French roulette is much the same game as regular European roulette, except you have the possibility to place insurance bets.
For those among you who prefer to play it a bit safer with your money, this can be a great game to get into. You’ll still get the rush that stems from playing a game that’s based on chance – but you won’t be throwing all your money away.
Technically, it’s also thought to be closer to the very first iterations of roulette, as the game originated in France. Let’s check out the features of French roulette!
Quick Recap on How to Play French Roulette
Like in regular roulette, you’ll have the roulette table to play on and a spinning wheel to desperately stare at.
You start by placing your bets over sections of the table. According to which section you choose, the bets will qualify as “inside” or “outside” bets.
The difference between these types of bets is whether you want to bet on the ball landing on a particular number, a particular type of number (odd/even), or the colour of the wheel pocket.
Once you’ve made your bets, the dealer (or virtual RNG) will set the ball rolling across the wheel, and you’ll win or lose according to where it lands.
The Two Exclusive Insurance Features in French Roulette
In regular roulette, it’s not exactly hard to win at least something. You can basically cover the whole table with bets if you want, for instance by betting on black and red numbers at once.
But if you want to play with a bit more strategy and risk, then insuring your bets is something you can definitely implement.
There are two types of insurance bets in French roulette. Both of them will have sections on the table where you can place your chips.
Outside Bet Insurance: the La Partage bet
If you bet on all even numbers, then you can insure that bet with the La Partage feature. That way, if the ball lands on 0, you get half your wager back!
Large Bet Insurance: the En Prison bet
This is by far the most interesting feature of French roulette. Indeed, if you place lots of bets on the table and just one bet wins – the En Prison feature gets you all your money back.
So in the end, the only real money you’ll be losing is the insurance money. Pretty neat, huh?