French Roulette
MOST PLAYER-FRIENDLY ROULETTE VARIANT — European roulette wheel (37 pockets, single zero) PLUS 'LA PARTAGE' + 'EN PRISON' RULES that HALVE the house edge on EVEN-MONEY BETS when zero hits. Signature: house edge on even-money bets = 1.35% (vs 2.7% European vs 5.26% American). LA PARTAGE returns HALF your bet on zero; EN PRISON HOLDS your bet for next spin (win = full return, lose = full loss). French terminology on wheel + table (ROUGE/NOIR, PAIR/IMPAIR, MANQUE/PASSE). Casino ELITE / high-limit rooms often preserve French rules. Monte Carlo Casino signature.
Quick facts
Category
Casino & Gambling
Type
Individual
Players
1–8
Duration
~2 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇫🇷 France
Estimated origin
1796 Paris (Blaise Pascal precursor 1655); modern rules standardized 1800s Monte Carlo
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
Predict which numbered pocket the ball lands in; win bets accordingly.
Rules
Basic rules
WHEEL: 37 pockets (0-36; RED + BLACK alternating; ZERO is green)
Signature single-zero wheel.
PLAYERS bet on numbers, colours, ranges (1-18/19-36), even/odd, columns, dozens
Signature bet types.
'LA PARTAGE': on ZERO, EVEN-MONEY bets return HALF (halves house edge to 1.35%)
Signature La Partage rule.
'EN PRISON': alternative — on ZERO, even-money bet is HELD for next spin (win = full return, lose = full loss)
Signature En Prison rule.
PAYOUTS: single number 35:1; splits 17:1; corners 8:1; dozens 2:1; even-money 1:1
Signature standard payouts.
CALL BETS ('ANNOUNCED BETS'): French speciality — VOISINS DU ZÉRO, TIERS DU CYLINDRE, ORPHELINS — cover wheel sections with predetermined chip patterns
Signature call bets.
Scoring
Bets paid at posted odds when winning number hits.
Win condition · Winning bet after each spin.
Equipment
European roulette wheel (37 pockets: 0-36; single zero)
Signature single-zero wheel
Roulette table with French-language betting layout
Signature French layout
Casino chips (coloured per player to distinguish bets)
Signature coloured chips
Rake ('rateau') used by croupier to sweep bets
Signature rateau
Terminology
- La Partage
- 'Sharing' — half your even-money bet returned on zero.
- En Prison
- 'In prison' — even-money bet held for next spin on zero.
- Rouge / Noir
- Red / Black — colour bets.
- Pair / Impair
- Even / Odd.
- Manque / Passe
- 1-18 / 19-36 — low / high.
- Voisins du Zéro
- 'Neighbors of Zero' — call bet covering 17 numbers near 0 on wheel.
- Tiers du Cylindre
- 'Third of Wheel' — call bet covering 12 numbers opposite 0.
- Orphelins
- 'Orphans' — 8 numbers not covered by above calls.
- Cheval
- Split bet (2 adjacent numbers).
Where it is played
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Roulette— Wikipedia
- Wizard of Odds — Roulette— Wizard of Odds