How to Play: California’s Card Roulette

James Daley
5 Min Read

The United States is a vast place. Just as the climate varies from the deserts of Nevada to the snowcaps of the Rockies, the cultural aspects of one corner of New England might be alien over on the Pacific coast. For card gamers, each state’s quirkiness means that games don’t always cross borders in their original form – and only rare treasures spread intact from one place to the next.

So, while Omaha High-Low doesn’t come from Nebraska (its first recorded use is in Las Vegas), Texas Hold’em hails from Robstown, Texas. California roulette comes from the Golden State. 

Roulette is an adaptive pastime wherever it lands, as evidenced by the number of online variants. The Paddy Power website offers Lucky 6 Roulette, Quantum Roulette, Sticky Bandits Roulette, and several other lobbies to place bets on roulette. These have minor tweaks to the classic formula, such as faster gameplay or a multiplier mechanic. 

It can be tricky to pin down the source of these variants, as roulette isn’t native to the United States. Its origins are a mystery even to scholars of the game. Encyclopedia website Britannica claims that the “accepted” tale of roulette’s birth, a French mathematician trying to create unlimited energy, is “fanciful”. Roulette is reportedly just an evolution of two older games that became popular after 1790. Boring, yes, but reality rarely involves breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

California Roulette

Casinos are empty of dice and metal balls in California so the roulette experience hinges on the spin of a wheel and – uniquely – the draw of a card. That’s not the end of the state’s strange gaming landscape. Players can only gamble offline and exclusively at First Nations casinos. Some horse racing is permitted and dedicated card rooms are popular in California. Like many other states, the government runs a state lottery.

So, how is card roulette played? The game uses a unique deck of cards, numbered zero (and double-zero) to 36. It’s played like the TV show Wheel of Fortune. Instead of a ball, a “flapper” determines which pocket wins once the wheel stops. Then, a hidden card bearing the standard number and red/black color scheme is removed from the wheel. Otherwise, California roulette is played like roulette in any other state.

This version of the game has only existed since 2004. California roulette maintains the same odds (5.26%) and bets as the American form of the game. However, it has been found with two extra rules common to European roulette, namely, La Partage and En Prison. These return half the player’s wager on a zero or double-zero loss (La Partage) and offer a chance to win a lost bet back (En Prison). 

In keeping with regular roulette, zeros are kept at opposite ends of the wheel, and cards alternate between red and black suits. This prevents clusters of colors that make winning certain bets – like consecutive numbers – easier. Perhaps the only major difference between California roulette and versions using a ball is that it’s rare online. Although, the array of variants now available means that there’s little demand for California roulette.

Roulette consistently ranks as the second or third most-played casino game. The top spot invariably goes to slots, which can account for more than 70% of fans’ collective playtime. Blackjack or “21” is the preferred table game in the Western world. In contrast, Baccarat is hugely popular in the East, emphasizing how culture doesn’t always travel linearly from place to place. 

As for California roulette, is it a casino game you’d like to try? 

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