Report No. 188
European Roulette Wheel: Pocket Order, Arcs and Zero Rules
The single-zero wheel's 37-pocket sequence, the arcs built on it, how one zero sets the edge on every bet, and why New Jersey's rules carry no la partage.
The brief
The European roulette wheel has 37 pockets and a single green zero, and that zero is the entire house advantage: every inside bet is paid as though the zero were not on the wheel. Under New Jersey's single-zero payout rule, as of October 2026, the zero also takes every even-money bet in full, with no half-back. The pocket order itself is written into regulation, so the sections players bet on are fixed, not chosen by the casino.
Anyone searching roulette wheel european is usually after two things: where each number sits, and what one zero instead of two does to the price of a bet. This report covers both from the published rules. The American layout has its own report on the double zero roulette wheel.
What order are the numbers on a European roulette wheel?
Clockwise from zero, the single-zero sequence is 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34, 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33, 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26. New Jersey prescribes this clockwise order unless its Division of Gaming Enforcement approves another, and the Wizard of Odds number sequence page publishes the same list.
The order is not random filler. Per the Wizard of Odds, single- and double-zero wheels both aim to balance high, low, odd and even inside any sector, so no arc of the wheel leans heavily toward one outside bet. Who first set the sequence, and why these exact neighbours, is an open question in gambling history.
The physical wheel is regulated too. New Jersey requires 37 equally spaced compartments and a wheel at least 30 inches across, so no pocket is wider and more likely to catch the ball than another.
How the sequence divides into sections
Because the order is fixed, any run of neighbouring pockets is a stable target. New Jersey's optional six-numbers color wager makes this explicit: it cuts the single-zero wheel into arcs of six adjacent pockets each and lets a player back one arc. Three of the arcs, read straight off the sequence, look like this:
| Arc color | Pockets (in wheel order) |
|---|---|
| Purple | 4, 21, 2, 25, 17, 34 |
| Green | 6, 27, 13, 36, 11, 30 |
| Black | 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16 |
Each arc mixes high and low, odd and even, which is the balancing the sequence was built for. The table layout runs in numeric order; the wheel does not, so a bet on neighbours on the wheel is a scattered set of squares on the felt.
European roulette bets and payouts
The payout schedule is the same on both wheels; only the number of pockets changes. New Jersey's minimum roulette payout odds for inside bets, as of October 2026, are below, with the return a winning one-unit bet produces including the stake.
| Bet | Pockets covered | Payout | Units returned on a win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight | 1 | 35 to 1 | 36 |
| Split | 2 | 17 to 1 | 18 |
| Three numbers | 3 | 11 to 1 | 12 |
| Red, black, odd, even, 1 to 18, 19 to 36 | 18 | Even money | 2 |
The last column is the useful one. Spread one unit across every pocket a bet type could cover and each line returns 36 units, which is what a wheel of 36 numbers with no zero would pay to break even.
House edge on the single-zero wheel
The edge is one unit in every 37 staked, and it comes from a single pocket. A straight bet wins on 1 of 37 equally likely pockets and returns 36 units; across 37 spins at one unit each, the player stakes 37 and gets 36 back. Split and three-number bets work out the same way, because their payouts are cut in proportion to the pockets covered.
Even-money bets reach the same figure by a different route. A bet on 1 to 18 wins on 18 pockets and loses on the other 19 (the 18 high numbers plus the zero). Over 37 spins that is 18 units won against 19 lost, a net loss of one unit in 37. Under New Jersey's rule the zero's pocket is a full loss on outside even-money bets, so nothing softens it.
La partage and the zero: what the rules say
New Jersey's text, as of October 2026, gives single-zero tables no half-return: the zero takes red, black, odd, even, 1 to 18 and 19 to 36 outright. The half-loss rule players know as la partage shows up in that state's rules only on the double-zero wheel, where the casino may take half or all of an even-money bet when 0 or 00 lands. A player who wants a zero that costs only half the even-money stake has to find a table whose posted rules say so; the European wheel alone does not guarantee it.
European roulette wheel vs the American wheel
The American wheel adds a 00 pocket and uses a different sequence. New Jersey's double-zero pocket order begins 0, 28, 9, 26 and places 00 directly after 1. With an extra losing pocket and the same payouts, every bet on that wheel returns 36 units across a larger set of pockets, which is why the single-zero wheel is the cheaper game on every bet type.
New Jersey also allows a double-zero wheel to be dealt as a single-zero game. In that case, if the ball lands in 00 the dealer calls no spin and respins the wheel, while a 0 still loses the outside even-money bets. The 00 drops out of play, but the remaining zero carries the full single-zero edge. The layout, pocket order and the casino's half-loss option on the original wheel are covered in our double zero wheel pocket order report.
Common questions
How many pockets does a European roulette wheel have?
It has 37 pockets: one green zero and the numbers that run from 1 to 36. New Jersey's rule requires all 37 to be equally spaced (rule text as of October 2026).
Does European roulette use la partage?
Not under New Jersey's single-zero rule as of October 2026. A zero loses red, black, odd, even, 1 to 18 and 19 to 36 in full. The half-loss option in that state's rules applies only to double-zero wheels.
Who decided the order of numbers on the wheel?
No one knows. The Wizard of Odds calls the origin of the sequence an unsolved question; what can be measured is that each sector mixes high, low, odd and even numbers.
How big is a casino roulette wheel?
New Jersey sets a floor rather than a fixed size: the wheel must be at least 30 inches across, mounted at one end of the table.
Documents we read
- New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (via Cornell LII), N.J. Admin. Code 13:69E-1.7 Roulette wheel and table; physical characteristics, accessed October 19, 2026
- New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (via Cornell LII), N.J. Admin. Code 13:69F-5.2 Roulette: payout odds, accessed October 19, 2026
- Wizard of Odds, Number Sequence in Roulette, August 3, 2026
