Surrendering, both in roulette and real life, is a good way to escape a worse fate. Defined as a way to retrieve part of your play from a losing spin, surrendering is an important facet of american roulette to get your head around.
Today’s guide from the McLuck blog will teach you everything you need to know about the roulette surrender rule – with no white flags necessary!
What is Surrender in Roulette?
The surrender rule in roulette is one of the most important lesser-known aspects of the game of roulette. It’s a loss-recovery feature that allows you to recoup half of your initial play whenever the ball lands on the zero (0) or double zero (00) pockets.
There’s no doubt that the surrender rule for american roulette scan be a godsend for those keen to mitigate the house edge of the extra double zero pocket, as well as the standard zero pocket. Whenever you place an even-play prediction – an outside play like red/black or odd/even – and the ball lands on either green pocket, you won’t lose the entirity of your play. The croupier will return half of it instead.
Think of it as the game saying “rough luck, but here’s a second bite at the cherry”. Believe us, when you’re making regular even-plays on the roulette, the surrender rule can come into its own over the long term.
Related Posts:
How Does the Roulette Surrender Rule Work?
Surrender is only offered to those who place even-plays on the american roulette wheel. It also only kicks in whenever the ball lands on zero or double zero.
Let’s imagine that you placed 10 on the ball to land on red in the next spin. After a tense wait for the wheel to spin and the ball to drop, it lands on the green double zero pocket. Rather than losing the full 10, you will receive 5 back to use again.
A 50% loss rather than a 100% loss may not sound like much, but over long sessions it can seriously extend the lifespan of your hard-earned bankroll – and roulette bankroll management is very important. It’s like a soft pillow breaking your fall whenever zero or double zero hits.
Advantages for Your Chances
Why does surrender matter in roulette? The number-one benefit is that it reduces the house edge. American roulette carries the biggest house edge out of all the versions of roulette available to play online.
European roulette, which only has a single zero pocket, carries a house edge of only 2.70%. Meanwhile french roulette, which has a single zero pocket – and something similar to surrender – carries a house edge of just 1.35%.
In the american roulette, you can expect a sizeable roulette house edge of 5.26%, almost double that of european roulette. Without the surrender rule, the house edge on even-plays remains 5.26%. However, with the surrender rule, the game’s house edge on even-plays is halved to 2.63%.
In a table game of small edges and long-term play, that’s quite the swing. Just by taking up the surrender rule gives yourself more play time and more value per spin. That’s because you’ve got a statistically better chance of walking away with a gain – or at least prolonging your bankroll.
Which Roulette Wheels Allow it and Where Can You Use it?
The tricky bit is that not all roulette games offer surrender. Let’s run through which roulette wheels allow it and the alternatives offered in other game variants:
✅ American Roulette (with Surrender)
- Some land-based US casinos offer it, often just labeled as “Surrender.”
- Some online roulette games also include the option—check the game info or rules.
✅ European Roulette (La Partage instead)
- Some online tables use a version of Surrender called La Partage, which functions similarly. More on that below
❌ Standard American Roulette (no Surrender)
- Most American wheels without the rule will just swallow your play entirely if 0/00 hits.
❌ French Roulette
- Uses La Partage and En Prison instead of Surrender (we’ll compare all three shortly).
Before you choose to play a version of american roulette online, make sure the game explicitly mentions “Surrender” within its game rules. In some cases, these versions will be marketed as “Pro” or “Premium” american roulette tables.
Surrender Vs En Prison and La Partage
We’ve just mentioned that the roulette surrender rule isn’t the only one offered to even-plays spins in roulette games. There are two alternatives used in european and french roulette – La Partage and En Prison. They offer similar benefits, but with minor differences:
La Partage
- Offered in all french and some european roulette games.
- It operates in the same vein as surrender – receive a 50% refund if the ball lands on zero.
- The house edge plunges to 1.35% across even-play predictions.
- This means La Partage performs even better than american roulette’s surrender rule on a single-zero wheel.
En Prison
- Offered on french roulette and some european wheels.
- Whenever the ball lands on the zero pocket, your play is “imprisoned” and will ride over to the next spin.
- If the next spin is a winner, you’ll win and get your play back.
- If the next spin is a loser, you’ll lose the previously imprisoned play.
En Prison is a slightly more dramatic rule but with with the possibility of an even better outcome.
Is Surrender Worth It?
Of course it is, especially if you love playing roulette and you want to curb the impact of losing spins without minimizing the thrills and spills of the game. Ultimately, surrender in American roulette is your fallback option – your minor edge that requires zero strategy or complex theory.
Yes, it will never guarantee wins. No casino strategy is capable of this.
However, it’s simply a way to play smarter and enjoy a more efficient version of this timeless, wheel-based game. Try this glamorous classic on McLuck social casino today!
Related Posts:
