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Why the French Version of Online Roulette is Best
A key feature of the online casino is the wide selection of games. No physical boundaries exist and ‘floor space’ is limitless. As such, classic casino games, like roulette, are available in multiple variations – but one variation stands out… and it is French Roulette!
Play the Original Roulette at the Online Casino
Did you know when you play French Roulette at the online casino, you are playing the original version of the game? Yep! French Roulette is the origin story of the popular wheel-based betting game. As it happens, over time and geo-location, the game has been adapted for different audiences – such as Europe and America.
When French Roulette arrived in the United States, it underwent a major transition. Rules were either dropped or changed. The design of the layout and wheel was modified. Even the availability of bets was severely curtailed in what had officially become American Roulette.
The objective of all these adaptations was to achieve only one thing – a dramatically improved house edge. That is the crux of why French Roulette is the best. Rules and odds are more favourable to players. Plus, there is an exclusive selection of bets available at your disposal.
When viewed holistically, French Roulette is a single-zero online casino game. It has rules that mitigate the risk of losing even money bets. Even the 37 to 1 chance of winning a straight up numbers bet is the closest there is to the actual 35 to 1 odds.
American Roulette, on the other hand, is a double zero game. The addition of 00 alongside 0 is evident on the wheel. That one small adjustment means there is a 38 to 1 chance of winning a straight up bet.
By tweaking the number of slots on the wheel, the advantage to the house soars. Play American Roulette at an online casino right now and you are up against an edge of 5.26%. That is virtually double that of French Roulette and its close cousin, European Roulette. Both games share an edge of just 2.78%!
Loss Mitigation Rules and the Low-Low Edge
Here is the kicker. In French Roulette, the existing low edge can be halved yet again. This time, the reduced advantage to house only pertains to the outside bets – red or black, high or low or odd or even. The reason being the loss mitigation rules mentioned earlier in the article.
Depending on where you play French Roulette, one of the following rules may apply:
- The La Partage rule – states that any losing even money bets are split down the middle between the player and the online casino. That effectively means you only lose half your stake on bets that pay out at 1 to 1 odds.
- The En Prison rule – states that any losing even money bets are imprisoned on the table for the next wheel spin. If an imprisoned even money bet wins on that spin, the player gets back his or her entire stake.
As you can imagine, B&M and online casino operators are reluctant to offer French Roulette. That is precisely why the French version of the game should be on your radar. Even then, it is vital to stick to an outside bets strategy if you intend to benefit from an edge of only 1.35%.
That said, the number and variation of bets is one of the reasons why roulette is so popular. Experienced players like to place a combination of bets with different odds on the table. It is tactic that is known as hedging your bets.
Inside, Outside and French Combination Bets
Beside the outside even money bets, which are called Rouge or Noir, Pair or Impair and Manque or Passe in French Roulette, there are two outside bets that pay at odds of 2 to 1:
- Douzaine – consisting of the Premier (1st), Moyenne (2nd) or Derniere (3rd) set of 12 numbers, known as Dozen bets in English.
- Column – one of three columns of 12 numbers.
The inside bets are similar to those offered in both European and American Roulette. They are:
- Straight – a bet on a single number pays 35 to 1.
- Split – a bet on two adjacent numbers on the layout pays 17 to 1.
- Street – a bet on a row of three numbers on the layout pays 11 to 1.
- Corner – a bet on a group of four numbers pays 8 to 1.
- Line – a bet on two rows of adjacent numbers pays 5 to 1.
The exclusive bets, which are unique to French Roulette and, at some online casinos, European Roulette, are combination bets. They are placed on a unique cylindrical shaped layout. The so-called racetrack layout is typically located above the conventional layout on the gaming interface.
These bets are known as call, announced or cylinder bets. They are always displayed on the game board in French and include:
- Voisins du Zero – a nine chip bet on all the numbers of the wheel between 22 and 25. A combination of split, corner and street bets make up the ‘neighbours of zero’ bet.
- Tiers du Cylinder – a six chip bet consisting of splits on one third of the wheel – the numbers from 27 to 33 located opposite zero.
- Jue Zero - a four chip bet consisting of three split bets and one straight up numbers bet on the six numbers on either side of zero, plus the zero.
- Orphelins – a bet that covers the eight numbers that are not included in the bets listed above. There are two variations of this bet. Orphelins en Plein is an eight-chip option. It comprises straight up numbers bets on each of numbers. Orphelins en Cheval is a five-chip bet. It consists of one straight up bet on 1 and four split bets.
When Voisins, Tiers and Orphelins bets are successful, there is an unusually high return. In fact, you can expect to win at least double your stake for winning Voisins and Orphelins bets. Tiers bets pay out three times the stake!
French Roulette – Best in Class at the Online Casino
How does French Roulette compare to the other popular table games featured at the likes of Springbok Casino? In terms of the edge, games like Blackjack, Face Up 21, the Banker and Player bets in Baccarat and a wide range of video poker variants offer a much higher return.
That said, when it comes to online casino roulette, the French version of the game is in a league of its own. It is indeed the best in class. The high rating is largely due to the La Partage and En Prison rules, along with a bunch of adrenalin pumping French bets!
Springbok Casino offers European Roulette and American Roulette on the instant play and mobile platforms. French Roulette, featured at the download casino, is currently being converted from Adobe Flash into HTML5. We highly recommend European Roulette as a worthy competitor!
Whilst our French Roulette is undergoing an upgrade, why not register an account at Springbok Casino? That way, you can enjoy hundreds of SpinLogic Gaming developed online casino games catalogued under the Slots, Table Games, Video Poker and Speciality Games tabs.
