FRENCH ROULETTE
Both Ca' Vendramin Calergi and Ca' Noghera have rooms and tables dedicated to French Roulette, one of the most important – and enchanting – games of the entire Casinò di Venezia. Allow yourself to be tempted by the sound of the boule as it finishes its run on the wheel.
How to win at French Roulette?
The game is really simple and the idea is to guess on which number the boule, spun by the croupier, will stop. Depending on the combination selected, one is entitled to proportional prizes.
The table (table de jeu) is rectangular and the top is covered almost completely with green baize (tapis verte) on which the grid (tableau) is drawn. The grid is made up of numbers, columns, sixlines and simple combinations.
The roulette is positioned at one end of the table. This consists of a wooden wheel (le cylindre), with a metal plate that turns inside it. The plate, which is mounted on a precision mechanism, is divided into thirty-seven pockets (cases), including a zero pocket, eighteen red numbers and eighteen black numbers that alternate from 1 to 36. The “bank” that holds chips of various shapes and values (jetons et plaques) is located next to the roulette wheel.
There is a Table Supervisor (Chef de Table) whose job it is to 5 supervise the game and ensure that all the regulations are properly observed, and three croupiers who sit, one on the right (droite), one on the left (gauche) and one in front of (bout de table) the Chef de Table. Their job is to do everything that is needed to conduct the game orderly and efficiently.
The game is extremely simple and involves betting against the bank by guessing in which pocket the ball tossed by the croupier (le bouler) will land. Winning bets are paid in direct proportion to the value of the chips staked and the kind of combination selected.
The game begins with the croupier’s traditional call of “Messieurs faites vos jeux” that invites the players (joueurs) to lay their bets and ends when the boule is tossed (the boule is spun in the opposite direction to which the wheel is turning) with the customary phase, “Rien ne va plus”. From this point on, no more bets can be laid, and only the Chef de Table can make an exception.
The boule determines the winning number when it lands in one of the thirty-seven pockets on the wheel.
Le Bouler announces in french the winning number and the winning simple combinations (rouge o noir, pair o impair, manque o passe). The two croupiers on the right and left then act as follows.
One indicates the winning number on the grid with a rake (rateau), then lists the winning multiple combinations in french, and finally rakes in the losing chips, while the other pays out the wins, one combination at a time and in the following order: columns, dozen, simple combinations, sixlines, streets, corner, splits and straight bets.
If the winning number is even, the croupier on the right rakes in the chips while the croupier on the left pays the winners. If, on the other hand, the winning number is odd, they swap roles.
With columns and dozen payment begins from the winning chips with the lowest value and finishes with the highest. With simple combinations, no matter what the stake, payment begins from the chips located furthest from the croupier who is paying. Column and dozen wins are paid by placing chips of the same amount next to the initial stake. With multiple combinations the croupier pays one winning bet at a time with the rake, starting with the lowest stake and finishing with the highest.
If the boule lands on 0 the bets laid on 0 and its various multiple combinations win, columns and dozen all lose, and simple combination stakes are halved in value and “imprisoned” (enfermées) on the appropriate line.
Stakes that are “imprisoned only once” are released by the croupier if they win, whereas they are claimed by the bank if they lose.
To free stakes that have been “imprisoned for consecutive rounds” (there is a limit of three rounds and if the stake is still valid in the fourth round it is split), they must win the same number of times they have been imprisoned for.
Every time the winning number is 0 is the player can withdraw half the stake left “à partager” (the other half is kept by the bank), leave it where it is or shift it (even though it remains imprisoned) to another simple combination.
