French Roulette: La Partage, En Prison and Table Terms

French roulette is associated with a single-zero wheel, French layout terminology and special settlement rules for qualifying even-money bets. This guide distinguishes La Partage from En Prison and explains why the exact zero rule matters.

What Makes French Roulette Unique?

Both conventional French and European roulette have 37 pockets: 1–36 and zero. Table colour, language and interface style vary. A French label alone does not prove which payout concessions are active.

La Partage and En Prison are alternative ways of handling a zero result for specified even-money stakes. They do not automatically apply together, cover all bets or make the game’s expectation positive.

How La Partage and En Prison Settle Zero

Without a concession, zero loses for red/black, odd/even and high/low. A stated concession modifies that settlement while leaving the wheel probabilities unchanged.

• La Partage: Meaning “the divide,” this rule dictates that if the ball lands on zero, your even-money bet is split in half. You receive 50% of your wager back, while the house takes the other half.
• En Prison: Meaning “in prison,” this is a variation where your bet is not divided but is instead “locked” on the table for the next spin. If your bet wins on the following spin, you get your full stake back (though no additional profit).

The Impact on House Edge

For La Partage on a fair single-zero wheel, red and black outcomes balance at even money, while zero loses half a stake. Expected loss is therefore (1/37) × 1/2 = 1/74, approximately 1.35%. This percentage applies to qualifying bets, not every position on the layout.

With En Prison, a subsequent favourable result normally releases the held stake without profit, while an unfavourable result loses it. Repeated zeros require an explicit rule. The approximately 1.35% calculation assumes repeated zeros leave the same stake held until a non-zero result settles it; other treatments require their own calculation.

French Terminology: Speaking the Language

Common terms identify ranges, parity, colours and number groups. Labels and abbreviations can vary between layouts.

• Manque / Passe: Low (1-18) / High (19-36)
• Pair / Impair: Even / Odd
• Rouge / Noir: Red / Black
• Dozens: The three ranges 1–12, 13–24 and 25–36; layout abbreviations vary.
• En Plein: A straight-up bet on a single number.
• Cheval: A split bet on two numbers.
• Transversale: A street bet on three numbers.
• Carré: A corner or square bet on four numbers.

Announced Bets and the Racetrack

Experienced players often utilize “Announced” or “Call” bets in French Roulette. These are wagers based on specific sectors of the wheel rather than the table layout. They are typically placed on the Racetrack, an oval representation of the wheel’s sequence.

• Voisins du Zéro (Neighbors of Zero): This bet covers 17 numbers surrounding the zero, requiring nine chips. It is a popular way to cover a large portion of the wheel with a single action.
• Tiers du Cylindre (Third of the Wheel): Covering the 12 numbers exactly opposite the zero, this bet uses six chips and is a staple for players looking to target a specific physical section of the wheel.
• Orphelins (Orphans): This bet covers the two remaining “slices” of the wheel (eight numbers in total) that are not part of the Voisins or Tiers.
• Jeu Zéro (Zero Game): A smaller version of the Voisins, covering the seven-number sector 12, 35, 3, 26, 0, 32 and 15.

Grouped Bets Do Not Forecast a Sector

A racetrack follows wheel order rather than the rectangular number grid. An announced group can contain several component bets and chips, so one selection is not necessarily one unit of total stake. Recent results in that sector do not establish that the next independent spin is more likely to land there.

Worked La Partage Example

A qualifying $10 even-money stake that encounters zero returns $5 and loses $5 under La Partage. It does not return the full stake, award profit or protect unrelated bets placed on the same spin. The example illustrates settlement and is not a recommended stake.

Related Explanations

See European single-zero rules, American double-zero rules and roulette probability calculations. French-language presentation is not proof of a particular province’s availability, and WinnerOnline does not host the games described here.

Explore the full section: roulette variations.