How to play French roulette
The basic rules of French roulette are the same as European or American roulette. You simply place your bet on the roulette table and the dealer will spin the wheel. If the ball lands on your chosen number, you’re a winner. Just bear in mind that the roulette table might come with French translations for even/odd *(pair/impair)* and 1-18/19-36 *(manque/passe).*
Read up on how to play roulette for our full guide, but here’s a quick recap:
- 1Place your bet
- 2The dealer spins the wheel
- 3The ball lands in one of 37 numbered pockets
- 4The dealer pays out any winnings
French roulette rules
Unlike American and European roulette, French roulette has two unique rules.
La Partage explained
The La Partage rule is only in play for even money bets. In short, when the ball lands on 0, the dealer immediately divides all even money wagers. One half of each stake is kept by the house, and the other half is returned to the player. This brings the house edge of all even money bets down to just 1.35%. Think of it as added insurance if you lose a round. ****
En Prison explained
The En Prison rule is a variation of La Partage. When the ball lands on 0, the dealer will place a marker by all even money bets to show that they are En Prison. This means that your bet is kept in place for the next spin. If your bet wins, you get your stake back. And if the ball hits 0 again, your bet stays En Prison for another spin. Effectively, there’s a chance of a full refund on your initial losing bet.
French roulette odds and payouts
The odds and payouts for online French roulette are very similar to American and European roulette. Take a look below to see how all the bet types match up.
| Bet type | Bet payout | Bet probability |
|---|---|---|
Straight | 35/1 | 2.7% |
Split | 17/1 | 5.4% |
Street | 11/1 | 8.1% |
Corner | 8/1 | 10.8% |
Column | 2/1 | 32.4% |
Dozen | 2/1 | 32.4% |
Red/Black | 1/1 | 48.6% |
Even/Odd | 1/1 | 48.6% |
Low/High | 1/1 | 48.6% |
Other roulette variants
What are French roulette call bets?
Call bets are wagers that are unique to French roulette and that cover a series of numbers. Different call bets will let you wager on different sections of the wheel or entire groups of numbers. With online roulette, you’ll find these bets on a racetrack layout separate from the main roulette table.
Voisins du Zéro
Roughly translated as ‘Neighbors of Zero’, this bet is a wager on all 17 numbers between 22 and 25 on the wheel. This includes: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 45, 2, 26, 0, 35, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, and 25. The wager takes nine chips to place and is made up of five split bets, a corner bet on 2/26/28/29, and a three number bet on 0/2/3.
Tiers du Cylindre
Tiers du Cylindre is a wager on one third of the wheel. The bet covers all numbers between 33 and 37 on the wheel. In order, they appear as: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, and 33. The wager covers all numbers using six split bets.
Les Orphelins
Les Orphelins covers a total of eight numbers – the three remaining numbers to the right of the 0 pocket (17, 34, and 6) and the five remaining numbers to the left (1, 20, 14, 31, and 9). The wager is made with five chips in total. Four of the chips are split bets and the final chip is a straight up bet on 1.
Jeu Zéro
Jeu Zéro bets cover the seven numbers closest to the 0 pocket. This includes: 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, and 15. Only four chips are needed to place this bet. There’s one split on 0-3, another between 12-5, a single straight up bet on 26, and a final split between 32-35.
Finales en Plein
With Finales en Plein, you wager on individual numbers that end in the same digit. For example, ‘Finale 0 en Plein’ would be a wager on 0, 10, 20, and 30, or ‘Finale 1 en Plein’ would be a wager on 1, 11, 21, and 31. The bets are all straight up wagers which means the payout will be 35:1 for a winning number.
Finales a Cheval
With Finales a Cheval, you make a series of split and straight bets that include two numbers of your choosing. For example, a Finales a Cheval bet on 0 and 1 will include all numbers that end in 0 and 1 – 0, 1, 10, 11, 20, 21, 30, and 31. The numbers that you choose will determine how the numbers lie on the table and which split and straight bets you need to make.
French roulette strategy and tips
- 1
Play using the ‘La Partage’ rule
Whenever possible, play online French roulette with the ‘la partage’ rule in play. That way, you’ll get half of your wager back on even money bets when the ball lands on 0. Plus, with ‘la partage’ the house edge decreases to just 1.35% – a huge improvement compared to American (5.25%) and European (2.7%) roulette!
- 2
Stick to even money bets
When you’re not sure what to bet on, stick to even money bets like red or black, odd or even, and high or low. Even money bets are the simplest and safest bets on the French roulette table. The payouts are low, but you can still double your wager if you win.
- 3
Ignore hot numbers
Some online French roulette games will track ‘hot numbers’. Try to not let this influence your betting. Every spin of the roulette wheel is independent and can never be predicted. Previous winning numbers won’t affect future winning numbers.
- 4
Always bet within your means
When you play French roulette online, or any other casino game, make sure you’ve set aside a bankroll. Work out how much you can afford to lose and make sure to never exceed that amount – always bet within your means.
Playing French roulette on mobile
Play French roulette on mobile for free or real money. Most online casinos will let you access online French roulette straight from your mobile device, though some also have apps that offer an enhanced gaming experience.
Many mobile casinos offer free-play practice modes which you can take advantage of. It's helpful to get used to the way the game performs on your device of choice. Plus, plenty of software developers have created mobile-friendly games for French roulette online.
Keep the facts and figures close by with our guide to online roulette bets and odds. Tap to download the free PDF and save it to your device.
