French Roulette Real Money Online Casinos
French roulette online is one of the most well-known representations of this beloved table game, alongside the American and European versions. Usually, the top real-money roulette sites host them all. If you’re looking to get all the scoop on the French version, including its special betting rules and other interesting features, we’ve got all the details below!
Basic Rules of French Roulette — How To Play
French roulette shares the same wheel layout as European roulette, but it promotes a reduced house edge for certain bets (e.g. only 1.35%), making it a perfect choice for casino beginners.
If you’re looking to play French roulette online, you don’t need any special skills or knowledge, as it’s purely a game of chance. On some platforms, it’s offered in French, which is ideal if that's your mother language.
- Each round begins with choosing your desired stake or chip size.
- Both RNG-powered and live versions of the game allow very flexible bets, typically ranging between €0.1 and €5,000.
- Once your wager is set, click on the spin button to start the action. Depending on the format, the roulette wheel will either spin automatically or be spun by the dealer.
- If the white ball lands on the number you bet on, the winnings get added to your balance.
Understanding the Roulette Wheel & Table Layout
As mentioned, online French roulette has an identical wheel layout as European roulette. This means you’ll have 37 divisions which contain numbers from 1 to 36, alternately coloured in red and black, alongside a single-zero pocket coloured in green.
Because of this single zero, European and French roulette both showcase a house edge of just 2.7%. This is in stark contrast to American Roulette, which features a double zero, giving the casino a higher advantage in percentage terms of 5.26%.
European Roulette vs French RouletteAs opposed to European roulette, French roulette online allows two special betting rules called La Partage and En Prison. When applying either of them, players can leverage the lowest house edge of all roulette games, namely 1.35%.
NetEnt’s French Roulette game available on CryptoLeo depicts an accurate representation of the betting layout and approximate table limits to expect. (Source: CryptoLeo)
Another important difference relates to the French roulette table layout. Here, you’ll have boxes for the main even-money wagers like red/black, odd/even, and high/low on either side of the table. In European Roulette, they are disposed on one side only.
Additionally, the bet names are usually listed in French, for example Pair/Impair, but you should still find your footing as some versions also feature English translations.
Types of Bets in French Roulette
Ready to take a virtual seat at a French roulette table and see whether the lucky stars are on your side today? The first step is familiarising yourself with the main bet types available.
French roulette includes all the standard bets found in European roulette, but it also offers additional call bets. These special wagers can be activated via a dedicated button.
To simplify matters, we’ve compiled several tables below that detail all inside/outside bets you can place at French roulette, plus the expected payouts.
Inside Bets
These wagers are made on individual numbers or small sequences of numbers located on the inside of the table.
| Bet Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Straight Up | Betting on a number from 1 to 36, or the single 0 |
| Split | Betting on two adjacent numbers like 8 and 9 |
| Street | Also known as row bets, they involve wagering on three consecutive numbers in a row, for example 1,2,3 |
| Corner | Square or corner bets are wagers on four numbers that meet in a corner, like 10,11,13 and 14 |
| Line | Also known as six line, this wager covers 6 consecutive numbers, for example 1-6 or 7-12 |
Outside Bets
These bets are placed outside the roulette table layout. Because they target entire number categories and provide increased odds to win, they’re much better suited for beginners and conservative players:
| Bet Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Red/Black | Wagering on whether the winning number will fall in a red or black-coloured pocket |
| Odd/Even | A wager on the number type (the wheel has 18 odd and 18 even numbers) |
| High/Low | Numbers from 1-18 are low, whilst numbers from 19-36 are high |
| Column | These wagers cover the 1st, 2nd or 3rd columns of the roulette table. For example, if you wager on the 1st, your money would be on numbers 1,4,7,10,13,16,19,22,25,28,31 and 34 |
| Dozen | Betting on a group of 12 numbers. Once again, the bets can be split into different dozens, like 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36 |
Special Bets Unique to French Roulette
Call bets involve wagering on a group of numbers according to their position on the wheel, and they can either be fixed or variable.
Fixed Call Bets
| Bet Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Les Voisins du Zéro (Neighbours of Zero) | Wagering on 17 numbers disposed around the single 0 (22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, and 25) |
| Tiers du Cylindre (Third of the Wheel) | Covers 12 numbers on the opposite side of Les Voisins du Zéro (27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, and 33) |
| Jeu Zéro (Zero Game) | Covers only 7 numbers, the closest ones to the green 0, namely 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, and 15 |
| Les Orphelins (The Orphans) | Wagers on the numbers not covered by Neighbours of Zero or Third of The Wheel (17, 34, 6, 1, 20, 14, 31, and 9) |
Variable Call Bets
| Bet Name | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Neighbours | A straight bet on a single number and two other numbers on either side of it (5 in total) |
| Final | A bet on all numbers ending in the same digit (e.g. 0,10,20,30) |
Other French Roulette Online Rules
Understanding the special French roulette rules can be beneficial, particularly if you’re eager to discover whether this variation suits you, or if you wish to tip the scale in your favour.
The La Partage Rule
La Partage is a core feature of French online roulette games, and its name comes from the French word for ‘sharing’. If the ball lands on zero and you haven’t wagered on it, you’ll get half of your stake back. This feature is only available if you’ve made even-money bets with a 50:50 chance to win (e.g. red/black, odd/even).
The En Prison Rule
If you’ve made any losing even-money bet, with the En Prison rule, you’re essentially given a second chance from the casino. The bet amount is locked, and you receive a second spin of the wheel. Should you win the second time, you receive your initial stake back. Whilst you won’t double it as you probably expected, you still receive a do-over without having to place a new wager.
What Do These Mean for Me?
