Dead or Alive Saloon

Guess the correct card and win! The basic concept of the live game Dead or Alive Saloon is not much more difficult than that. But to make things more interesting, in addition to the standard deck of 52 cards, there are 52 bonus cards.

This live casino game is similar to roulette but with playing cards, and bonus multipliers. Let's go through the basics.

1. Players bet on which card(s) they think will be turned up.
2. The dealer then turns over cards until a regular playing card appears and the round is over.

Hopefully, the dealer will turn up a couple of bonus cards before a regular playing card, which will increase the payout significantly. The base payout is 19:1, including your bet, so 20x to make it comparable to other casino games.

If you have been around crypto casinos for a while, you probably know that Dead or Alive is a super popular Wild West slot from Swedish NetEnt. That game studio is since 2020 part of the live casino provider Evolution (also Swedish). And Dead or Alive Saloon is an attempt to piggyback on brand recognition of the popular slot, and even if the name feel a little forced the game is still fun.

If we take a look at the math, Dead or Alive Saloon has an RTP of 97.02%, which is not bad. As for the maximum winnings, there is a ceiling of the equivalent of 500,000 euros/USDT. To hit that seem highly unlikely as the section below on the bonus cards will demonstrate. However, finding 100x every now and then is not uncommon.

Each game round will show a kind of pot value, expressed in multipliers that will be applied to your bet. The goal is to make it as big as possible before the dealer turns up a card that you bet on. Note that the multipliers are added to each other and not multiplied: 20x followed by 30x means 50x and not 600x.

In comparison to other games found in Bitcoin live casinos, it is quite similar to Lightning Roulette in terms of potential multipliers.

As mentioned, there are 52 bonus cards. They occur with the following frequency and effect:

• (20) 20x multipliers
• (19) 30x multipliers
• (3) 50x multipliers
• (1) 100x multiplier
• (3) Double cards. Doubles the current prize pool.
• (6) Bounty Cards. Takes you to a pick-and-win type mini-game: Choose one of three options with a chance of 100x.

Since there is a 50/50 chance of drawing a bonus card over a playing card, the potential maximum multiplier is not easy to hit. To say the least. It requires that we draw all 52 bonus cards in a row, and that we also find the 100x Bounty on all Bounty picks. For maximum payout, the last three cards should also be Double cards.

We'll readily admit that we don't know how to calculate the chances of this. But we know how to make additions and this ends up at a total 14,720x (including the basic payout of 20x). Again, this is highly speculative and the 500,000 USDT (€500,000) cap is probably more relevant in practice.

As with all casino games, there is no way to increase your chances of winning, and the playing cards are shuffled between each round so counting cards is not an option either.

That said, single bets are far from optimal in terms of entertainment value. Since the chance of hitting one card is 1 in 52, hits will be far in between, you are likely to end up in a round with no bonus cards to speak of and barely break even. Boring!

After playing for a while, we found that betting on around 12 cards is quite reasonable. Then you'll win often enough to be in the game when there are a couple of bonus cards out. Of course, adjust your bet amount accordingly.

We also found that the game is more enjoyable if you keep track of your bet cards. To know you hit your card as it is turned over is very satisfying. Of course the interface will confirm and show your wins but there is something with that instant visual confirmation. To keep track some kind of bet system can come in handy,

For example, all fours, fives, and sixes is an easy way to keep track of what is going on in the game. You can even pick these automatically on the bottom row of the bet interface. Or you can cover specific suits. Go with your gut and find some cool setups that you can remember.