Of all the table games available at land-based and online casinos, roulette might just be the most iconic. The spread of the numbers, the black-and-red pockets, and the green zero pocket all make it instantly recognizable. However, what has enabled the game to last centuries is its randomization and low house edge.
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During its early development, players couldn't bet on the zero or green pocket. It was strictly there for the house. Later, American roulette introduced a second zero – or rather, a second banker pocket – and now, there’s even triple-zero roulette.
Invented in the United States in the 19th century, there used to be a third banker’s pocket known as the American Eagle pocket. It went out of fashion for a while, but now casinos in Las Vegas like the Venetian and New York-New York have revived the format. So, what is triple-zero roulette, and how does it work?
Triple-zero roulette may be on the rise now, advertised as a new variant with more ways to bet, but it’s been around for well over a century.
Roulette has evolved tremendously over the years. In fact, roulette itself is an evolution of the Italian game Biribi and the French inventor Blaise Pascal’s perpetual motion machine. Importantly, in the competitive European gaming arena, the single-zero game became the standard, particularly thanks to the efforts of the Monte Carlo Casino.
When the game came in with European settlers to North America, an opportunity was identified. Here, American roulette was standardized, featuring a zero and a double zero. It allowed the house to bank more over time. Now, with the rise of live casino gaming, we get variants that infuse multipliers like Mega Roulette Live.
Triple-zero roulette has its origins in North American casino gaming of the 19th century. It’s said that the wheels used to have numbers running from one to 28, but included three banker pockets. A single zero, double zero, and American Eagle pocket wouldn’t win on outside bets. This was, essentially, the first form of triple-zero roulette.
The primary difference between triple-zero roulette, American roulette, and European roulette is the additional betting zone and pocket on the wheel. Still, there are some other ways that the triple-zero variant differs.
On the table, you’ll spot the triple-zero betting zone at the top, nestled in with the other zeros. On the wheel, rather than the zero pockets being at opposite ends of the wheel – as they are in American roulette – the three banker pockets will usually be right next to each other.
In triple-zero roulette, you essentially get three additional betting options. The first is that you can place a straight bet on the 000 pocket. You can usually bet on a double of 000 and 00, or 000 and 0 on the table – depending on the layout. You may also be able to place an all-zero treble bet, which you will see between the Red and Black options, paying 11:1.
With the addition of a banker’s pocket, the house edge and odds of winning alter, assuming that the payouts remain the same.
In European roulette, the payouts tend to reflect the likelihood of the bet winning if the zero wasn’t present. On Red and Black bets, 18 numbers win one, 18 numbers win the other, but one pocket loses both. In triple-zero roulette, three zeros lose all outside bet picks. It pumps up the house edge to 7.69 percent – nearly triple that of European roulette.
In the game of European Roulette, you get a chance of 48.6-48.6 when you bet on Red or Black as it’s not purely 50-50 due to the presence of the zero pocket. In American roulette variants, the likelihood swings to 47.34 percent on either bet due to two pockets cancelling out both Black and Red bets entirely. A third zero pocket makes the chance of winning these 1:1-payout bets even more distant from 50-50, toward the region of a 46.16 chance of hitting Red or Black.
There aren’t any potential strategies to deploy that can give you an edge or even guarantee a win in triple-zero roulette or even in a regular game of Live Roulette Azure. The game is wholly randomized, and outcomes can’t be altered by the bettors as the games are based on luck and probability.
That said, many players will look to deploy bankroll management strategies, which can vary between each player and depend on personal preferences, for a more structured session.
Triple-zero roulette is becoming more common in casinos. Some see these tables as a way to offer more variety to players. Others see them as a way to make the most of more novice roulette players.
In Las Vegas, you can already find triple-zero roulette tables in play at New York-New York, the Venetian, and Planet Hollywood. These tables tend to offer lower betting limits and increased betting options to facilitate the additional pocket.
While the emergence of triple-zero roulette provided another variation of the popular game for players to experience, the impact on players is that they’ll win less often overall and over time. As a result, more players will be dissuaded from playing the iconic table game. In return, casinos looking to make the most of an increased house edge will lose players.
Before you sit down and place your chips on the triple-zero roulette table, there are some pros and cons worth taking time to consider, including the following:
The advantage of playing triple-zero roulette is that it can be entertaining. You get more betting options and tenser wheel spins due to the increased house edge. In many live casino variants of roulette, the potential of bonus multipliers adds to the experience. Here, it’s as simple as there being an additional green pocket and a few additional ways to bet on the outcomes.
The clearest drawback is that you have a decreased chance of winning any bet on a triple-zero roulette game compared to American roulette and especially European roulette. If you pick triple-zero roulette over European roulette, it's worth noting that the house has an additional 4.98 percent edge over the player.
While anyone can have fun at a triple-zero roulette table, other versions of roulette present better odds for the player with lower house edges. For the true and best roulette experience, you should stick to games like European Roulette. Here, the house edge is a mere 2.71 percent and you can still bet on the green pocket if you really want to. Plus, the likelihood of each bet winning and its payouts are much more closely aligned.
Want to know more about the game of triple-zero roulette? Take a look at some of the most frequently asked questions which we address below.
Triple-zero roulette is a variant of roulette that adds a zero pocket to the wheel and the betting table. This makes for three green pockets that aren’t covered by any of the outside bets, drastically increasing the house edge.
European roulette, with its one single zero pocket, has a low house edge of 2.71 percent. In the double-zero game of American roulette, the house edge increases to 5.26 percent because of the second green zero pocket. Finally, by adding yet another zero pocket, triple-zero roulette has the highest house edge of 7.69 percent.
You could apply some bankroll management strategies to improve the structure of your gaming session, but as triple-zero roulette is wholly randomized, there isn't a guarantee any method or strategy will consistently work.
Triple-zero roulette is becoming commonplace in Las Vegas, having seemingly originated at the Venetian in 2016. It’s also said to be available at New York-New York and Planet Hollywood. However, before it was called “triple-zero roulette,” Sin City casinos had also toyed with a form of three-zero roulette with the Eagle pocket, which offered the same bump to the house edge by not being covered by outside bets.
Triple-zero roulette is much more profitable for casinos than European roulette. The house edge more than doubles by adding two extra zero pockets from 2.71 percent to 7.69 percent.
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