Deal or No Deal Roulette
Roulette, whether played for cash or just as a free roulette game for practice, is one of the oldest casino games that is still played online and in resorts to this day. The ability for players to win big prizes on any given spin, and to do so without having to memorize any complex strategies, have made this a favorite for players around the world, one that has stood the test of time without requiring any major changes to its rules or format.
But that’s not to say that there haven’t been attempts to update this classic. At many online casinos, alternative versions of roulette have been spread, with options like extra wheels and hidden bonus rounds spicing up the proceedings. One of the more interesting attempts at this is Deal or No Deal Roulette, an entertaining variant that combines this casino standby with the popular television show for a wholly unique experience.
Basics of Roulette Intact
To start understanding how to play this game, we’ll first need to recap the basics of roulette, as most of this version plays out just like a standard European roulette table. The object of the game is to predict where a small ball will fall after being spun around the outside of a large wheel. It could end up in any of 37 pockets, numbered 1-36 (along with one additional pocket, numbered zero).
Before each spin, players have the opportunity to make a number of bets on a large layout, all of which have something to do with predicting where the ball might land. There are inside bets, in which a single number or a small group of numbers become the target; there are also outside bets that may cover as many as 18 spots on the wheel at once. Of course, the odds shift based on exactly which bets a player decides to make. Generally, the minimum betting amount at a table must be met by the total of all inside bets, or by each individual outside bet.
The wagers a player can choose from include the following:
- Straight: This is a bet on a single number. (Pays 35-1 Odds)
- Split: This bet covers two adjacent numbers on the layout. (17-1)
- Street: This bet covers a row of three numbers. (11-1)
- Corner: This bet covers a “square” of four numbers. (8-1)
- Six-Line: This wager covers six numbers on two consecutive lines. (5-1)
- Columns: This option wins if any number in the column of 12 hits on the next spin. (2-1)
- Dozens: This spot allows a player to win in any number in the given range (1-12, 13-24, or 25-36). (2-1)
- Red/Black: Half of the numbers on the wheel are associated with each of the two colors, red and black (though the zero pocket is green, winning for neither color). The player wins if they guess the correct color for the next spin. (Even Money)
- Odd/Even: These bets pay out if an appropriate number is selected; again, zero counts as neither odd nor even. (Even Money)
- 1-18/19-36: As you might guess, these options cover all the numbers in the named ranges. (Even Money)
Players are welcome to mix and match their bets, and most gamblers enjoy spreading money around the table a bit. Once you are satisfied with your selections, you can hit the spin button in order to start the wheel. After a few seconds, the ball will fall into a pocket. All losing bets are removed from play, while winning wagers are paid out.
The game continues like this for as long as you would like to play. In the Deal or No Deal roulette variant, there are handy buttons that allow for you to immediately “rebet,” putting the same chips back on the table that you had last spin. You can also instantly double all of your wagers with a single click, perfect for those who like to play systems in which they raise their stakes after a loss.
The Banker Makes An Appearance
However, while the above information applies to any version of roulette, you may be wondering how the action of Deal or No Deal could be folded into this game. The answer is in the availability of a new bet, one that combines with a second wheel in order to offer access into two interesting bonus rounds. This bet can be found on the extreme outside of the game’s betting layout; players can bet any amount they like here, and these bets are handled entirely independently of the standard roulette games.
The bonus option is linked to a second ring that spins outside of the inner section of the wheel that contains the pockets. This ring is mostly empty, but does contain two spots: one red phone, and one black phone. If one of these phones should line up with the pocket the ball lands in, then one of two special features will be activated.
The first, based on the Deal or No Deal game itself, comes if the ball lands on the red phone. In this game, a list of potential prizes will be listed on the screen, and a layout featuring 22 suitcases is presented to the player. The largest potential prize is 151 times the amount of the bet, while the lowest is equal to the initial wager.
As on the game show, you’ll start by picking a suitcase that belongs to you, and then start opening other suitcases to eliminate them. Each time you choose a suitcase, you’ll reveal a prize that is taken off the board. After you choose six suitcases, the banker will make you an offer worth a little less than the average of the remaining prizes. You may accept this offer, or continue on with the game.
If at any time an offer is accepted, you’ll win that prize immediately and return to the main roulette table. If instead you choose to reject (“no deal”), you’ll have to pick some more suitcases and eliminate more prizes before getting a new offer. This process continues until you either take one of the banker’s deals or get down to just one remaining suitcase. At that point ,you’ll be given the option of opening either your initial pick or switching to the final case that’s left on the display; either way, at this point, the prize you open is yours to keep.
Should the ball land next to the black phone instead, the player gets the chance to enjoy the Roulette Bonus round. In this game, you’ll choose between one of three cases, revealing either a bronze, silver, or gold reward. That will determine the maximum prize you can earn on your bonus spin: 50x, 80x, or 100x respectively.
Once you’ve picked, you’ll get a wheel with the appropriate prizes on it. The wheel will spin, and wherever the ball lands, the appropriate prize will be awarded. However, things are never quite that simple on Deal or No Deal! If you don’t like the results of the spin, you can reject the “offer,” and play the entire round again, starting from the point where you pick a case. You may do this up to three times; on the third attempt, you will be stuck with whatever prize you are awarded.
Strategy
When it comes to the standard roulette part of this game, you can play it like any other European wheel. This single-zero layout means that there is a 2.70% house edge on every bet, about half as much as you would see if you were playing the American version of the game. It doesn’t matter where you place your money in the long run, though the pattern of your wins and losses will definitely change based on how you choose to play: picking single numbers will result in tons of variance, while sticking to even money spots will reduce your swings, but also make it hard to post big wins.
In the bonus rounds, the optimal strategies are fairly easy to learn. For the suitcase game, you should always reject the banker offer: he will always be willing to give you about 96% of the average of the remaining cases, meaning you can do better just by getting one of the prizes at random. Taking an offer is fine if you’re talking about a life-changing amount of money, but if you are, then you should probably be playing this game at lower stakes!
In the roulette bonus, your threshold for accepting a prize should go down in each round. On your first round, you should take any prize worth 35x your bet or more. If you refuse that offer, you should then take anything worth 27x or more on your second attempt. If you reject again, of course, you will take whatever you can get on the third and final spin.
Answer the Phone
Deal or No Deal Roulette is one of the better “side bet” versions of the game we’ve seen at online casinos. The bonus bet is entirely optional, and if at any time you just want to play a more standard version of the game, you can simply ignore the special wager and play the game straight up. But if you do decide to try to take on the banker, these bonus games are both a lot of fun – and with a little luck, they can reward you with bigger prizes than anything on the standard wheel. If you like roulette but would enjoy an occasional special feature to break up the action, this is an excellent way to spice things up.
