Mystery Roulette is a form of roulette I first came across in a gambling trip I took to Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma on December 9, 2009. Although I had never seen this game before, the roulette dealer informed that Mystery Roulette one of only two or three versions of roulette that can be played in Native American Indian casinos that are spread across the United States. I suppose that "mystery" is an appropriate description of the game. I'll explain that statement in detail in a bit.
I'm serious. If you were not aware of this, it going to sound strange, but, Mystery Roulette is a card game. I know what you are thinking. Probably the same thing I thought. How the hell can a roulette game revolve around cards? And why? I asked the dealer and the pit boss just that. The answer is apparently all table games have to involve cards in Oklahoma to be legal. And, this is the way they get around the law. Supposedly, there is a craps game that uses cards as well. But, they did not have that game set up as of the date I was at Choctaw casino. I'll go back in a few weeks to see if they have put that game in yet.
Alright. So far, I have explained everything about Mystery Roulette except what it its and how it is played. Enough already! Let's get to it. Mystery roulette looks a lot like regular roulette. It has the same roulette table layout and a wheel. There are two notable differences, however. The first one pisses me off royally. You have to ante 50 cents for every spin of the wheel. Doesn't matter how much you bet. One dollar or a hundred, the 50 cent ante remains the same.
The second is the wheel does not have a track for a ball to be spun on and there are no places for it to land. In fact, there is no ball at all! Mystery Roulette substitutes a flat wheel for the conventional roulette wheel. It looks like the wheel of fortune wheel from the game show - except it is lying on its side instead of standing up. The mystery roulette wheel has evenly spaced metal studs standing straight up in the air, perpendicular to the wheel. In between these studs are slots in the wheel. Inside these slots, white cards are placed sideways with the long edges sticking out. The cards are about the same as those in a regular deck of playing cards, like you would see in a game of blackjack. The difference is that these cards have on them a number and color corresponding to those on the roulette table layout - such as red 34 or black 8. They even have cards for single zero and double zero.
They game proceeds almost exactly like a regular roulette game with a few minor differences. First, with a regular roulette wheel, it is motor drive. In mystery roulette, the dealer has to spin the wheel themselves. One little gal that came along while I was playing had to torque her body, putting all of her weight into it the spin in order to get the wheel spinning properly. As the wheel spins, players make their bets, including their 50 cent ante, which are placed in a small circle on the table layout in front of each player.
After it appears that all of the players are done making their wagers, the dealer announces "no more bets"! Then, the dealer collects all of the 50 cent ante bets. A clacker is then introduced to the side of the wheel so that it is hit and bent by each stud that on the wheel as it passes by until it comes to rest between two of the metal studs. The dealer then pulls the card from the slot in the Mystery Roulette wheel within that space shows it to the players while also announcing to all the color and number printed on the card.
Then, just like regular roulette, the dealer places the marker on the winning number. The losing bets are collected and the winners paid off. Then around we go again!
I tried two roulette strategies in my first experience playing mystery roulette. The fifty percent solution and anticipate the wheel were ones I used to take on the wheel in two separate sessions. You can read about how I did in the Roulette Stories section.
My take on Mystery Roulette as played at Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma is this: while it plays almost exactly like regular roulette, I just cannot get past the fact that you have to ante 50 cents for each spin of the wheel. A double roulette wheel is roughly 5% against the player and the ante just makes it worse. But, it is the closest roulette game to Dallas, where I live.
This is the thing with theses Indian Casinos. Many people just don't have any other options if they want to play. So, they have to suck it up and and ante up in order to play roulette. Or, they have to wait until their once a year trip to Vegas. Going to the Indian Casino only takes like an hour and a half tank gas. You can leave the house after supper and be back in bed by midnight. Going to Vegas means a plane flight, hotel and planning a trip. So, they have you where they want you, I guess.
Still, with all of the complaining above, I will be going back.