Wins are paid according to the following table:
| MULTIPLE CHANCES | |
|---|---|
| STRAIGHT | 35 to 1 |
| SPLIT | 17 to 1 |
| CORNER | 8 to 1 |
| FIRST FOUR | 8 to 1 |
| STREET | 11 to 1 |
| SIXLINE | 5 to 1 |
| DOZEN | 2 to 1 |
| COLUMN | 2 to 1 |
| SIMPLE CHANCES | |
|---|---|
| EVEN | 1 to 1 |
| ODD | 1 to 1 |
| MANQUE (1-18) | 1 to 1 |
| PASSE (19-36) | 1 to 1 |
| RED | 1 to 1 |
| BLACK | 1 to 1 |
| Straight Bet (En Plein) |
This is a win following a bet laid on a single number (from 0 to 36) by placing the chip on the number square chosen. |
| Split(cheval) |
This is a bet placed on two adjoining numbers, either horizontal or vertical, and is announced by declaring both numbers (the lowest first). The bet is laid by placing the chip on the line that separates the two numbers. |
| Street(Transversale Pleine) |
This is a bet on three numbers on the same horizontal line. To call a street bet, the first and last number must be announced (the lowest first). |
| Zero Street(Transversale du Zero) |
The streets known as the zero streets (transversales du zero), i.e. 0/1/2 e 0/2/3, are distinguished because the position of the numbers on the grid are positioned differently to traditional streets. |
| Corner(Carré) |
This is a bet on four numbers forming a square, two above and two below.To call a corner bet, the first and last number must be announced (the lowest first). The chip is placed at the centre of the four numbers. |
| First Flour (Quatre Premiers) |
This is a bet on the sequence 0/1/2/3 known as the "first four" (quatre premiers). To lay this bet the chip is placed on the outside edge of the grid line that separates the 0 from the 1 or the 3. |
| Sixline (Sixaine - Transversal Simple) |
This is a bet on six numbers that make up two adjoining streets, one above the other. To call a sixline bet, the first and last number must be announced (the lowest first). |
| Dozen (Douzaine) |
This is a bet on the first, second or third group of twelve consecutive numbers. |
| Column (Colonne) |
This is a bet on all twelve numbers on any of the three vertical lines (columns) on the grid starting from 34, 35 or 36. To lay this bet the chip is placed in the appropriate space under the column of numbers selected. |
| Manque and Passe |
These are bets that each consist of eighteen numbers: |
| Odds and Evens (Pair et Impair) |
These are bets that each consist of eighteen numbers: |
| Red and Black (Rouge et Noir) |
These are bets that each consist of eighteen numbers. |
Players can lay bets directly or let the croupier place them by calling out the value of the bet and the combination they wish to play. Called bets are always repeated by the croupier.
| VOISINS DU ZERO | 9 chips |
| 5/8 SERIES | 6 chips |
| ORPHANS | 5 chips |
| NASSA | 5 chips |
| ZERO SPIEL | 4 chips |
| 5 NUMBER SECTOR | 5 chips |
| straight-up finals | |
|---|---|
| 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 | 4 chips |
| 7 - 8 - 9 | 3 chips |
| HORIZONTAL SPLIT FINALS | |
|---|---|
| 0/1 - 1/2 - 2/3 - 4/5 - 5/6 | 5 chips |
| 7/8 - 8/9 | 4 chips |
| VERTICAL SPLIT FINALS | |
|---|---|
| 0/3 - 1/4 - 2/5 - 3/6 | 4 chips |
| 4/7 - 5/8 - 6/9 - 7/10 - 8/11 - 9/12 | 3 chips |
The 5/8 Series and the Voisins du Zéro are traditionally bets “placed” by the croupier, and the chips representing the stake are placed beside the outside grid line of the Passe or Manque square. When the number has been called, the chip in the Voisins du Zéro street and corner, there are two, are placed only if the winning number is in the combination staked.
If the number is not in the combination, the bet is cancelled.
The 5/8 Series (Le Tiers du Cylindre)
This is a bet where twelve numbers are played by placing six chips on the following splits: 5/8 - 10/11 - 13/16 - 23/24 - 27/30 - 33/36.
