En Prison rule in roulette

This article will explains how the En Prison rule works and impacts a game of roulette.

Since it first gained popularity on the French Riviera in the late 18th century, roulette has provided fast action with lots of bet types which all have different odds associated with them.

Over the years the game has evolved, and today there are two forms of roulette that are common at most casinos. One is the common American form of the game that you’ll find in any North American casino, and the other is the older European version. The common European roulette game often won’t include the en prison rule any more, with it usually only found at French roulette tables.

The two games vary in a couple of ways, and in this article we’ll look at one rule that increases the odds for you to win money playing roulette.

How does the en prison rule work?

The European version has a rule that’s called en prison. This rule allows the player to recover some of their losses when the ball lands in the green zero space on the spinning wheel.

Players can opt to recover half their outside/even-odds bets if the zero hits. This rule does not apply to any other inside bet, regardless of the odds offered.

The outside bets do not offer a way to win for the player, only an inside bet on the green zero can pay if the ball lands on the zero. Since these outside bets cannot pay on the zero, the European version of roulette offers this as a way to lower the house edge, something North American roulette players don’t get.

Although it’s only the European version of the game that offers the en prison rule, it doesn’t mean that every European version will use the same rules or even include the en prison rule.

Some games offer a return of half, or their original bet to be held until the next spin. If the en prison bet is a winner the second time, all of it will be returned to the player. If it’s a loser the entire bet goes to the house.

Difference between la partage and en prison bets

The en prison rule is a variant of the la partage rule which re-pays the player one half of their outside bet if the ball lands in the zero space.

The difference between the two is the option to let the bet ride for another spin to decide the fate of the entire wager, instead of just an automatic return.