French Roulette Rules, Odds & Tips (Copy)

As roulette was invented in France, there’s something very right about playing French roulette, rather than the European or American versions.

Aside from the authentic flavour of a game that hasn’t changed much in centuries, the best part about this variant is its house edge – the lowest of all roulette games.

In this guide, I’ll explain how to play French roulette, why it’s different to other types of roulette and why it’s a better option for your bankroll.

French roulette rules

The rules of this game are no different to European or American roulette. You can learn how to play roulette in our complete roulette guide and it’ll stand you in good stead for the French version, but here are the basics of this famous random numbers game:

• Roulette wheel with 37 numbered pockets

• Roulette table with a range of bets based on numbers and colours

• Players bet on the number they think will be chosen next

• Croupier spins wheel, releases ball and pays out winning bets

French roulette wheel

The numbers on a French roulette wheel are the same as those you’ll find on any European roulette wheel, and in the same order too.

There are 37 numbers from 1 to 36, and a single green zero. Half of the numbers are red, half are black and they alternate from red to black around the wheel.

French roulette table layout

The French table is very similar to a European roulette table, with 12 rows of 3 numbers in a grid. The numbers increase in sequence from 1 to 36, alternating red and black, with the zero section stuck on the left hand end.

The numbers make up the inside betting zones, and the sections below and to the right contain outside bets such as red or black, dozens and columns. On some tables, the outside bets will be displayed using French roulette terms such as “12p” for premier douzaine (1st dozen), “pair” for even and “impair” for odd.

There may also be an oval called the racetrack which displays the numbers in the same order they appear on the wheel. Racetrack bets are for die hard French roulette players, and we’ll get to those shortly.

Bet types & payouts

When you play French roulette online, you can choose the lowest variance bets like red or black that win around 48.6% of the time, or go to the other extreme and bet on individual numbers, which have only a 0.027% chance of being chosen.

But pick a single number correctly – the holy grail of French roulette – and you’ll be handsomely rewarded with a 35x multiplier, in online slots lingo.

There are over 30 different French roulette bets, and they fall into one of 3 categories:

• Inside,

• Outside,

• Or special bets.

Inside Bets

You’ll find these inside the grid of numbers on the French roulette table layout. Inside bets have the biggest odds.

Outside bets

You can guess where to find outside bets by now. These are the most likely to come in, but they also have the lowest roulette odds. Even money or evens bets like black or red are basically double or nothing bets that come in about half the time.

Even money bets have special status at the French roulette table. They are all affected by the single most important rule which produces the best value bets in the roulette world.