French Roulette
A French table uses the European wheel — 37 pockets, one zero — and adds a rule that no other version has: when the ball lands on zero, an even-money bet does not simply lose. Half the stake comes back, or the bet is held for another spin.
That takes red, black, odd, even, high and low from 2.70% to 1.35%. It is the best roulette there is, and better than almost every blackjack table on the site, for a game that asks nothing of the player but to pick a side.
La Partage and En Prison
La partage returns half the stake immediately when zero lands. Half the zero's cost is removed with it, which is why the figure is exactly half of 2.70%.
En prison arranges the same idea differently: instead of returning half, the table locks the bet for one more spin. Win that spin and the stake is released; lose it and the whole stake goes. Played out, it is worth the same as la partage on a single-zero wheel.
A table may print either, both, or neither. Neither is not a French table, whatever the game is called.
Where the 1.35% Does Not Apply
It applies to even-money bets only. A straight up, a split, a corner or a dozen on a French table carries the full 2.70%, exactly as it would on any single-zero wheel, because the rule is written for bets that pay 1 to 1 and nothing else.
Any page quoting 1.35% for the whole table is quoting it wrong. If you are playing inside numbers, a French table is simply a European one.
French Roulette Games
French Roulette: Pros and Cons
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Advantages
The cheapest roulette there is
La partage returns half an even-money stake when the ball lands on zero, which halves exactly half of what the zero costs: 1.35% instead of 2.70%.
The same wheel as European
Thirty-seven pockets, identical payouts. The rule is the only difference, so nothing else about the game has to be relearned.
Often carries a racetrack
French tables are the ones most likely to offer the wheel-order betting area for neighbouring pockets.
Disadvantages
Even-money bets only
A straight up or a corner on a French table pays the full 2.70%. The saving applies to red/black, odd/even and high/low and to nothing else.
Hard to find
Far fewer studios build it than build the European wheel, so the best-priced roulette is also the least available.
Impact Analysis
French Roulette FAQs
On even-money bets, yes — 1.35% against 2.70% for European and 5.26% for American. On inside bets it is identical to European at 2.70%, because la partage only touches bets that pay 1 to 1.
La partage returns half the stake at once when zero lands. En prison holds the whole stake for one more spin, releasing it on a win and taking it on a loss. On a single-zero wheel they are worth the same; what differs is whether the money comes back now or rides again.
It is a rule rather than a wheel, and a rule that costs the operator half its edge on the most popular bets. Studios ship far more single-zero tables without it than with it, which is why a demo worth checking is one where la partage is printed on the felt rather than implied by the title.