French Roulette for Beginners (& How to Play Online)

The French have always had a wonderfully unique way of doing things, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that their version of roulette casino games is also different! Many have even deemed the French variation of roulette the best due to the extra rules, and it offers slightly better odds than its American and European counterparts.

French roulette is favoured by countless roulette fans worldwide, and today, we’re going to tell you everything about it! So keep reading this online casino article to learn more about French roulette and how you can play it online.

What is French Roulette?

French roulette is one of the 3 popular variations of roulette. It gained popularity after the French revolution, and legend is that it was based on experiments by famous scientist Blaise Pascal in the 18th century.

Soon after its development, French roulette travelled across the waters to America and quickly became one of the most popular variations of real money roulette available. Not only does the French roulette wheel look different, but it also has more betting options! So, you can see why French roulette is so popular.

What is the Difference Between French & American Roulette?

Both French and American roulette are highly popular, but both games have slight variations that you should know about before you start playing. First of all, you will notice that these versions of roulette don’t have the same number of 0’s on the roulette wheel. American roulette has 0 and 00 pockets, whereas French roulette only has a 0 pocket.

Next, players will notice that the roulette numbers on the French and American roulette wheels are placed differently. Last but not least, the placement of the outside bets is different on the French and American roulette wheels.

In the French version, the betting field is split and located on both sides of the wheel. In the American version, the bets are placed on the left side of the roulette wheel.

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French Roulette Rules

The rules of French roulette may be tougher to grasp for some live casino players, but it makes sense once you get the hang of it! The first step is to place your bets on the layout. It’s helpful to acquaint yourself with some French words for the bets, e.g. Pair for even, Impair for odd, Manque for low, and Passe for high.

Secondly, you can announce some bets by calling out the type of bet, e.g. Say ‘Tiers du Cylindre’ and remember to place enough chips on the wheel to cover your wager. These bets have interesting names, so it’s easy to announce the bet at a moment’s notice; they are placed based upon their proximity to the zero pocket.

Next, you should know about Full/Maximum betting. If you choose this type of bet, you should know it’s 12 different bets in 1! Hence, this bet is easier to announce, e.g. if you want to place this bet on the number 8, you would call out ‘Complete bet on 8’ or ‘8 to the Maximum’.

Once the ball is released, the dealer will call out ‘No more bets’, and this word is final, so any late bets will not be honoured. Once the ball falls into a pocket, the winning number is determined, the dealer collects the losing bets, and the winning bets get paid out.

Two more rules that you will have to acquaint yourself with in French roulette are the ‘En Prison’ and ‘La Partage’ rules. En Prison comes into play when the ball falls in the 0 pocket, and your bet is placed on an even-money chance. This rule keeps your stake in play for the next spin, where it can be won or lost! The La Partage rule is also applied when the ball lands on 0, and you’ve bet on an even money number. This rule allows you to get half your stake back. Check which rules are active on your selected roulette game before playing.

French Roulette Wheel Layout

French roulette is played on a wheel that has a total of 37 pockets, including the 0. Only the 0 pocket is coloured green, whereas all remaining pockets are coloured red and black and contain numbers 1 to 36.

These numbers on the roulette wheel are placed randomly and differ from the American version of the wheel but is quite similar to European roulette. One thing to note is that the wheel’s pockets alternate red and black, and a pair of odd numbers follow each even number.

French Roulette Bets

You can make several bets based on the outcome in French roulette, including placing bets on more than 1 outcome. These bets are placed into groups of inside and outside bets. Let’s take a look at them below.

Inside bets

Straight bet

The Straight bet involves you choosing any single number from the 36 available. This pays out 35:1.

Split bet

In the Split bet, you can choose 2 adjacent numbers on the grid. This pays out 17:1.

Street bet

The Street bet involves choosing a row of 3 numbers and pays out 11:1.

Corner bet

In the Corner bet, you must choose a group of 4 numbers. This pays out 8:1.

Line bet

The Line bet involves choosing 2 adjacent rows of numbers and pays out 5:1.

One thing to remember in inside bets is that the street and line bet can include the 0 as well.

Outside bets

Column bet

The column bet involves players choosing 1 of the 3 columns of numbers. It pays out 2:1.

Douzaine bet

The Douzaine bet is known as the dozen bet and involves choosing the Premiere (first), Moyenne (second), or Derniere (third) set of 12 in the wheel. It pays out 2:1.

Rouge/Noir bet

The Rouge/Noir bet is known as the Red/Black bet or the Colour bet. You can choose any one of the colours, and this bet pays out 1:1.

Pair/Impair bet

The Pair/Impair bet is also known as the even/odd bet. It pays out 1:1.

Manque/Passe bet

This is known as the low/high bet. You can choose 1-18 or 19-36, and this pays out 1:1.

In French roulette, players are given a second chance for even money bets if the ball lands on the zero through the En Prison and La Partage rules, as mentioned earlier.

How to Play French Roulette Online

Several online casinos offer French roulette; however, you should make sure you pick the most reliable one. You can do this by ensuring that the online casino you pick has a valid licence and tons of gaming options.

One such site that can provide you with all that and more is us right here at King Casino. Try out French roulette or any of our other online casino games today! And if you are eager to try out some of the best roulette strategies going, then check out these informative articles:

You might also want to test your strategies on some of our roulette games, as King Casino can offer you a wide variety of top roulette games: