La Partage rule in roulette

What the La Partage rule says

"Partage" is French for sharing, and that is exactly what happens: when zero comes up, the house and the player share an even-money stake. You lose half and get the other half back. Without the rule, zero simply wipes out every bet on red, black, odd, even, low or high, which is how a standard European roulette table works.

The Wizard of Odds roulette basics page (opens in a new tab) describes it this way, and the Wikipedia roulette article (opens in a new tab) gives the same definition: only the outside even-money bets are halved when zero lands. You find the rule mainly on French roulette tables. Evolution's page on its live roulette range (opens in a new tab) lists French Roulette with La Partage, so a losing even-money bet on zero gives up only half the stake there.

Bets that qualify for La Partage

Six bets qualify, all of them paying 1 to 1:

• Red or black (rouge or noir on a French layout)
• Odd or even (impair or pair)
• High or low, meaning 1–18 or 19–36 (manque or passe)

La Partage maths: from 2.70% to 1.35%

A single-zero wheel has 37 pockets. An even-money bet covers 18 of them, loses on the other 18, and meets zero once. Here is how a 1-unit bet averages out over 37 spins in which every pocket lands once.

That is the whole trick. Zero is the only reason roulette has an edge at all on an even-money bet; the wins and losses on the other 36 numbers cancel out. Halve the damage zero does and you halve the edge. The exact expected value, as Wizard of Odds calculates it, is −1.351351% per unit staked.

The same source also states the probabilities as a win 48.648649% of the time, a push 1.351351% and a loss 50%. That looks odd at first, but it is the same rule seen differently: treat the halved zero as half your bet losing and half pushing, and the numbers fall out. The return to player for an even-money bet works out at about 98.65% under La Partage, against 97.30% without it.

What the La Partage rule saves you in pounds

Expected loss is stake multiplied by edge, so the saving is easy to put into money. These are long-run averages; any single session can land a long way from them.

Spread over an hour the gap becomes clearer. At 60 spins an hour with £10 on black, a standard single-zero table costs about £16.22 on average, a La Partage table about £8.11, and an American roulette table about £31.58. Same bet, same payout, three very different prices.

A 200-spin evening, worked through

Say you plan 200 spins at £5 on red. You will stake £1,000 in total. Without the rule, the average cost is £27.03. With La Partage it is £13.51. The ball should land on zero about 5 or 6 times in 200 spins (200 ÷ 37 ≈ 5.4), and each time you keep £2.50 that a standard table would have taken. Those few half-refunds are the entire difference.

Roulette bets the La Partage rule does not cover

This is the most common misunderstanding. La Partage helps only the six even-money bets. Anything else on a French table costs the normal single-zero 2.70%.

The dozen bet and column bet are outside bets too, but they pay 2 to 1, so the rule ignores them. The same goes for call bets such as jeu zéro, which actually include zero and so win when it lands.

How to check and use La Partage at an online table

Tables rarely shout about the rule, so it pays to confirm it before you stake anything.

1. Open the game's help or rules screen (usually an "i" or "?" icon) before placing a bet.
2. Search the page for "La Partage", "half back", "half of the bet" or similar wording in the zero rule.
3. Check the payout or RTP table if there is one: even-money bets listed at about 98.65% confirm the rule is active.
4. Place your chip on red, black, odd, even, 1–18 or 19–36. Nothing else benefits.
5. If zero lands, watch your balance: half of each even-money stake should come back while the other half is collected.

La Partage rule compared with En Prison

En Prison is the other French zero rule. Instead of returning half straight away, it locks your even-money stake for one more spin; win that spin and you get the stake back without winnings. Published figures put single imprisonment at −1.387874% and repeated imprisonment at −1.370117%, both slightly worse for the player than La Partage's −1.351351%.

The gap is tiny, about 0.37p per £10 bet for single imprisonment, but La Partage also settles straight away, so your money is not tied up for a further spin. Where a table lets you choose between losing half and imprisonment, Wizard of Odds says the expected value comes out the same. The full mechanics are on our En Prison rule page.

La Partage myths and mistakes

• "La Partage applies to every outside bet." It does not. Dozens and columns lose in full on zero.
• "It makes roulette a winning game." A 1.35% edge is still an edge. Over enough spins, expected losses grow in line with the total staked.
• "You should bet more because the edge is lower." A lower price per pound is a reason to prefer the table, not a reason to stake more or play longer.
• "Zero is due after a long gap, so the rule will kick in soon." Spins have no memory. Zero comes up 1 time in 37 on average every spin, whatever happened before. See independent events.
• "Betting systems work better with La Partage." A Martingale or any other progression still faces a 1.35% edge on every bet, plus table limits.

La Partage in live and RNG roulette in the UK

The rule behaves the same at a live wheel and in a random number generator game: the maths is set by the rules, not the format. Live tables are slower, so a La Partage table costs even less per hour at the same stake. Our guide to live roulette covers the formats you will see.

UK rules apply on top. Since 17 January 2025, online casino games other than slots must allow at least 5 seconds per game cycle, autoplay is banned and net spend and time played must be shown on screen. The £5 and £2 stake limits are for online slots only, so roulette tables set their own minimums and maximums. A lower edge still means losses are likely over time, so set a budget and a time limit first; the deposit limits guide explains how.

Where to find a La Partage roulette table

Look for French roulette in a UK-licensed casino's roulette or live casino lobby, then confirm the rule in the game's help screen. We do not list which partner casinos carry a La Partage table; check the casino's game lobby.

The offers shown here are welcome deals, and they are built for slots rather than roulette. 18+, terms apply. Casumo: 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of £20 or more, opt-in required, bonus wagered 10x within 7 days, £5 maximum bet while active, with game, play and payment restrictions. 10bet: 100% match up to £25 on a first deposit made within 7 days of choosing the casino welcome bonus, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, maximum bonus winnings £1,000, Skrill and Neteller excluded. Coral: deposit and bet £10 or more on slots to get 100 free spins (10p each, selected games, accept within 48 hours, valid 7 days, no wagering on winnings; certain payment types excluded; runs 1 October 2026 to 1 February 2027). Table games are often excluded from bonus wagering or count for less, so check the terms.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.