The Exotic Side of French Roulette - Neighbours Of Zero, Orphans And Neighbours And Thirds Of The Wheel Of Tiers
Roulette 1️⃣ is, at heart, a simple game. So trust French casino-dwellers to develop some rather more intricate ways in which to 1️⃣ play. If you're given the chance to play a French-style roulette table, then you should, as this will probably give 1️⃣ you access to the punter-friendly En Prison/La Partage rules. Combine these with a single zero layout (unlike double-zero American-style tables), 1️⃣ and the house edge falls to around 1.4%. However, if you are taking a spin on a true French table, 1️⃣ you'll find much that's, erm, foreign. And most of this will be due to the existence of bet types like 1️⃣ Voisins du Zero, Tiers du Cylindre, and Orphelins.
Whereas most roulette tables (in land casinos) assign coloured chips to the players, 1️⃣ so that winning bets can be easily identified, the chips on French tables differ only in the numerical amounts they 1️⃣ have printed on them. With nothing to distinguish one player from another, it becomes important not to have too many 1️⃣ chips on the board at the same time. The need for space partly inspired the invention of an additional grid, 1️⃣ called the 'Racetrack'. This oval-shaped section sits to the side of the main play area. it features all of the 1️⃣ same numbers - 0 to 36 - but within a different layout. Its point is to act as an extension 1️⃣ to the main grid, and to encourage some of the players to switch to exotic 'French Bets'. These French bets 1️⃣ were traditionally referred to as 'Call Bets' or 'Announced Bets', as they were too specialist to be featured on the 1️⃣ main tables, and players had to call out when they wanted to play them.
So what exactly are these bets, and 1️⃣ what do they consist of?
The Ins and Outs of Call Bets
If you look at the main wheel for roulette, you'll 1️⃣ see that it can be broken down into two large slices, along with a couple of smaller segments sitting between 1️⃣ them in the middle. Each of these sections contains a set of numbers that make up one of the following 1️⃣ bets:
Voisins du Zero - Meaning 'neighbours of zero', this bet refers to the 17 numbers on the wheel that reach 1️⃣ from 22, right round to 25. Slap-bang in the middle of this grouping is the Zero. Hence, all of the 1️⃣ numbers around it are its 'neighbours'.
Tiers du Cylindre - Translating as 'thirds of the wheel', this bet-type corresponds to an 1️⃣ exact third of the wheel, specifically the third at the bottom of the wheel. Its numbers stretch from 33 right 1️⃣ round to 27.
Orphelins - These 'orphans' are two small segments that take in the eight numbers not associated with either 1️⃣ the Voisins du Zero or Tiers du Cylindre. The numbers covered by Orphelins are 9, 31, 14, 20 and 1 1️⃣ on one side of the table, and 17, 34 and 6 on the other.
When you place one of these bets, 1️⃣ you effectively cover all of the numbers in the sequence. Some of the numbers, though, will be covered more than 1️⃣ once, or will have a different payout. In the next section, we'll look at exactly which numbers are placed, and 1️⃣ how this affects the payouts in each case. Note, though, if you simply want to place the bet, you don't 1️⃣ really need to know exactly which numbers are involved - it'll simply be a matter of clicking on the relevant 1️⃣ option on the table. These exotic combinations may be found in a separate section, such as the 'Call Bets' menu. 1️⃣ If you're not interested in the exact details of the bets themselves, you might want to skip the next section.
The 1️⃣ Exact Numbers and Maths Involved in Each Bet
Tiers du Cylindre is the simplest in practice. You take six chips and 1️⃣ place each of them on a different number combination: 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 27/30, and 33/36. Each of the six 1️⃣ combinations gives you a 5.4% chance of success (2 out of 37), and you have a 32.4% chance of winning 1️⃣ overall. Each time you won with a combination, you would end up with a profit of 12 chips - 17 1️⃣ chips for the win, minus the five chips that you would have lost on the other combinations.
Orphelins are also fairly 1️⃣ straightforward. Here, you place a single chip on the number 1, and four further chips on the following number combinations 1️⃣ 6/9, 14/17, 17/20, and 31/34. You obviously have only a 2.7% (1 out of 37) chance of winning with the 1️⃣ 1, although you would scoop a profit of 31 chips when successful - 35 chips for the win, minus the 1️⃣ four chips lost on the other combinations. The four two-number combinations, on the other hand, would each give you a 1️⃣ profit of only 13 chips (17 chips for the win, minus the four losing chips), but would pay out 5.4% 1️⃣ of the time. This works out as a total win rate of 24.3%.
Most complex of all is Voisins du Zero. 1️⃣ This takes in 17 different numbers, and involves the placement of nine different bets. Five of those bets would involve 1️⃣ single chips being placed on five different number combinations: 4/7, 12/15, 18/21, 19/22, and 32/35. As before, these would each 1️⃣ carry a 5.4% chance of success, and would yield a 9 chip profit after deducting the eight chips lost on 1️⃣ other bets. However, Voisins du Zero also involves the placement of another four chips on slightly more elaborate combinations. Two 1️⃣ chips are used to cover 0, 2, and 3. If the ball lands on one of these numbers, you win 1️⃣ 15 chips overall - the double-payout of 22 chips, minus the seven chips lost on the remaining combinations. The success 1️⃣ rate here is a healthy 8.11% (3 out of 37). You would also put two remaining chips on 25, 26, 1️⃣ 28, and 29. These bets carry a win rate of 10.8% (4 out of 37). Voisins du Zero, then, has 1️⃣ wildly differing payouts accoridng to which of the number combinations comes good. Overall, though, it amounts to a 45.9% chance 1️⃣ of success.
Do the Bets Work?
So are any of these bets worth playing? Well, the success rate certainly differs, with Voisins 1️⃣ du Zero winning 45.9% of the time, Tiers du Cylindre 32.4% of the time, and the Orphelins just 24.3%. On 1️⃣ the other hand, the Voisins du Zero requires more chips (nine), and the Orphelins fewer(five). In fact, the house edge 1️⃣ for all three bets works out as exactly the same - 2.7%. The same as the standard house edge, then. 1️⃣ So, for all their fanciness, these elaborate bet types give you no more chance of success than a standard red/black 1️⃣ play.
That's not to say there aren't some advantages. If you suspect there may be some sort of defect (most likely 1️⃣ an imbalance) in the equipment, causing numbers in one section of the wheel to come up again and again, there's 1️⃣ a good chance that the affected numbers will be covered predominantly by one of the three French bets above. In 1️⃣ that case, playing one of these bets might be a good way to take advantage of the bias, but without 1️⃣ tipping off the dealer that a specific part of the wheel may be defective. All in all, though, we suspect 1️⃣ that most players will only want to use these strategies if they wish to show off their in-depth knowledge of 1️⃣ roulette bets.
The Details
Voisins du Zero - 45.9% success. 9 chips needed.
Tiers du Cylindre - 32.4% success. 6 chips needed.
Voisins du 1️⃣ Zero - 24.3% success. 5 chips needed.
Bet Placement
Voisins du Zero (nine chips):
One chip on: 4/7. 12/15, 18/21, 19/22, 32/35
Two chips 1️⃣ on 0, 2, 3
Two chips on 25, 26, 28, 29
Tiers du Cylindre (six chips):
One chip on: 5/8, 10/11, 13/16, 23/24, 1️⃣ 27/30, 33/36
Orphelins (five chips):
One chip on: 1
One chip on: 6/9, 14/17, 17/20, 31/34
