Roulette Wheel Numbers: Order, Colors and Layout
Nov 9, 2026 · The Editors
Roulette wheel numbers explained: how many numbers are on a European and an American wheel, the numbers in order around each wheel, which are red and which black, and why they add up to 666.
A roulette wheel looks random, but its numbers are anything but. The order around the wheel was arranged so that high and low, odd and even, and red and black are spread as evenly as possible. Here is how it all fits together.
How many numbers are on a roulette wheel?
There are two common wheels:
| Wheel | Pockets | Numbers | House edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| European (single zero) | 37 | 0, then 1–36 | 2.7% |
| American (double zero) | 38 | 0, 00, then 1–36 | 5.26% |
The zero — and on the American wheel the double zero — is green. It is not red, black, odd or even, and it is the reason the house wins over time: a bet on red pays even money, but red comes up on only 18 of the 37 or 38 pockets.
Roulette wheel numbers and colors
On both wheels, 18 numbers are red and 18 are black.
Red: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34, 36
Black: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 35
There is a pattern for remembering it. From 1 to 10 and from 19 to 28, odd numbers are red and even numbers black. From 11 to 18 and from 29 to 36, it flips: odd numbers are black and even numbers red.
Roulette wheel numbers in order
Reading clockwise from the zero:
European wheel: 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
American wheel: 0, 28, 9, 26, 30, 11, 7, 20, 32, 17, 5, 22, 34, 15, 3, 24, 36, 13, 1, 00, 27, 10, 25, 29, 12, 8, 19, 31, 18, 6, 21, 33, 16, 4, 23, 35, 14, 2
Red and black alternate all the way round both wheels. On the American wheel, the 0 and 00 sit directly opposite each other, and most consecutive numbers are placed across the wheel from one another.
The roulette table layout
The betting layout is not in wheel order. It is a simple grid: the numbers 1 to 36 in three columns and twelve rows, counting across — 1, 2, 3 on the first row, 4, 5, 6 on the next — with the zero (and double zero) across the top. Around the grid sit the outside bets: red or black, odd or even, 1–18 or 19–36, the three dozens and the three columns. For every bet and what it pays, see roulette bets explained.
Why the numbers add up to 666
Add every number from 1 to 36 and the total is 666. That is why roulette has long been nicknamed "the devil's game". A popular legend says the mathematician Blaise Pascal invented the wheel and sold his soul to learn its secrets. The truth is duller: Pascal experimented with perpetual-motion machines in the 17th century, but the game as we know it took shape in French gaming houses in the 18th century, and the single-zero wheel was popularised in the 19th century, notably at Monte Carlo.
Is any number luckier?
No. On a fair wheel every pocket has exactly the same chance: 1 in 37 on a European wheel, 1 in 38 on an American one. A number that has not come up for an hour is no more "due" than any other — the belief that it is has a name, the gambler's fallacy.
Roulette at home
A tabletop wheel brings the sound of the ball rattling into a pocket to a party or a charity night. Play for chips rather than money, use the colour and dozen bets for beginners, and let a different player run the wheel each round. Our guide to how to play roulette at home walks through a full game, and craps at home makes a good second table for a casino night.
