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Roulette has a reputation for sophistication and style, especially the European and French versions of the popular casino roulette games.
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As you walk up to a French roulette table with its distinctive red-and-black betting layout, you feel a thrill of anticipation. Will fortune favor you with a big win? Or will the little white ball elude you as it dances around the spinning roulette wheel?
The French game shares many similarities with European roulette but has some small rule differences that give smart roulette players a better chance to win, such as a different table layout. Understanding these subtle contrasts is key. As you learn the rules to play French roulette, its bets, table layout, and strategies, you’ll gain the knowledge to play online or at a live casino. Let’s give the European wheel a spin and take a closer look!
The very first thing you’ll notice at French roulette table layout is the unique betting layout known as a betting grid, table layout, or betting board. This grid guides you in placing your bets in French roulette before the dealer spins the roulette wheel to produce the winning number for that round.
The betting board includes all of the standard inside and outside roulette bets offered in the table casino game. Inside bets allow you to place chips on specific numbers or small groups of numbers on the board, that coincide with the numbers on the wheel. Regardless of what side of the table you’re on, outside bets encompass bets on categories like colors (red or black), dozens, columns, even/odd, and more.
Inside bets offer various types of bets on one or a few numbers when playing French roulette:
Straight up bet – Place a chip directly on one number. This bet pays out 35:1 if that number is the winning one.
Split bets – Place a chip on the line between two adjacent numbers on the board to bet on them both. This bet pays 17:1 on a win.
Street bet – Bet on three numbers in a horizontal row by placing a chip at the head of the row. This bet pays 11:1 when any of those numbers come up.
Corner bets – Bet on four numbers that meet at a corner by placing a chip where they intersect. The payout is 8:1 on a win.
Line – Bet on six numbers in two adjacent rows at once by placing a chip at the intersection where they meet. A winning line bet plays 5:1. Inside bets allow you to pick your lucky numbers and root for the ball to land on them. The higher risk brings a greater reward when you bet right!
Outside bets encompass about two-thirds of the numbers on the betting layout in different ways:
Color – Basic bets on either red or black numbers. This even-money bet pays 1:1 when the winning number’s color matches what you picked.
Odd/Even – Bet on either odd or even numbers. You also receive an even money 1:1 payout here.
High/Low – Wager on the numbers 1-18 or 19-36. High/low bets are even money too.
Dozens – Bet on the first (1-12), second (13-24), or third (25-36) dozen numbers. A winning dozen bet pays 2:1.
Column bet – Pick a vertical column of 12 numbers to bet on and receive a 2:1 payout if the winning number is in that column. By covering so many potential winning numbers, outside bets give you a high probability of winning something even if the payouts are smaller for the maximum bet. These even money and 2:1 bets provide a balance against riskier inside bets.
Every roulette table, whether you are playing at real money online roulette games, or live roulette has house rules that dictate gameplay, betting limits, and payouts. On a French roulette wheel and table, you’ll encounter some unique house rules that govern spins of the wheel: The announced bets or call bets rule allows you to quickly announce a bet without having to precisely place your chips each time. Experienced players use special names to call combination bets.
The classic en prison rule gives you a second chance if you place an even money bet and the ball lands on 0. Instead of losing your bet, it gets locked in place for an extra spin. If you win the next spin, you take back your original bet without any winnings (just breaking even). The la partage rule also applies to an even money bet when the winning number is 0. Instead of getting your bet back through the en prison rule, half your bet gets returned to you immediately.
Understanding these special French roulette house rules allows you to take full advantage of the extra opportunities they provide to recoup your bets. Every little edge counts when playing the odds!
The French roulette game owes much to the original European roulette game but over time has morphed into its own distinct type of roulette with slight differences: The roulette wheel contains the numbers 1-36 plus a single 0 (zero) for 37 total slots where the roulette ball can potentially land. Having just one zero slot gives a lower house edge compared to American roulette wheels and the American roulette table.
The table layout is identical to a European roulette table betting grid, with all the standard inside and outside bet types represented. French roulette online and live allows the aforementioned announced bets not permitted in traditional European roulette. This enables French gamblers to quickly call out bets instead of placing chips every time.
Only French roulette uses the en prison and la partage rules. These provide backup options for even money bets that further reduce the house edge compared to American and European roulette, and any similar variation of roulette. So, while quite similar to its European cousin, online French roulette gives players some small but meaningful advantages thanks to a favorable wheel and flexible betting options.
Even though the French roulette and European roulette are very similar, there are slight differences between French and European or American roulette. Play French roulette online and see the difference yourself when playing American roulette or the European roulette wheel.
While the basic inside and outside bets on a French roulette table are easy to grasp, this version of online roulette also incorporates bets that allow players to quickly call out more complex wagers with specialized names. Learning these complex bets provides seasoned gamblers with lots of ways to play roulette and attack the spinning roulette wheel.
A neighbor bet or split bet covers a chosen number along with numbers immediately adjacent on either side of the layout. For instance, calling ‘neighbors of 25’ would place chips to be bet on the split 23-24, straight-up 25, and split 26-27. This combines five numbers total. Neigbour bets make it easy to instantly bet multiple slots in one move.
Announced bets allow quick call outs to bet combinations in certain layout zones:
• The ‘series’ covers 0, 2, 3 trio
• ‘Orphans’ bets 1, 6, 9, 14 quartet
• A ‘zero game’ bet includes 0, 3 split, 12, 15 split, 26 straight up, 32, 35 split
• The grand series of numbers from 22 to 25 can be called out as one bet Memorizing these zone bets eliminates laboriously placing many chips spin after spin.
Covering each section of the wheel, these bets are the pinnacle of French roulette wagering:
• The full complete bet pays out at 24:1 by covering all the numbers 1-36 with 36 chips (1 chip each number). The tiers du cylinder bet places nine chips to cover 12 numbers in around the wheel.
• Betting a table quadrant places 6 bets with 5 chips to cover 17 numbers in a zone. These maximum coverage bets demonstrate the vast flexibility of announced French roulette rules.
• “Third of the wheel” typically refers to the third of the roulette wheel, which includes the numbers 1-12, 13-24, and 25 on the wheel to 36. When betting on the third of the wheel, a player can win if the ball lands on any number within that range. If the bet is successful, it pays out at odds of 2:1, meaning the player would win double their original bet.
One unique called bet that is special to French tables are the ‘finales en plein’ or final bets covering multiple final digits:
• A ‘finale 4’ bets the numbers 4, 14, 24, and 34 together
• A ‘finale 7’ includes 7, 17, 27 as a bet
• Bets can even combine finales like ‘final 7 with finale 3’ Pay attention to digits patterns with finales en plein announced bets!
While roulette involves a great deal of chance once you spin the wheel, using the right betting strategies at an online casino can still improve your overall payout odds potential. Apply these tips to make the most of each spin:
• Take advantage of the announced bets or call bets to quickly place specialty bets that would be tedious to manually bet each time. Learn the special names for bets like ‘neighbors’, ‘finals’, and more.
• Use even money outside bets combined with inside bets to balance risks from lower probability/higher payout wagers. Hitting more even money bets ensures some wins to offset losses from riskier inside bets.
• When looking for betting patterns, focus on streets and corners which pay out 11:1 and 8:1 respectively. Because they cover more adjacent numbers, these wagers have a decent hit frequency.
• Study the Monte Carlo fallacy concept to avoid chasing losses by continually betting more to try to recoup. Each spin is fully independent, so a recent string of losses or wins has no effect on what happens next spin.
• Brush up on the en prison and la partage rules so you understand what will happen if the ball lands on 0 for an even money bet. You can either get the bet returned for a future free spin or take back half your bet amount immediately. As a variation on traditional European roulette, French roulette exemplifies European casinos’ style and sophistication. Yet under the surface, key differences in wheel slots, betting rules, and options like call bets give smart players an advantage.
