French versus European roulette online
European roulette online is everywhere. French roulette is a filter away in most lobbies, and the two are easy to confuse because the wheel is identical and the layouts are cousins. The difference that matters is a single rule about the zero, and not every table called French actually has it.
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What is the same
The wheel: 37 pockets, one zero, the standard number order. The payouts: 35:1 on a number down to even money on the outside. The inside bets, dozens and columns: identical in every respect, including the 2.70% house edge. A number player would not notice which table they were on from the results.
What is different
The zero rule. A French table applies La Partage (half back on even-money bets when zero hits) or, rarely, En Prison. A European table does not; zero takes every outside bet in full. On the even-money bets this is 1.35% against 2.70%.
The layout. French tables put the even-money boxes down both sides of the grid with French labels: Manque, Pair, Rouge on one side and Passe, Impair, Noir on the other. Dozens are P12, M12, D12. European tables line them up along one side in English. Purely cosmetic once you know which box is which.
The racetrack. Both usually have one online, but the French table is where the call bets live by tradition, and some European RNG tables omit the racetrack entirely.
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The catch: French in name only
A few RNG games use the French layout and the French labels and apply no zero rule at all. They are European tables wearing a costume. The only way to know is the help or rules screen: look for La Partage or "half of even-money bets returned on zero". If neither phrase is there, the table is 2.70% on everything, whatever it calls itself.
Provider versions differ. Some apply La Partage as standard across their French tables; at least one well-known French table is listed at the plain 97.30% return with no mention of the rule. Check the specific game, not the category.
Limits
French RNG tables often carry a higher minimum on even-money bets than on the inside, £1 on red against 10p chips on numbers, for example. That is the provider pricing the better odds. It is still the cheapest bet in the building; it is just not always the cheapest chip.
The decision
Outside bettor: French with La Partage, confirmed in the help screen. Number bettor: either, pick by limits and features. Anyone: avoid the American wheel, which is the comparison that actually costs money. Between French and European, the worst outcome is paying 2.70% instead of 1.35% on red. Between either of them and American, it is paying 5.26%.
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Quick answers
Is French roulette just European roulette with French words?
Sometimes, and that is the problem. A true French table applies La Partage or En Prison. Some games use the French layout and labels without the rule. The help screen tells you which you have.
Which should I play?
French, if it has La Partage and you bet outside. If you bet numbers, they are the same game and either will do. Never American, whichever of the other two you prefer.