Cooper | November 25, 2020 | Updated on: December 20th, 2023
French Roulette is a type of roulette game. Out of all variations of the game, French roulette provides players with the best odds of winning because of the European-esque wheel and the En Prison rule.
The slight rule deviations often scare off players, but you should always pick French roulette over American and European roulette. Below we look at how to play and the unique types of bets available in this version of the game.
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French Roulette Contents
Rules for French Roulette
French roulette works in the same way as in other online casino roulette games. You place a bet, the wheel is spun, the ball is added to it, and you find out whether you have won your bet when it comes to a stop.
However, in French roulette, two unique rules come into play:
En Prison
En Prison literally translates to “in jail.” Basically, if you make an even-money bet and the ball lands on 0, you don’t automatically lose the bet. Rather your wager is put in “prison.”
The wheel needs to be spun again and land in the previously bet on pocket to win your money back. You lose if it lands on 0 or the incorrect pocket.
La Partage
If the La Partage rule is active, you lose half your bet on an even-money wager if it lands on 0. French roulette is played with either the En Prison or La Partage rule active – never both.
French Roulette Wheel Layout
The French roulette wheel is the same one used in European roulette. It has 37 pockets, with numbers running from 0 to 36. The sequence of numbers on the wheel runs as follows when working in a clockwise direction from the number 0:
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
Interesting to note is that the layout of the numbers differs from that seen on the American roulette wheel. It is slightly more balanced, meaning you are unlikely to see two high and low numbers next to each other.
The French roulette table layout also differs slightly from the American and European table. The reason is that the new bets are included on the table. Also, red and black and odd and even bets are located at the top and the bottom of the table.
French Roulette Bets
Most of the bets available in European and American roulette are also in French roulette, including:
Inside Bets
- Street – selecting three straight digits (11:1).
- Split – selecting two adjacent digits on the table (17:1).
- Straight – picking a single winning number from the 36 numbers on the wheel (35:1).
Outside Bets
Outside bets appear in French on the French roulette table. We’ve translated names so that you won’t look around for the meaning. You will notice that they are mostly all the regular even money bets you get in other forms of roulette:
- Column – picking one of the three columns of digits (2:1).
- Pair or Impair (Odds or Evens) – picking either even or odd digit (1:1). This is a bet on about half of the numbers on the wheel.
- Manque or Passe (Low or High) – choosing numbers 1-18 or 19-36 (1:1). Basically, half the numbers on the wheel again.
- Douzaine (Dozen bet) – selecting the 12 Premier (one), 12 Moyenne (two), or 12 Derniere (three) bet. Also known as a column bet (2:1).
- Rouge or Noir (Red or Black) – choosing all red or black digits (1:1). Basically, half the numbers of the wheel again.
Call Bets
Call bets (also known as announced bets) are exclusive to French roulette. With a call bet, you bet that the ball will land on a particular part of the wheel. These wagers have multiple categories you can explore if you are interested. Some of the most popular call bets include:
- Les Voisins du Zéro
- Jeu Zero
- Les Finales
- Tiers du Cylindre
- Les Orphelins
Usually, they are reserved for high rollers, so expect to bet big if you would like to place such a wager. (Check out our dedicated to find out more.)
Play French Roulette – House Advantage
The standard house edge in French roulette is 2.63%. Provided this is if you place even money bets all the way. Statistically, this is lower than that seen in European roulette (2.70%) and seen in American roulette (5.26%).
This is due to the La Partage and En Prison rules, making it slightly easier for you to win. So, if a casino offers French roulette, we suggest that you pick it over any other version of the game.
Check out our other roulette guides: