Card Roulette – A Spin on the Classic
With most of roulette variants – whether regional or the more ‘novelty’ game types – one thing is shared, and that is the standard wheel with a rolling ball and numbered pockets. Things are different in Card Roulette, however, as this variant combines the wheel and a standard 54-card deck, with no ball in sight. Suited for seasoned roulette players and card game lovers alike, this online casino creation has got some clear benefits which we’ll address on this page. If you’d like to get a first impression, below is a snapshot of a Card Roulette online game from the software makers at Openbet.
If you get your hands on a demo play version of this game, you can use that opportunity to become familiar with the ins and outs of the table and wheel, and of course, you’ll be spinning with a play money budget. Nevertheless, a good real money option can be found at the casino recommended here, where you’ll find this and many other casino favourites and innovative variants. A new player bonus might lie ahead as well, so take a look!
Card Roulette Game Principles
So, the table and wheel layout strikes some similarities to any standard roulette game – the wheel is round and spins, and the table consists of a grid. That’s about it. But instead of letting a ball determine the winning number by falling into a pocket when it stops, card-based roulette involves an arrow attached at the rim. The arrow points at the winning suit and number when the spinning stops, much like in the Wheel of Fortune or similar gameshows. Instead of 37 or 38 pockets, there are 54 cards: 52 number and picture cards in four different suits, plus two Jokers. That makes the wheel almost twice as big as usual! The table corresponds to what you see on the wheel: there are rows separated by suit and columns by number or face, from Ace to King in an ascending manner from left to right. Two squares for the Jokers can be found on the left, and the bottom edge is flanked by a number section, in addition to the familiar betting squares for even or odd and black and red.
The Card Roulette wheel consists of playing cards instead of number pockets – 52 cards, plus 2 jokers. The jokers act like zeros in this case. Instead of a ball, the winning card is determined by an arrow on the side when the wheel stops.
The table layout reflects the wheel, so each card category and suit is laid out on a grid of 13×4 squares. Betting is quite similar to standard roulette – you place your wager on the selected field of the table and press the spin command when ready.
You can bet on single numbers, including the Jokers, or make group bets according to the markings: Ace-5, 6-10, picture cards or the aforementioned even/odd or black/red options. Similarly to other types of roulette, split bets, corners, streets and columns are available by placing bets on the appropriate lines – which are neatly highlighted for you when in the Openbet game by hovering over the squares. Additional bets can be found under the ‘More Bets’ command on the top left – seven other group bets, with examples like Cour dur Roi, an eight-chip bet, or a more simple Le Fils du Roi played with three chips.
Odds and Payouts in Card Roulette
| Bet Type | Odds | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| One Card | 1.85% | 4:01 |
| Two Adjacent Cards | 3.70% | 2:01 |
| Joker | 3.70% | 2:01 |
| Square | 7.41% | 13:01 |
| One of Four | 7.41% | 13:01 |
| Face Cards | 22.22% | 4.33:1 |
| Suit | 24.07% | 4:01 |
| Odd | 29.63% | 3.25:1 |
| High Cards | 29.63% | 3.25:1 |
| Low Cards | 29.63% | 3.25:1 |
| Middle Cards | 37.04% | 2.6:1 |
| Even | 37.04% | 2.6:1 |
| Black | 48.15% | 2:01 |
| Red | 48.15% | 2:01 |
Different types of these extra bets will highlight the corresponding fields of the table in the pop up, so you can simply choose one by clicking it directly there. Neighbour bets are also available under the ‘More Bets’ banner, and you can enjoy added flexibility in that you get to select how many neighbours to bet on, from one to eight numbers on either side of the main number square.
California Roulette
A noteworthy variant, shaped similarly to a Card Roulette online game, comes from the state of California, where games using a ball or dice to determine the outcome are flat-out banned on a state-wide level. The reasoning behind this is, supposedly, that ball or dice-less games are games of chance (historically seen as immoral) and are therefore not okay to play. So, what do you do with a ball-less roulette wheel? Native American tribal casinos have come up with an identical card-based roulette game to replace the numbered wheel, thereby slipping right past by the pesky ‘no ball’ rule and still delivering this classic game to their gambling halls. You play California Roulette with a deck of 38 cards, numbered the same way as in American Roulette, including a single and double zero. The deck is shuffled before the dealer draws the winning number, while the players can make the same types of bets as in a standard game of roulette, in addition to betting on card suits.
Where to Go for Card Roulette
Whether you’re a new or seasoned player, this might be the right game to pep up your typical spin-the-wheel routine with. Of the novelty variants out there, we’ve found this one to be the most interesting and complex, especially considering the classic bet types are there to stay in the Openbet game software, reminiscent of the famous French variant. For a real money version of Card Roulette online, check out our recommended online casino below!