The croupier will give you stacks of colored chips to place on a long betting grid, often creating their own layout and combination of bets.
The wheel features 37 numbered slots alternating red and black with one green zero pocket, creating an intricate French layout of 37 red-and-black slots separated by an even number grid, offering outside bets such as “High, Even, Black,” while “Low Odd, Red,” are arranged vertically on the table.
Origin
Roulette remains one of the world’s favorite casino games, even as other options such as craps and blackjack become more prevalent. Yet this classic game continues to draw crowds due to its low house edge.
Though numerous theories exist regarding the invention of roulette, most scholars agree it was first introduced sometime during the 17th century. Some people attribute its creation to French mathematician Blaise Pascal; others claim French Dominican monks discovered it after witnessing Chinese gambling; they based it off an old Tibetan game where 37 animal statuettes must be arranged into an array of 666 squares using magic number squares as inspiration.
As roulette spread throughout Europe, its adaptation was to remove both zero and double zero slots from the wheel in order to lower house edge and increase player winning chances.
Rules
French Roulette provides all of the same standard betting options found in European roulette, such as red/black, high/low and odd/even bets; in addition, two additional forms of bets referred to as Call Bets and Announced Bets are added that cover different sections of the wheel with differing odds.
Inside bets focus on adjacent numbers on the grid for maximum odds, while outside bets focus on clusters of numbers that come up more often but offer lower returns. Dozen bets require three chips and pay 17-1; corner bets involve placing one casino chip at an intersection between four numbers for 8-1 odds.
French Roulette features two special rules known as La Partage and En Prison that go beyond standard bets, such as even-money bets: La Partage allows players to retain even-money bets if the ball lands on zero pocket; En Prison allows them to recover half their wager should they lose.
Payouts
French variants of roulette may differ slightly from American or European varieties in terms of table layout, betting options, and special rules – and it is important to understand these distinctions so you can play confidently and increase your odds of securing big payouts!
The table layout differs in that the numbers grid is horizontal rather than vertical, and there are three unique bet types – Voisins du Zero, Tiers du Cylindre and Orphelins are call bets covering multiple numbers on the wheel that pay out 1 to 1.
Outside bets on red or black offer more modest returns with payouts of 1-1. For players seeking a less risky way to gamble, dozen bets provide another solution, covering 12 numbers on the table as groups and providing an excellent opportunity of striking gold.
Variations
As there are various variations to French roulette, each offers different rules, table layout and betting options with differing house edges – understanding these differences will allow you to determine which variant best meets your needs.
This game of roulette uses a standard European wheel with 37 pockets and one green zero pocket, featuring half red numbers and half black numbers alternating as you progress around it.
French Roulette differs significantly from its American counterpart by only having one zero pocket, giving players a much lower house edge. Some versions even provide special rules such as La Partage or En Prison to further lower this edge; these allow your chips to remain on the table until your next spin while La Prison refunds half your stake when an even money bet lands in zero.