The Greatest Cards Show by Playtech Review

Should you play it?

The Greatest Cards Show suits players who like long odds: every bet is one card out of 54 segments, so wins are rare but pay 39 to 1 or a bonus multiplier of 50x or more. The trade off is long runs of losing rounds, and covering more cards only means more chips lose each spin.

Play it if

You like long odds and big single payouts
You enjoy picking a light or a Joker in the bonus rounds
You are happy with one published return figure for the whole game

Skip it if

You want frequent small wins
You want a bet that wins more often than one round in 54
You want a return figure for each bet

Variance profile

LowMediumHigh

High. Each card has one segment out of 54, so a single card bet loses most rounds. When it wins it pays 39 to 1, or 50x to 5,000x if the card was silver or gold that round.

Bets, payouts and bonuses

Wheel layout

Segment	Published count
Playing cards, one of each in a 52 card deck	52
Joker	2

Published base payouts

Bet	Payout	Conditions
Any card	39:1	Winning card not marked silver or gold that round; stake returned

Bonus entry and results

Bonus	Entry condition	How it resolves
Spotlights	Your card wins and it was one of the 2 to 8 silver cards drawn that round	The card moves onto one of three spotlights, each showing a multiplier from 50x to 2,000x. That multiplier is paid on the stake in place of 39 to 1, and the stake is not returned.
Light Show	Your card wins and it was one of the 1 to 4 gold cards drawn that round	You pick a blue, green or yellow light. It moves across a grid of bulbs worth 50x to 5,000x and stops on one, which is paid in place of 39 to 1. The stake is not returned.
Jokers	The wheel stops on a Joker, respins until it stops on a card, and you have a chip on that card	You pick one of four Jokers for a knockout of three duels. The champion takes the highest of three multipliers drawn from 60x to 1,000x, the losing finalist the second, and the first round losers the third. A second Joker in a row doubles the multipliers, a third makes them 4 times, a fourth 8 times, and each Joker after that doubles them again. The stake is not returned.

Published return by bet

Bet	RTP	Configuration
All bets	96.7%	Whole game, including bonuses

The rules give one RTP for the whole game, not one for each bet, and no fixed top win: the game has a maximum win limit set in the casino's terms.

How The Greatest Cards Show works

The Greatest Cards Show is a live game show with a horizontal wheel of 54 segments: one for each card in a 52 card deck plus two Jokers. You bet on the card you think the pointer will stop on.

1 54 segments

Back your cards

During the countdown, put chips on single cards, on a whole suit, or on every suit of one rank. Each card you cover is its own bet.

2 2 to 8 silver, 1 to 4 gold

Silver and gold cards are drawn

When betting closes, the game marks 2 to 8 cards silver and 1 to 4 cards gold at random. The host then spins the horizontal wheel.

3 39 to 1

The pointer picks one card

A plain card pays 39 to 1. A silver card starts Spotlights, a gold card starts Light Show, and a Joker respins the wheel to find the card that plays the Jokers game. All other chips lose.

An example round

Say you put $1 on the 3 of spades and $1 on the King of clubs, $2 in all.

Stops on the 3 of spades, a plain card: 39 to 1 pays $39 plus that $1 back, $40 in all. The King of clubs chip loses.
Stops on the 3 of spades, marked silver: Spotlights runs instead. If the card moves onto an 80x spotlight, you collect $80, and the $1 stake is not returned.
Stops on a Joker: the wheel spins again. If it then stops on one of your cards, that chip plays the Jokers game.
Stops on any other card: both chips lose.

Silver cards, gold cards and Jokers

The special cards change every round, and you never bet on a bonus directly. You bet on cards, then find out after betting closes whether yours is silver or gold. A silver or gold result replaces the 39 to 1 payout with a bonus multiplier on the stake: 50x to 2,000x in Spotlights, 50x to 5,000x in Light Show. The two Jokers never pay by themselves. They send the wheel round again to pick the card that plays the Jokers game, and each extra Joker in a row multiplies its prizes.

What the 96.7% means

Playtech’s rules publish one theoretical return for the whole game, 96.7%, not a separate figure for plain cards and each bonus. It is a long run average over a very large number of rounds, not a forecast for a session. Because each card holds just one of the 54 segments, that return arrives in rare, large wins rather than steady small ones.

Full game specifications

🎰 Game show specifications

Format: Horizontal card wheel
What your stake buys: Chips on single cards, a whole suit, or every suit of one rank. Each card covered is its own bet.
Player choices: Which cards to back, then a light color in Light Show and a Joker in the Jokers game. Spotlights plays out on its own.
Cost and bonus structure: There is no fee. A bonus is paid from the card you backed: a silver or gold winning card, or the card picked after a Joker, pays a bonus multiplier instead of 39 to 1, and the stake is not returned.

The Greatest Cards Show FAQ

What does a winning card pay in The Greatest Cards Show?

A plain winning card pays 39 to 1, so a $1 chip comes back as $40. If your card was marked silver or gold that round, a bonus multiplier of 50x or more replaces that payout, and the stake is not returned.

What happens when the wheel lands on a Joker?

Nobody wins on the Joker itself. The wheel spins again until it stops on a card, and players with a chip on that card play the Jokers game, where the Joker they pick fights a knockout of three duels for one of three multipliers between 60x and 1,000x.

What happens if two Jokers land in a row?

The Jokers game multipliers double. A third Joker in a row makes them 4 times, a fourth 8 times, and each Joker after that doubles them again, until the wheel stops on a card.

Do I choose anything in the bonus rounds?

Yes, in two of them: a blue, green or yellow light in Light Show, and one of four colored Jokers in the Jokers game. Spotlights plays out on its own, and if you do not choose in time the game picks for you.

What is the RTP of The Greatest Cards Show?

Playtech’s rules give a theoretical return of 96.7% for the game. It is one figure for all play, not a figure for each card or bonus, and it describes the long run, not a session.