It may be ironic that the game of roulette is of French origin, but its ‘non-French’ versions, the European and American Roulettes, are the most known roulette games today. But a French version of roulette still exists, called the French Roulette.
Basically, the French roulette is played in a similar manner to European roulette or American roulette. That is, the player(s) will wager or bet on which number(s) the ball might land after the croupier throws it into the spinning roulette wheel. But there are certain other features that make it different, and sometimes superior, to its more popular cousins.
The main difference that one might note about French roulette is that the roulette table is in French. In other words, there will be no English words anywhere. Also, the numbers on a French roulette table are red colored. But the change in color has no other relevance and hence makes no difference whatsoever to the game as far as the players are concerned.
The French roulette, like its European cousin, has only one ‘0’ on its wheel. That means, players have a greater probability of winning at French roulette than in American roulette, which has an additional ‘00’ on its roulette wheel. The French roulette also provides another advantage, but this time over the European roulette. That is, in French roulette, it has a unique rule named La Partage, according to which players will lose only half the wagered money on an even bet even if the ball lands on the ‘0’. In other roulette forms, the player is bound to lose his entire bet amount if the ball lands on ‘0’ or ‘00’.
Regarding bets, the French roulette has three types of bets, the inside bets and outside bets as in the other roulette versions, and a set of special bets known as call bets.
The different inside bets are:
- Straight bet: It is the bet on a single number wherein the chip is placed on the middle of the number, on the table. Straight bets have the highest odds (35:1).
- Split bet: It is a bet on two adjacent numbers, wherein the chip or wager is placed on the line that separates the two numbers, on the table. A split bet pays 17:1.
- Street bet: In any roulette, the term ‘street’ refers to a horizontal row of three numbered spaces on the layout. A street bet is placed by placing the chip on the outside of the beginning of one of the ‘streets’. It pays 11:1.
- Square bet: It is placed at the vertical and horizontal intersection of four numbers on the layout. It pays 8:1 meaning that for every bet of $1, the player could win $8.
- Line bet: Here, a player places the chips between the two rows of numbers, which are wagered on. A line bet pays at 5:1, which is the lowest in the game.
The outside bets pays less than the inside bets. The different outside bets are,
- Column bet: It is a 12-number bet that pays 2:1. The player places a column bet by placing the chip at base of the chosen column consisting of 12 numbers.
- Dozen bet: The player places the chips on the boxes marked 1-12, 13-24, or 25-36. It pays 2:1.
- Even-Money bet: The player bets on half the numbers on the roulette table. The bet is placed on one of these squares - Even, Odd, 1-18, 19-36, Red or Black. It pays even money (1:1).
Call bets, which are also called ‘announced bets’ include,
- Voisins du Zero: Also called the ‘Neighbors of Zero’, this bet is placed on the seventeen numbers - 0, 2, 3, 4, 7, 12, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, and 35 – that surrounds 0 on the French roulette wheel.
- Tiers du Cylindre: Called the ‘Third of the Wheel’ in English, here, the bet is placed on the 12 numbers located opposite side of the roulette wheel from 0. These numbers are 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 23, 24, 26, 27, 30, and 33.
- Orphelins or Orphans: This bet is placed on the eight remaining numbers that does not form part of Voisins du Zero or Tiers du Cylindre.
- Finales en Plein: It is a bet placed on all numbers ending with a particular digit. For example, Finales en Plein 2 is the bet on 2, 12, 22, and 32.
- Finales a Cheval: It is a bet placed on all the numbers on the roulette table that ends in either of the two numbers. For example, Finales a Cheval 2/5 means a bet placed on 2, 5, 12, 15, 22, 25, 32 and 35.
The bets in French roulette may appear to be a tad complex to a beginner. But it is this perceived complexity and variety that exists in betting that makes French roulette much more fun and exciting to the players than its European and American cousins.
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