French roulette is single zero roulette with two twists: the felt is labeled in French, and a zero rule called la partage (or its cousin, en prison) gives back half of any even money bet whenever the 0 comes up, which trims the casino's margin on those six boxes to about 1.35%, half the usual 2.70%. Every other bet keeps the usual single zero price. Below you will find a glossary of the French words on the table, both zero rules worked through in units, the odds, and a free simulator preset that applies la partage for you.
At the table
Wheel
Single zero, 37 pockets, same order as the European wheelLa partage
A 0 result costs only half of an even money betEn prison
The even money bet is held for one more spin insteadEdge on even money bets
About 1.35%Edge on all other bets
2.70%Roulette means
"Little wheel" in French
What is French roulette?
Ask what roulette means in French and the answer is plain: little wheel. The game was born in France well over two hundred years back, and the version still called French roulette keeps that heritage on the felt. The wheel is the single zero wheel with 37 pockets, numbered in exactly the same order as a European wheel. What sets the game apart is the language on the table and a kinder deal when the 0 shows up.
That kinder deal is the reason to care. On a plain single zero table, a 0 result wipes out every chip in the six even money boxes. On a French table, those chips lose only half. Nothing else about the payouts changes: a plein on one number is worth 35 to 1 as always, and a douzaine is worth 2 to 1.
Reading a French roulette table layout
The boxes sit where you expect them, but the labels are French. Learn these and you can read any French roulette table at a glance.
| On the felt | Means | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rouge, Noir | Red, black | 18 colored numbers each | 1 to 1 |
| Pair, Impair | Even, odd | 18 numbers each | 1 to 1 |
| Manque, Passe | Low, high | Numbers up to 18, or 19 and above | 1 to 1 |
| P12, M12, D12 | First, middle, last dozen | 1 to 12, 13 to 24, 25 to 36 | 2 to 1 |
| Colonne | Column | A long line of 12 | 2 to 1 |
| Plein | Straight up | One number | 35 to 1 |
| Cheval | Split | Two touching numbers | 17 to 1 |
| Transversale pleine | Street | A row of three | 11 to 1 |
| Carré | Corner | A block of four | 8 to 1 |
| Sixain | Six line | Two rows, six numbers | 5 to 1 |
Many French tables also print an oval "racetrack" showing the wheel order, used for bets on whole sections of the wheel. Those are explained on call bets. For the English board box by box, see the table layout guide.
La partage roulette rule, explained with chips
La partage means "the sharing". When the ball drops into 0, the table splits each even money bet with you: half is taken, half comes back.
Example. You have 10 units on Rouge. The ball lands on 0. On a plain single zero table you lose all 10. Under la partage you lose 5 and pick up the other 5. If you had 10 units on a dozen instead, you lose all 10, because the rule only touches the six even money boxes.
Why the edge halves. Bet 1 unit on red for 37 spins of a perfect wheel. Red wins 18 times (plus 18), loses 18 times (minus 18), and 0 comes once. Without the rule that 0 costs 1 unit, so you are down 1 in 37, which is 2.70%. With la partage it costs half a unit, so you are down 0.5 in 37, which is 1.35%.
En prison: the zero rule that holds your bet
En prison means "in prison". Instead of handing back half when 0 lands, the dealer leaves your even money bet on the table, marked as held. The next spin decides it.
- If your bet wins on that next spin, it is released and you take your original stake back, with no winnings.
- If it loses, it is gone.
- If 0 shows up again, what happens varies by casino. Some keep it locked for another spin, others take it.
The math lands very close to la partage, roughly 1.35% on the bets it covers, and the choice between the two is usually made by the casino, not by you. Either way, the rule never touches inside bets, dozens or columns.
French roulette odds and house edge by bet
Put the zero rule next to the plain wheel and the gap is clear. The figures below assume a 100 unit total spread over many spins.
| Where your chips go | Edge | Average cost per 100 units wagered |
|---|---|---|
| Rouge, Noir, Pair, Impair, Manque, Passe with la partage | 1.35% | 1.35 units |
| Any other bet on a French table | 2.70% | 2.7 units |
| Even money at a one zero wheel with no zero rule | 2.70% | 2.7 units |
| Even money on a double zero table | 5.26% | 5.26 units |
The chance of winning does not change: red still wins 18 times in 37, or 48.65%. Only the cost of a zero falls. That makes an even money bet on a French table one of the cheapest bets in the casino, though still a losing one over time. The casino house edge page puts it beside other games.
French roulette vs European: same wheel, different deal
The two share a wheel, a number order and a payout table. The differences are all on the felt:
- Words. French tables print Rouge, Pair, Manque and the rest. European tables use English or local words.
- Zero rule. French tables usually come with one of the two zero rules. Plain European tables usually do not, though some add it.
- Cost. Identical on inside bets, dozens and columns. Half price on the even money boxes at the French table.
So if you like red and black, the French table is the better place to sit. If you play numbers, the two are the same game. Read more on the plain version in European roulette, or see how the pockets are arranged on the single zero wheel.
Play French roulette free on the simulator
The table at the top of this page opens on the French preset, which applies la partage automatically. It runs on play credits, saves nothing and needs no download.
- Select a chip from the tray, where values run 1, 5, 25 and 100.
- Drop it on one of the even money boxes, red or odd for instance. Numbers and dozens are fine to add.
- Press spin and read the outcome on the wheel strip, along with the payout and your balance, which begins at 1,000.
- When a 0 lands, watch the balance: half of each even money chip returns.
A fair comparison: stake 10 credits on red for 100 spins, 1,000 credits of action in total. With half back on zeros, you should expect to give up roughly 13.5 credits. Run the same 100 spins on the single zero simulator without the rule and the average cost doubles to about 27. One session will not show this cleanly, so try several runs and use the last 20 numbers panel to spot the zeros.
Questions players ask
What does roulette mean in French?
Roulette is French for "little wheel". The game took its name and much of its table vocabulary from France, where it first appeared over two hundred years back.
What is the la partage rule in roulette?
Under la partage, a 0 result takes just half of each even money stake rather than all of it. A 10 unit bet on red gets 5 units back. Those bets then cost about 1.35% over time instead of 2.70%, and no other bet is affected.
How is en prison different from la partage?
Under en prison, your even money bet is not split. It stays on the table, held for the next spin; if it wins then, you get your stake back without winnings. The long run cost is about the same as la partage.
What is the difference between French and European roulette?
They spin an identical 37 pocket wheel and pay identical prices. The French felt is printed in French and normally carries a zero rule that halves what even money bets cost. On every other bet they are identical.
Is the French roulette wheel different?
No. It has 37 pockets with one 0, laid out in the same order as the European wheel. The difference is the table and the zero rule, not the wheel.
Can I play French roulette for free?
You can. Open the French preset in the demo above; it applies la partage automatically and hands you 1,000 practice credits. Reset it any time to try a new session.