A Guide to American Roulette Payouts

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Green casino chips and a gold roulette marker on a black, white and green roulette table.
BetMGM Aug 30, 2024, 11:08 AM

American roulette follows the same rule of thumb as all online casino games at BetMGM. The more likely an outcome attached to a specific wager is, the less valuable the payout would be if the bet hits.

The inverse is also true for American roulette. The less likely the potential outcome, the better the payout would be if you get lucky enough.

While a ball bouncing on a wheel determines the fate of each bet you place in American roulette, knowledge of the game can help you put yourself in the best position to take advantage of some good fortune. Payouts for standard wagers and side bets are part of what all experienced roulette players are familiar with.

Understanding American Roulette Payouts Begins With the House Edge

If youโ€™re new to playing roulette, one of the things that you should note when youโ€™re deciding whether to play American or European roulette is that American roulette adds an extra green space to the wheel. This double zero slot increases the house edge for the game compared to European roulette as it adds to the total of possible outcomes on each spin of the wheel.

The overall standard house edge in American roulette is 5.26%. That number represents the portion of all the money wagered on the game that the casino keeps instead of paying back to players.

Itโ€™s important to understand that doesnโ€™t mean that you as an individual should expect to receive back 94.74% of the money you bet on each spin. Rather, it means that the casino ends up paying out that percentage of all the money that all players bet on the game over time.

This is crucial because it shows you that your payout in American roulette isnโ€™t necessarily going to match the actual probability of the outcome attached to a specific wager hitting. Another influencing factor on American roulette payouts is that probability, though

American Roulette Odds Impact Winnings

Besides the house edge and house rules for games like American Roulette at BetMGM, the other biggest factor in the amount of winnings on a specific wager is the probability of the result tied to that bet. Two examples show this perfectly.

Suppose you place a straight bet of $10 on the 1 spot. In order to win, then, you need the pill to rest on the corresponding spot on the wheel.

When you are figuring payouts in American roulette, you ignore the 00 and 00 spots to account for the house edge. Thus, your straight bet will payout 35 to 1 if you win, which means you would stand to collect $360 if you get lucky.

If you instead placed a bet on black at the same amount, you would only need the pill to land on any black spot, representing half of the wheel minus the two green slots. Thus, your payout is 18 to 18, or easier understood as 1 to 1.

In this situation, you would simply get your $10 back, as your risk was minimal on this bet. These payouts generally donโ€™t change across American roulette variants, meaning that you can play American roulette games at BetMGM and know what to expect.

While you may be able to do the math for any bet option in your head, some players prefer to make things easier on themselves. Another way to make the game easier is to use the assists that the casinos offer.

BetMGM Makes American Roulette Payouts Easy

Itโ€™s common for regular roulette players to have the payouts memorized for their favorite wagers in their favorite games. Still others who are newer to the game or are playing a variant like Live American Roulette for the first time to use a cheat sheet.

To be clear, using a roulette cheat sheet will not improve your odds of winning at roulette. The cheat sheet helps you in that you donโ€™t have to figure payouts in your head. Instead, you can merely look at the cheat sheet.

This could help you make decisions more quickly as you play because you can focus on the game. One decision that players rarely struggle with is whether to register for BetMGM when they want to play American roulette.

This is an easy to choice because BetMGM offers amazing promotions for roulette players like an industry-best casino welcome offer. Furthermore, BetMGMโ€™s easy to use interface acts like a cheat sheet of sorts as it will show you the potential payout for the bet you are considering.

BetMGM Rewards are also only available on the BetMGM app, whether youโ€™re playing American roulette or any others of the thousands of games on the app. American roulette can pay when you play, and now you can figure out exactly how much those winnings could be.

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Our BetMGM editors and authors are casino experts with a wealth of knowledge of the online casino industry at all levels. Their coverage includes company news, game reviews, how-to instructional articles, strategy guides, and editorials showcasing BetMGMโ€™s superior product and game library.

Our BetMGM editors and authors are casino experts with a wealth of knowledge of the online casino industry at all levels. Their coverage includes company news, game reviews, how-to instructional articles, strategy guides, and editorials showcasing BetMGMโ€™s superior product and game library.