French Roulette — En Prison & La Partage Rules

What Is French Roulette?

French roulette is the original form of the game, developed in 18th-century France and played in the grand casinos of Monte Carlo for centuries. It uses the same 37-pocket wheel as European roulette (numbers 0–36, single green zero) but adds two powerful player-friendly rules — En Prison and La Partage — and a full suite of announced bets covering wheel sectors.

The result: on even-money bets, French roulette offers a house edge of just 1.352% — the lowest of any standard casino roulette variant in the world.

French vs European vs American Roulette — At a Glance

The La Partage Rule — Half Your Bet Returned

La Partage (French: "the sharing") is the simpler of the two zero rules. When the ball lands on zero and you have an active even-money bet (Rouge/Noir, Pair/Impair, Manque/Passe), you immediately receive half your stake back. The other half goes to the house.

Example: You bet €100 on Rouge (red). The ball lands on 0. With La Partage, you receive €50 back. Without it, you lose the full €100.

The En Prison Rule — Your Bet Gets a Second Chance

En Prison (French: "in prison") is the alternative zero rule. When zero lands on an even-money bet, your bet is not lost — it is marked "en prison" and left on the table for the next spin:

• If the next spin wins your bet category — your original stake is returned (no profit).
• If the next spin loses — your stake is forfeit.
• If zero lands again — rules vary by casino: some casinos apply En Prison again, others take half the bet (equivalent to La Partage).

Mathematically, La Partage and En Prison produce an identical house edge of 1.352%. La Partage gives immediate certainty; En Prison gives a chance to recover in full.

All French Roulette Bets & Odds

Announced Bets — Wheel-Sector Bets

French roulette tables feature a racetrack — an oval representation of the wheel sequence used to place announced bets covering specific wheel sectors. These are bets on where on the wheel the ball might land, not on table grid positions.

Voisins du Zéro — Neighbours of Zero

Covers the 17 numbers closest to zero on the wheel: 22, 18, 29, 7, 28, 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15, 19, 4, 21, 2, 25. Costs 9 chips:

• 2 chips trio: 0/2/3
• 1 chip split each: 4/7, 12/15, 18/21, 19/22
• 2 chips corner: 25/26/28/29
• 1 chip split: 32/35

Tiers du Cylindre — Thirds of the Wheel

Covers the 12 numbers on the opposite side of the wheel from zero: 27, 13, 36, 11, 30, 8, 23, 10, 5, 24, 16, 33. Costs 6 chips, all splits:

• Splits: 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30, 33/36

Orphelins — Orphans

Covers the 8 numbers not covered by Voisins or Tiers: 1, 20, 14, 31, 9, 17, 34, 6. Costs 5 chips:

• 1 chip straight: 1
• 1 chip split each: 6/9, 14/17, 17/20, 31/34

Jeu Zéro — Zero Game

A subset of Voisins covering the 7 numbers closest to zero: 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32, 15. Costs 4 chips:

• 1 chip straight: 26
• 1 chip split each: 0/3, 12/15, 32/35

Neighbours (Voisins d'un Numéro)

Any number plus its 2 neighbours on each side of the wheel — 5 numbers total, 5 chips. E.g., "17 and the neighbours" covers 25, 2, 17, 34, 6 (using the wheel sequence, not table sequence).

The French Table Layout

The French roulette table uses French terminology throughout:

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