An American roulette wheel includes 38 slots or divisions while a European roulette wheel is composed of only 37. That is the greatest difference between the two. In American roulette each slot contains its very own number and the numbers on the roulette wheel are listed as 1 to 36, 0 and 00. On the roulette wheel the numbers alternated with even numbered pairs and odd numbered pairs. The numbers on the roulette wheel also alternated in another way, which is that they alternated between the colors red and black. To see what a roulette wheel looks like, search the Internet for a diagram of a roulette wheel. The 0 and 00 slots or divisions on the roulette wheel are always the color green as evidenced by looking at an actual roulette wheel in a casino.

The dealer (also called a croupier in American roulette) allows participants to place their bets and then he spins the wheel in one direction while the ball makes its travels in the opposite direction. The ball drops into its final position in any one of the slots and from there the winner is determined.

Besides American roulette and European roulette there is also what is called French roulette. The rules of French roulette are very much like that of European roulette. The roulette wheel is numbered with 37 divisions and there is a single zero but the roulette table is laid out very differently in relation to the outside bets.

In French roulette the odds are the exact same as European roulette which is one zero but the odds are much better than in American roulette which is two zeros. When the final outcome is zero, the participants of the game are likely to lose only 50 percent of the even money bets that were placed.

Roulette wheels are glitzy and hold the promise of money. The numbers on a roulette wheel represent a chance to win or lose money. The Internet has plenty of roulette wheel diagrams and roulette wheel layouts as well as more informative roulette wheel rules and odds.

When you have the opportunity to visit any of the big casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City or Reno, look for a roulette wheel that is a French wheel which is to say a wheel that contains only6 a single zero. In Las Vegas terms, the roulette wheel odds and the house odds drop to approximately 2.7 percent, which is very good for the roulette player. If you want someone to show you a roulette wheel diagram then look to the resources of the Internet. This also goes for roulette wheel numbers, a roulette wheel rotor and roulette wheel repair.