French roulette
Roulette is arguably one of the best casino games that you can think of. The game is easy to learn, offers plenty of excitement, and when you win, you can take home a significant amount of money. Of course, to win a game, you need to choose Roulette games that offer you the best value and possible return.

You can find several variations of the age-old classic if you are looking for online Roulette games, but you will most likely find the American variation whenever you hit your local casino. Another increasingly popular variation of the game is called French Roulette. If you have been playing different online Roulette games for a while without checking out the rules for each of them, the chances are that you have already stumbled across it.

We want to make sure that you make the most of the entertainment you can get (and winnings) while playing online casino games. You should know that when you play Roulette, you should stick to playing the French variation of the game. Many experienced players consider it the best Roulette wheel, and this post will tell you why.

Read this post to learn why French Roulette is the best Roulette wheel and why you should always choose it over the American variation.

What Is French Roulette?

French Roulette is considered to be the original variant of this age-old classic casino game that is said to have made its way to American soil during the 19th century. As the game became increasingly popular, several tweaks were made to the game, resulting in different variants that had varying rules and layouts.

How Is French Roulette Different From American Roulette?

American Roulette is the most common variant you can find in land-based casinos these days, but the rise of online Roulette games has made French Roulette far more accessible. The two variants are quite similar to each other. However, there is a significant difference in the Roulette wheels for each variant that sets the two of them apart.

American Roulette has numbers 1 to 36, a 0, and a 00. French Roulette also has the numbers 1 to 36, a 0, but it does not have the 00. The difference in the number of wheels in French Roulette makes a considerable difference in the house edge.

American Roulette has a relatively high house edge of 5.26%. The lack of the 00 in the French roulette wheel brings down its house edge to just 2.7%. Additionally, the unique rules of French roulette can reduce the house edge in half to bring it down to just 1.35% on even-money bets.

Another difference between the two variants is that American roulette has all its outside bets on one side. French Roulette has its outside bets on either side of the table.

The Basic Bets In The French Variation

The croupier will spin the wheel in one direction and set the ball in motion in the other direction. The ball eventually lands on a numbered slot, or pocket, on the Roulette wheel. You can make several possible bets on the outcome in French Roulette.

Inside Bets

  • Straight bet: You choose any number from 1-36 for a 35:1 payout.
  • Split bet: You choose two adjacent numbers on the table layout to bet the ball landing on any of the two numbers for a 17:1 payout.
  • Street bet: You choose a row of three numbers on the table layout for a payout of 11:1/
  • Corner bet: You choose a group of four numbers on the table layout for a payout of 8:1.
  • Line bet: You choose two adjacent rows of numbers for a 5:1 payout.

Outside Bets

The French roulette table has a different layout for its outside bets:

  • Column bet: You choose one of any three columns of numbers on the table layout for a 2:1 payout.
  • Dozen bet: Also called Douzaine, you choose the first, second, or third set of 12 numbers for a 2:1 payout.
  • Red/Black bet: You choose any red or black number for a 1:1 payout.
  • Odd/Even bet: You choose an odd or even number for a 1:1 payout.
  • Low/High bet: You choose either 1-18 or 19-36 for a 1:1 payout.

A Second Chance For Even-Money Bets

If the ball lands on the 0 or 00 in American Roulette, you will lose any even-money bets you might have played, like odd/even, high/low, and red/black. However, the rules are different when you are playing French roulette.

If you land on the 0 in French Roulette with an even bet, you get another chance, thanks to one of two possible methods:

  • En Prison Rule: The En Prison Rule is when any losing even-money bet remains on the table and stays there until the next spin. If the ball strikes a winning number, the player gets to keep the stake they wagered.
  • La Partage Rule: The La Partage Rule is when any losing even-money bet is split in half between the player and the house. It means that you can still keep half your wager despite losing the even-money bet.

Different casinos and online Roulette games have different rules regarding the En Prison and La Partage rules. We recommend carefully reading up on all the rules on what happens when you lose even-money bets in French Roulette before you start playing.

In A Nutshell

French roulette
Close-up image of a beautifully crafted French roulette wheel in a casino.

The considerably better house edge alone makes French Roulette a far more attractive game to play than its American counterpart. Whether you love picking your lucky number on the wheel for risky straight-up bets or prefer even-money bets for a better chance to beat the odds, it doesn’t get better than with French Roulette.

Did you find this post about the French Roulette variation insightful? There are plenty more interesting facts about the game that you can learn. Follow our blog at Fullroulette to read more posts that teach you the tips and tricks on everything related to Roulette.

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