Credit Card Roulette – How To Pay For Stuff Like A Poker Pro
7 minutes
Posted by: Ivan
The poker world is a huge mix of all sorts of personalities. There are plenty of players who always wait for premium hands like pocket aces and others who are ready to widen up their game, and the same is true in other areas of life.
Some are extremely careful with their bankroll, and plenty of others are ready to gamble every time they have a chance.
The latter group came up with a credit card roulette and introduced a fun way to wager between friends.
This game takes gambling to the next level and introduces it to normal life situations.
Credit card roulette, in essence, is a simple drawing game similar to a lottery. Players use it to settle bills in bars, clubs, and restaurants, and it can be super fun or painful at times.
If you have heard of the card roulette game but have never quite understood how it works, I will fully explain it. Keep reading this article and find out how you could gamble it up with your friends the next time you hit a bar.
What is Credit Card Roulette?
We don’t know exactly when credit card roulette was first invented or who came up with the idea. What we do know is that many high stakes poker players love to play the game with their friends.
So what is credit card roulette?
It is a game that makes one person’s night out on the town very painful, while everyone else in the crowd gets a free ride.
Everyone usually puts their credit card into a hat or a bowl of some kind, and then a single card is drawn by a waiter or another person outside the group to decide the “winner.”
The owner of this card has to pay the entire bill for the entire night, whatever it may be.
Another, more exciting version of the game allows for all cards by one to be drawn, eliminating all but one person from the hat. The remaining card is used to settle the tab.
If this sounds kind of risky to you, you should wait and see what kind of bills are in question and have been discussed in the NVG poker forum and YouTube videos.
Since poker players like to live large, we are often talking about massive tabs worth thousands of dollars.
Yet, if you want to try credit card roulette with your friends, you can also do it for a smaller and less extravagant tab at your local bar or restaurant the next time you go out.
Why Should Anyone Play Credit Card Roulette?
The credit card roulette game is one that doesn’t really serve any purpose or give anyone an edge. It is played simply to spice up the evening and make things more fun for the group.
Unlike most other forms of gambling, credit card roulette does not favor any of the players or any third party such as a casino or a sportsbook.
Yet, it is gambling in the purest sense of the word.
The even odds between all players make the game completely fair and unbiased. Of course, this also means there is no real sense playing it, other than inflicting pain to one of your buddies, which can be priceless. That surely can become another poker cooler of sorts!
Credit Card Roulette Etiquette – The Dos and Don’ts
The game of credit card roulette can be extremely fun to play with a group of consenting people, whether they are your friends or simply acquaintances.
However, it is very important to remember that not everyone is a gambler, and some people prefer to pay their fair share of the bill simply. This should not be frowned upon.
If one person does not want to participate in the game, forcing them is certainly not a nice thing to do.
Of course, poker players who know that it’s not about the money will often peer pressure other players into playing, and this is simply the way it works.
Yet, remember that not everyone in the group is always a poker player, and some prefer not to participate in such debauchery.
However, the one thing to definitely keep in mind is that if you do take part in the game and lose, you should always pay the bill.
Trying to weasel out of it will make you unpopular with the group and can be considered straight-up cheating. Maybe not an equivalent of Mike Postle poker scandal, but you surely do not want to go that route.
Since you would have accepted another loser paying for your share of the bill, you should also make sure to pay for the bill and leave a generous tip if you end up losing.
Taking the game in stride and paying without making a fuss about it will keep the night positive. Protesting too much and being weird about it can simply ruin everyone’s night.
Playing Credit Card Roulette – What You Should Know
The game itself is pretty straightforward, but there may be a few things to keep in mind if you are going to play it.
These are the tips and tricks I would suggest if you go out with a group of people who want to play credit card roulette:
Remember Variance
Just like Texas Holdem, credit card roulette is a game susceptible to variance. Just as you may lose many coin flips in a row, you can end up having to pick up the bill more often than average.
The more people in the group, the bigger the variance will be.
In the long run, every person in the group will pay the same number of times, but someone can get hurt in the short run.
If you are going to indulge in this game, make sure to keep the variance in mind and understand that you may end up paying more than your fair share with one particular group.
After all, unless you are partying like crazy every day, you may only end up playing with one group a few times, so there is a lot of gambling involved.
Use Your Credit Card
When the time comes to play the game, you may be tempted to throw in any card from your wallet. However, you should make sure to use a credit card in most cases and not a debit one.
The reason for this is quite practical. If you end up losing, you want to have the option of paying the bill off a bit later.
Of course, you may just be dirty rich and not care how much the bill is, in which case using a debit card will work just fine. In fact, you can even be a good sport and just take care of the bill without even playing.
You Can Spice It Up
As if the credit card roulette game was not gamblish enough, some poker players have found ways to make it even crazier.
Making side bets on how large the bill will be in the first place is a great way to offset some of the costs of losing at the game.
If you keep more attention to what was being ordered or just felt like you have a good sense of what the bill may come out to, you can suggest some side bets.
If people are willing to bet enough, you may win money even if you have to pick up the tab.
You would be surprised just what poker players are sometimes willing to bet on!
So Should You Play Credit Card Roulette Game?
Playing credit card roulette can be a great idea for groups of people with similar income or who simply don’t care much about money either way.
If you feel like your group is fairly well balanced and you won’t end up putting anyone in an awkward situation, this game is just about perfect.
On the other hand, if you are out with a group of friends from various walks of life, you should probably keep your gambling to yourself.
Even if people know you are a professional gambler, they aren’t necessarily up for it.
This game is ideal for groups of poker players and their significant others or other kinds of crazy parties with people you know from the gambling world, so go for it anytime you are around your poker and casino friends.
Time to Give It a Shot
Now that you know all the rules and tips for playing credit card roulette, it’s time to give it a spin and try it in action.
I recommend playing the game for small stakes at first, such as drinks with a friend.
If you enjoy the dynamic, there is nothing wrong with introducing it to a bigger friend group at some point.
You can also add various twists and turns to the game, such as making side bets and make it even more fun.
Just remember, there is always a risk to lose, just like in real games with high VPIP poker players, so always keep it fun and avoid putting any of your good friends in a bad situation you wouldn’t want to put yourself into.
You can connect with Ivan via his LinkedIn profiile and follow him on Twitter.
- Poker Squeeze Play – Which Hands Make the Most Sense for Squeezing? - August 10, 2023
- How to Play Low Pocket Pairs in Texas Hold’em - July 29, 2023
- How to Make Deep Runs in MTTs More Often - July 22, 2023