The La Partage and En Prison rules are designed to reduce the profit of the casino over the long run, also known as the statistical advantage they have over players. Whether you play French roulette free online as a simple trial run, or engage in online French roulette for real money, both of these rules will be present. Their existence is what gives the French variant the lowest house edge of all (1.35%).
Payouts & Odds in French Roulette
Not all bets are created equal. As such, if you want to figure out how to win at French roulette, it’s paramount to understand which wagers are more advantageous to the player and which favour the house on longer sessions.
To aid you in this quest, we’ve compiled the payout data for both inside and outside bets below:
| Wager Type | French Roulette Payout Ratio | French Roulette Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Straight Up | 35:1 | 2.7% |
| Split | 17:1 | 5.4% |
| Street | 11:1 | 8.1% |
| Corner | 8:1 | 10.8% |
| Line | 5:1 | 16.2% |
| Red/Black | 1:1 | 48.65% |
| Odd/Even | 1:1 | 48.65% |
| High/Low | 1:1 | 48.65% |
| Column | 2:1 | 32.4% |
| Dozen | 2:1 | 32.4% |
As a key takeaway, outside bets are much better choices to boost your chances of winning over the long term. In particular, go for bets with even-money payouts (red/black, odd/even, high/low). Should you get it right, you’ll double your stake.
If you prefer the special bets, as approximate numbers to remember, Voisins du Zéro is particularly advantageous, given its 45.9% odds to win. Next in line are Tiers du Cylindre (32.4%), Orphelins (24.3%), and Jeu Zéro (18.9%).
Strategies for Playing French Roulette
Roulette can broadly be included in the table games category, alongside craps, blackjack, and poker. However, it’s also a game of luck, so the goal of any successful roulette strategy is not to guarantee a win, but to lower the house edge, improve your chances, and shelter yourself from losses.
No bulletproof recipes of how to win French roulette exist because, at the end of the day, the result of each round is 100% random and decided by a sophisticated and mathematically-sound algorithm.
The right French roulette strategy combines known betting systems like Martingale, or makes use of the game’s special rules. Here are some great tips to start with:
- Play for free at first — The demo format of the game allows you to carefully study the particularities of the French roulette wheel and layout, experiment with different bets without risking anything. You’ll use fictional credits with no monetary value, so any losses are also ’on paper’ only. Though you can’t cash out real money, this format is a valuable learning tool.
- If you’re a beginner, ‘either/or' bets are your friend — When just starting out, always go for bets that give you the best odds, namely even-money wagers with a roughly 50% chance to win (like red/black). To protect your budget further, we advise keeping your individual stakes small, so no more than 5% of the total bankroll.
- The Martingale system is ideal for high rollers — This strategy stipulates that you must double your bet after every loss. This is only a wise idea if you have a large enough bankroll to sustain the wagering progression, because you may also run into lengthy losing streaks
- Choose the right French roulette casino — Mastering the ins and outs of the game is only one side of the equation — where you decide to play is equally important. When selecting an appropriate destination, make sure it places the spotlight on this game. It should offer numerous roulette bonuses, provide a generous number of RNG and live tables with flexible limits, and so on. Our extensive list of top online casinos could also be beneficial here.
Advantages of Playing French Roulette Online
The realm of roulette games is richer than ever due to the massive advances in technology and abundance of software providers taking a shot. Wondering why you should go for French roulette online and not other variations? Let's take a look at the main arguments to consider:
- The lowest house edge of 1.35% — You have the best odds to win if you choose French roulette because of the special rules La Partage and En Prison. In contrast to other casino games like online slots with an average house edge of up to 5%, French roulette is a no-brainer for long-term payout potential.
- Many ways to enjoy the game — Explore French roulette in a demo format if you want simple entertainment and a chance to learn. Alternatively, you can race against the house by playing online, or even try it with a live dealer. These options ensure you’ll find an appropriate choice for every budget and experience level.
- Generous table limits — Each French roulette game has different betting limits set forth by the developer or the casino. However, on average, they are quite broad, so both low and high rollers can grab a piece of the action (e.g. €0.1-€0.5 min – €5,000-€10,000 max).
- Other features to explore — Online French roulette can provide additional features such as Autoplay or advanced statistics, whilst the live version differentiates itself through crisp visuals, high quality streams, and professional croupiers.
Conclusion
Widely available, French roulette online is an excellent choice for beginners and Francophones in particular, offering thrilling sessions and boosted odds. Although it features its own special bets, it mostly mirrors European roulette in terms of rules and wagers, making it easy to learn the ropes if you’re already familiar with the latter.
Before you go, don’t forget to pick one of our recommended game platforms and put your lucky numbers to the test!
FAQs
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It’s one of the main roulette variations found in casinos worldwide, alongside the European and American versions. This game features numbers from 1 to 36, a single zero, unique rules, and special bet types.
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First you must choose your desired table, set the bet/chip size, make your wager on a single number/number combo(s), then click on ‘Spin' to see on which number the white ball lands.
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We consider French roulette online games created by top-notch developers like NetEnt, BGaming, and Evoplay to be optimal picks. You can trust the fairness of the RNG algorithm and will have flexible betting ranges in store.
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Various French roulette games are available on both regular online casinos and crypto platforms. Look over our table to find some quality brands to start with!
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Always go for even money bets like red/black, odd/even or high/low, because you have a roughly 50% chance to double your stake if your guess is correct.
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Absolutely. In fact, French roulette has the highest RTP and lowest house edge of all roulette variations. With the special rules, the casino’s advantage is only 1.35% and the RTP is roughly 98.85%. So, for every €100 bet, you can retain a net profit of €98.85 if you play for longer periods of time.