Les Voisins du Zéro
This is a bet where seventeen numbers are played by placing nine chips on the following combinations: two chips on the 0/2/3 street and on the 25/29 corner and one chip on each of the following splits: 4/7 - 12/15 - 18/21 - 19/22 - 32/35.
Orphans
These numbers make up the two opposite sectors on the wheel that separate the 5/8 Series from the Voisins. They are: 17/34/6 on one side, and: 1/20/14/31/9 on the other.
An Orphans bet requires a stake of five chips, one straight bet 19 on number 1 and one chip on each of the following splits: 6/9 - 14/17 - 17/20 - 31/34, or a straight bet of eight chips.
Nassa
This is a five-chip bet where one chip is laid on each of the following combinations: 0/3 - 12/15 - 19 - 26 - 32/35.
A variant known as “Zero spiel”, does not include the number 19 and is therefore played with four chips: 0/3 - 12/15 - 26 - 32/35.
5 Number Sector (Un Numéro et Deux Voisins)
This is a bet that consists of backing a number as well as the two numbers on either side of it on the wheel. Five chips are laid down as a straight bet.
Final Digit Bets (Les Finales)
These bets are combinations that depend on the order of the numbers on the grid and can be placed as either straight-up or split bets. Straightup final bets consist of numbers with the same last digit (units).
A final digit bet of “1” for example, is made up of 1/11/21/31.
Split final bets, on the other hand, share the same final digit of two numbers that are next to each other (splits) and which are in turn divided into horizontal and vertical splits.
Vertical Final Digit Bets
These bets are made up of two numbers, situated one above the other, and are staked as split bets with three or four chips depending on the position of the numbers on the grid. An example of a 3/6 final digit bet with four chips is: 3/6 - 13/16 -23/26 - 33/36.
Horizontal Final Digit Bets
These bets cover a sequence of two consecutive numbers staked as straight-up and split bets (two per final) with four or five chips depending on their position on the grid. A favourite is the 8/9 final digit combination, consisting of: 8/9 - 18 - 19 - 28/29 (four chips).
If a called bet wins it can be replayed by the croupier using the sum paid out as follows:
TO REPLAY The same number of chips
TO COMPLETE The same number of chips, less the stake.
TO PLAY ALL (Series and Voisins) the entire win plus the stake (A Series triples and a voisin doubles).
• Any changes, adjustments or mistakes, including those made by the croupier, must be reported to the Table Supervisor (Chef de Table) before “Rien ne va plus” is declared .
• Winning bets are determined solely by the position of the chip when the ball lands in the pocket. Therefore customers are invited to follow the progress of the game closely, check the position of their chips on the table, even if they are placed by the croupier, and be present at payments.
• The management is not responsible for bets laid by the croupier in a way that does not comply with the player’s requests.
• Split bets are not permitted on simple combinations, dozen or columns.
• Player who win keep their initial stake and have the choice of letting it ride, withdrawing it or shifting it.
• Players may not touch winning chips before all payments have been completed.
• To lay a new bet players must wait for the croupier to free numbers and rake in all the losing bets (customers can only lay a new bet on a winning combinations after all payments have been made).
• Any multiple chances (combination bet) wins that are not claimed shall be put to one side immediately for the customer by the croupier, together with the stakes, whereas unclaimed wins on simple chances, columns and dozen are put to one side by the croupier after three rounds.
• The minimum and maximum stakes are indicated on the individual tables using appropriate signs. These limits are applied strictly and players may not exceed them, or use third parties to exceed them. Any excess wins made by surpassing the maximum limit will not be paid and the difference in the stake will be returned to the customer.
• The Management reserves the right to change the maximum and minimum limits at any time, even on the same day. If this should occur the Table Supervisor (Chef de Table) will inform the players verbally and a sign indicating the changes will be displayed.
• It is the Management’s right to suspend play at any time.
• Any dispute that may arise will be settled without right of appeal by the Gaming Management.