
The full 38-pocket layout and bet list are in our American roulette wheel guide.
La partage and en prison: the rules that halve the edge
Some single-zero tables add a rule for even-money bets (red or black, odd or even, high or low) when the ball lands on zero:
- La partage: you get half of your even-money stake back.
- En prison: your stake is held for the next spin; if that spin wins, you get it back.
Both cut the edge on even-money bets to about 1.35%, according to the Wizard of Odds and Britannica's article on roulette house odds. The arithmetic for la partage is short. Without the rule, zero costs you your whole stake 1 time in 37. With it, you lose only half:
edge with la partage = (1 ÷ 37) × 0.5 = 1.35%Half of the normal 2.70%. Inside bets, dozens and columns are not covered and keep the 2.70% edge.
If a single-zero table with la partage or en prison is available, even-money bets there are the cheapest roulette bets in this guide.
What our simulation shows
Formulas are averages. To see how the edge plays out, we simulated 100,000 players per wheel, each betting 1 USDT on red for 1,000 spins (1,000 USDT wagered).
| Wheel | House edge | Expected loss (edge × 1,000) | Median result | Players ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European (single zero) | 2.70% | 27.0 USDT | -28 USDT | 18.68% |
| American (double zero) | 5.26% | 52.6 USDT | -52 USDT | 4.35% |
| Triple zero | 7.69% | 76.9 USDT | -76 USDT | 0.69% |
The median player lost almost exactly what the edge predicts on every wheel. The edge also holds when you change how you bet. In our test of four betting systems on a single-zero wheel, the loss per 100 USDT wagered stayed close to 2.70:
| System | Average wagered per session | Loss per 100 USDT wagered |
|---|---|---|
| Flat 1 USDT | 989.4 USDT | 2.71 USDT |
| Martingale | 233.3 USDT | 2.77 USDT |
| D'Alembert | 597.3 USDT | 2.84 USDT |
| Fibonacci | 475.1 USDT | 2.62 USDT |
Systems change how much you wager and when you stop, so the average loss per session differs. The cost per USDT wagered doesn't move beyond normal random variation. The full test is in our roulette strategy guide. OpenStax describes this convergence as the law of large numbers: the more trials, the closer the observed frequency gets to the true probability.
House edge on casino games: where roulette ranks
How does roulette's casino advantage compare? The figures below come from our own calculations, except keno, where we use the Wizard of Odds range.
| Game and bet | House edge | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, 6 decks, S17, DAS, 3:2, basic strategy | 0.47% (±0.036 standard error) | Our 10M-hand simulation |
| Crash or dice, published 1% games | 1.00% | Our crash and dice simulations |
| Baccarat banker (8 decks) | 1.06% | Our exact calculation |
| Baccarat player (8 decks) | 1.24% | Our exact calculation |
| Craps don't pass | 1.36% | Our exact calculation |
| Craps pass line | 1.41% | Our exact calculation |
| Blackjack paying 6:5 (same rules) | 1.83% | Our 10M-hand simulation |
| Roulette, single zero | 2.70% | Our exact calculation |
| Roulette, double zero | 5.26% | Our exact calculation |
| Roulette, triple zero | 7.69% | Our exact calculation |
| Baccarat tie at 8 to 1 | 14.36% | Our exact calculation |
| Live keno | 20% to 35% | Wizard of Odds |
The blackjack figure is a Monte Carlo estimate from 10 million hands per rule set, with a standard error of about 0.036 percentage points, and it assumes perfect basic strategy. Keno returns 65% to 80% in live games according to the Wizard of Odds keno page, which is why it sits at the bottom.
Single-zero roulette sits in the middle. It costs more than the main bets in blackjack, baccarat and craps, and more than many 1% crypto games, but much less than keno or the baccarat tie. Double- and triple-zero wheels move roulette toward the expensive end. Our dice game guide shows how a 1% game works.
Strategy: lowering what you pay
You can't remove the house edge, but you can control how much of it you pay:
- Choose the wheel first. Single zero instead of double zero halves the edge. Our American vs European roulette comparison lays out the difference spin by spin.
- Look for la partage or en prison if you bet on even-money outcomes.
- Avoid the five-number bet on American tables.
- Bet less in total. The expected loss is edge × total wagered. Smaller stakes and fewer spins cost less.
- Count network fees. With a USDT bankroll, a deposit or withdrawal fee adds to the edge. If you wager 100 USDT at 2.70%, your expected loss is 2.70 USDT; a 2 USDT fee raises the real cost to 4.70 USDT. Our USDT guides compare networks.
Use the roulette payout calculator to see the expected loss for any bet and stake before you play.
Common mistakes
- Believing some roulette bets have a lower edge than others on the same wheel.
- Applying the edge to the bankroll instead of the total amount wagered.
- Expecting a betting system to change the casino's advantage.
- Playing a double- or triple-zero wheel when a single-zero wheel is available.
- Forgetting that la partage and en prison only cover even-money bets.
Find every roulette guide on the roulette hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the house edge in roulette?
It depends on the wheel. A single-zero (European) wheel has a 2.70% edge, an American double-zero wheel 5.26%, and a triple-zero wheel 7.69%. Every standard bet on a given wheel has the same edge. The only exception in our tables is the American five-number bet on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3, at 7.89%.
What is the American roulette house edge?
5.26% on every standard bet, because 2 of the 38 pockets (0 and 00) are not covered by the payouts. For every 100 USDT you bet, you lose 5.26 USDT on average. The five-number bet is worse at 7.89%, since it pays 6 to 1; to match the other bets it would need to pay 6.2 to 1 (5 × 7.2 = 36).
Which roulette bet has the lowest house edge?
On a standard wheel, all bets except the American five-number bet share the same edge, so no bet is cheaper than another. The lowest edges come from rules, not bets: on a single-zero wheel with la partage or en prison, even-money bets such as red or black drop to about 1.35%.
How does the roulette house edge compare with other casino games?
Single-zero roulette at 2.70% is cheaper than keno or the baccarat tie bet but more expensive than the main baccarat bets (about 1.06% to 1.24%), craps pass and don't pass (about 1.4%), blackjack with basic strategy and good rules (around 0.5%) and many 1% crypto games such as dice and crash.
Does the house edge mean I will lose exactly that amount?
No. The edge is a long-run average per unit wagered. Over a short session your result can be far above or below it. In our simulation of 1,000 spins of 1 USDT on red, 18.68% of single-zero players finished ahead, even though the average player lost about 27 USDT. The more you bet in total, the closer results get to the edge.
Sources
- Roulette Basics — Wizard of Odds. House edge: double-zero 5.26%, five-number bet 7.89%; single-zero 2.70%; triple-zero 7.69%; la partage about 1.35% on even-money bets
- Roulette: House odds — Encyclopaedia Britannica. American wheel about 5.26%; European about 2.7%; en prison about 1.35%; betting systems cannot beat the house edge
- Keno — Wizard of Odds. Live keno returns 65%-80% (house edge 20%-35%); video keno 84%-95%
- How can gaming machines meet their %RTP if they are random? — UK Gambling Commission. %RTP = wins / cost of play, an average over a large number of games; may need a million or more cycles; volatility
- Terminology — OpenStax, Rice University. Probability as long-run relative frequency; law of large numbers