La Partage

How it works

You bet $10 on redbetRedEven-money bet on the 18 red numbers. French: rouge.Read full →. The ballequipmentBallThe small ball launched along the track against the rotor. Modern balls are ivorine or Teflon, 18–21 mm.Read full → lands on zerowheelZeroThe single green pocket that no even-money, dozen or column bet covers; the source of the house edge. Also: single zero, 0.Read full →. Instead of sweeping the chipmoneyChipA token representing a fixed amount, placed on the layout to make a bet. Also: check.Read full → the dealer returns $5 and takes $5. Nothing else about the game changes: red still pays 1 to 1, zero still wins 35 to 1 for anyone who bet it, dozensbetDozen1–12, 13–24 or 25–36, pays 2:1.Read full → and columnsbetColumnTwelve numbers in one vertical column of the layout, pays 2:1.Read full → still lose outright. The rule only touches the six even-money boxes, only on zero.

The arithmetic

EV per unitmoneyUnitThe base stake a system or a player works in. Progressions are described in units so they apply at any table.Read full → on red without the rule: (18/37)(+1) + (19/37)(−1) = −1/37 ≈ −2.70%. With la partageruleLa partageFrench rule: when zero hits, half of an even-money stake is returned. Halves the house edge on those bets to 1.35%.Read full →: (18/37)(+1) + (18/37)(−1) + (1/37)(−½) = −1/74 ≈ −1.35%. Half of the zero loss is returned, so half of the edge disappears. It is the only common roulette rule that works in the player’s favor, and the difference compounds over a session.

Where you find it

Standard in French and Monegasque casinos, common in the rest of Europe, and offered on many live tables labeled “French RoulettevariantFrench rouletteSingle-zero wheel with la partage or en prison, lowering the even-money house edge to 1.35%.Read full →”. Check the rules panel: the label is sometimes used for a European table with French-language graphics and no partage. Some US high-limit rooms offer a “surrender” rule on the double-zero wheel, which is la partage under another name and brings the even-money edge from 5.26% to 2.63%.

French Roulette

What it does to systems

Every even-money progressionstrategyProgressionAny rule that changes the stake based on previous results. Negative progressions raise it after losses, positive after wins.Read full → (MartingalestrategyMartingaleProgression that doubles the bet after each loss. See the Strategy section for what it does and does not do.Read full →, D’Alembert, LabouchèrestrategyLabouchèreCancellation system: write a line of numbers, bet the sum of the two ends, cross them off after a win, add the lost stake after a loss.Read full →, ParolistrategyParoliPositive progression: double after a win, reset after a loss or after three wins in a row. Also: reverse Martingale.Read full →) is built on red/blackbetBlackEven-money bet on the 18 black numbers. French: noir.Read full →. On a la partage table the expected lossmathExpected lossExpected value times total amount wagered; the average amount lost over a session or a period.Read full → per unit wagered under all of them halves. None becomes profitable; the mean stays negative. But if you intend to play one, the table rule changes your result more than the choice of system does.

D'AlembertLabouchère

Formula

Questions