French Roulette

French Roulette is one of the traditional games found in numerous casinos. A quick look at a French Roulette table is enough to understand the game and how it works…

Firstly, the goal of the game

As in English Roulette, a ball turns in a wheel numbered from 0 to 36 and the player bets money on a number. The ball falls into one of the wheel’s 37 pockets (18 red, 18 black and the zero pocket, which is green) thus determining the winning number.  

Setting and organisation

French Roulette is played on the greatest casino tables, whether online or not. The minimum and maximum stakes are displayed at the table and each of them operates with a table head and three croupiers. The table head supervises the proper conduct of operations. The first croupier takes in the lost bets using a rake, then sorts and arranges the chips. The second croupier prepares the payment of winning bets. As for the third croupier, he separates the winning bets to facilitate their payment.
The table is composed of a wheel of 37 numbers, a cloth or “layout”, setting out the betting areas (lines, figures, words and symbols). All of the desired combinations of figures are generally set out from the smallest to the highest figure. The principle for valuing one’s winnings is very simple: the fewer the figures included in a combination, the higher the winnings.


How the game works

Go up to the table. The players are seated or standing. Before each game, the croupier announces “Ladies and Gentlemen, place your bets”. You then place your bet on the layout.
Once your bet is placed on the layout, the croupier announces “The bets are placed, Ladies and Gentlemen”. Once the croupier decides that all of the bets are placed, he spins the wheel and sends the ball in the opposite direction. When the ball is finally motionless, the croupier announces the resulting number as well as the corresponding even money bets.
 In the case of a “straight-up” (“Plein” in French), you are paid 35 times your bet. The bets having the greatest chance of winning are called “even money bets”, that is Red or Black, Even (“Pair”) or Odd (“Impair”), as well as bets on one of the first low eighteen numbers coming up (numbers 1 to 18, known as “Manqué” in French) or on one of the last high eighteen numbers coming up (numbers 19 to 36, known as “Passé” in French).

The number zero is not included in any even money bet. Its pocket is green. It is neither odd nor even and is not included in the numbers from 1 to 36. Nevertheless, if zero comes up and you have placed an even money bet, a specific rule is applied. Your bet is not taken away, but loses half of its value and the croupier places your bet on the line of the “Black” even money bet, which means that it is “locked”  You no longer have your bet at your disposal. You can however ask the croupier to pay you half (after your bet has been “locked” for the first time). If in the next game Black comes up, your bet will be “freed” and you once again have the original value at your disposal. You also have the possibility of playing Dozen or Column bets. You bet on the numbers of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Dozen or of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Column.

If, for example, the ball stops on the number 5, the croupier announces: “Five, red, odd and first low eighteen numbers”. He indicates the number 5 on the layout with the rake and enumerates all of the winning bets (Straight-up, Split, Corner (or “Square”), Street, and Double Street etc.), then he pays out.

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