Depending on which sources you believe, roulette was established as a game in France back in the 17th century – hence the name, with roulette roughly translating as ‘little wheel’ in French.

Over the years, the game of roulette has been chopped and changed so that there are now three main variants: French, European and American.

So, what is French roulette? What types of bets can you place? And how does this version differ from its counterparts around the world? This article will reveal all.

How to play French roulette

In essence, French roulette is the same as the European roulette wheel that is popular around the world. It features 37 numbered segments – 18 of these are red, 18 are black, and there’s also the zero pocket, which is green.

You can bet on various different outcomes, ranging from red or black right through to single numbers – we’ll cover all the wager types available in French roulette shortly. The key USP of French roulette is the two unique bet types that are exclusive to this version of the game – La Partage and En Prison.

La Partage is an option that allows you to mitigate risk: when placing a ‘50/50’ bet, such as red or black or odd or even, losses are halved should the ball land on zero.

With the En Prison option, these even-money bets are ‘frozen’ if the ball lands on zero – on the next spin, if the original wager lands, then the player receives their stake back.

These might only be considered minor alterations to standard European roulette, but they help lower the house edge – which explains why French roulette is so popular with many discerning players.

The history of French roulette

There are several conflicting theories as to the origins of French roulette, but the one that has been given the most credence is that a French mathematician and scientist, Blaise Pascal, came up with the basic rules of the game while on a monastic retreat in the 1600s.

From there, the game began to spread across the country before being taken up in France’s blossoming casino landscape, which had been given the green light by Napoleon Bonaparte in the early 1800s.

Interestingly, it’s believed that French roulette initially had the double-zero wheel that we more closely associate with American roulette today. However, in 1842, brothers Louis and François Blanc invented the single-zero wheel, which became much more popular with players given that there was lower risk to their standard bets.

As casinos and roulette gained in popularity simultaneously, there became three distinct threads of the game: French roulette (with its single-zero wheel and La Partage and En Prison rules), European roulette (single zero, standard rules) and American roulette (double zero).

French roulette wheel: a guide

There are two elements to French roulette: the bet table (sometimes known as the ‘racetrack’) and the wheel itself.

We’ll cover the different bets you can place next, but for now it’s worth knowing a little about the French roulette wheel.

The wheel features numbers placed seemingly randomly on the segments; however, there’s order in the chaos, with two odd-numbered segments followed by two even, and then two more odd, and so on.

You’ll also notice that the numbers are alternately coloured red and black, with the only anomaly being that single green zero.

French roulette bet types

There are stacks of different French [roulette bet types you can place – some are obvious and well-known, others less so.

The ‘outside’ bets are those that even casual observers are probably aware of. They are called outside bets because of their position on the bet table, with probabilities of 50/50 or one in three (if the green zero wasn’t in play) of landing.

The outside bets in French roulette are:

Red or black Odd or even High (19-36) or low (1-18) Dozen (1-12, 13-24 or 25-36) Column

The top three are the ‘50/50’ range of bets that pay 1:1 when they win, while the bottom two have a theoretical chance of landing of around one in three, paying 2:1 on winning bets.

If you look at the numbered section of the French roulette bet table, you can place your chips in certain areas to indicate ‘inside’ bets.

A chip on a single number is self-explanatory – you want to bet on that digit, which will pay 36:1 if it lands.

However, you can also place a ‘split’ bet by placing your chip on the line between two numbers. Your wager will win if the ball lands on either of these numbers, paying 17:1.

A ‘street’ bet covers three numbers on a horizontal row on the bet table. The chip is placed on the side edge of the first number, so, on 1 if your chosen street was 1-2-3. If the ball comes to rest on any of these three digits, you’ll be paid out at 11:1.

You can place a ‘square’ bet by positioning your chip on the centre point of four adjoining numbers – for example, at the point where 1, 2, 4 and 5 join on the table. Any winning square bet pays out at 8:1.

Finally, we have the ‘six line’ bet. This is similar to the street bet, but you will place your chip on the adjoining line between two rows – e.g., you can connect 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 in a six-line wager by placing your chip on the intersect between 1 and 4. You’ll be paid out at 5:1 should the ball land on any of your six chosen numbers.

Remember, the rules of La Partage and En Prison may be in play for the 50/50 bet types – but you should check the game’s individual rules before you start playing.

French roulette vs European roulette

There are very few differences between French and European roulette – they both use the same wheel (with the single zero pocket) and allow for the same bet types and also have similar roulette rules

The main difference you’ll notice is when placing your bets. The French roulette table features both English and French language displays of the different bets, including Pair (even), Impair (odd), Manque (1-18) and Passe (19-38).

Also, En Prison and Le Partage are exclusive to French roulette – you won’t find these in European versions.

French roulette vs American roulette

The main difference between French and American roulette is that the latter has two zero pockets – 0 and 00.

This might not sound important, but an extra segment on the wheel means that your bet – any bet you place, in fact – has a lower probability of landing. This also increases the house edge.