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Football Card Showdown is a football-themed live dealer card game from Playtech.
There are two playing positions, Home and Away, and each receives one card. To win, you need to correctly guess which of the two sides will have the higher card value when the two cards are revealed.
The playing positions pay even money, 1:1, for a correct prediction.
There are also eight side bets which can be played with or without the central hand being played.
In this review, I will explain how to play and discuss how betting strategies may be more difficult in this game. I’ll also compare Evolution Football Studio and On Air Card Matchup, similar games in this genre.
You can jump to my video review if you like something more visual.
A dealing shoe holds eight decks of fifty-two playing cards.
At the start of each new shoe, the first card is drawn to reveal its value. The dealer removes the same number of cards from the shoe before the first game round commences.
The dealer also burns one card before each new game.
Betting time runs for 15 seconds, during which you have time to place your bets on the central Home, Away and Draw positions and as many side bets as you want to play.
When the betting time has closed, the dealer removes the top card and takes two cards from the shoe. The first card is the Home card, and the second is the Away card.
The dealer reveals both cards, with the higher value card declared the winner.
All players get back 50% of their original stake if the result is a draw. Unless, of course, you bet on the draw, where you’ll receive a 10:1 payout.
The cards are all worth their face value. Ace is low, then 2 to 10, with a Jack worth 11, Queen 12 and King 13.
The game round starts with 13 seconds of betting time.
You can place bets on any of the bet spots. You can play just the side bets, a mixture, or the central hands – the choice is yours. Most bet spots have the same payout of even money, 1:1, while a Draw will pay 11:1.
There are eight side bets you can play during a game round. You can play as many as you like, and you don’t need a qualifying bet to play them.
There are four side bets for the Home side and four for the Away side.
Each side-bet relies on the card dealt to its side to determine whether it wins.
The side bets are unaffected by the result of Home vs Away.
All the side bets pay even money, 1:1.
Finding a playing strategy that works on Football Card Showdown is tricky but not impossible.
The first thing to say is strategies cannot guarantee you win. If they did, the casinos would be out of business, and everyone would be rich, which isn’t the case.
So a strategy is used to provide a structured approach. For Football Card Showdown, you’re going to need two systems.
One for the Home and Away game and a second for the side bets.
It’s pretty simple, do you bet on Home or Away or even a Draw? How do you know when to bet on each one? Do the previous results help with what may happen in the future? These are all questions to consider.
Ordinarily, I would say keep an eye on what cards have come out of the shoe and use that information to help you decide what to do.
However, Playtech has implemented “burn cards” in Football Card Showdown. These cards are removed from the deck before a new shoe starts, and each hand is played. So there are approximately 125 cards (one-third) you’ll never see during the shoe’s lifetime, making it impossible to know what cards are left in the deck.
So card counting is not an option.
What are we left with? Well, I’d say patterns, for no other reason than you have to pick something. YOu can bet on one side and keep betting on that side while it wins. Then switch to the other after you’ve lost. YOu could choose to flip between the two HOme then Away. My favoured approach is to follow trends.
I bet on one side until I lose, double my bet, and switch to the other. I keep going like this hoping to get on a run and make some money.
A strategy for the side bet is a bit more tricky, as you have four options to choose from. It doesn’t matter which side you play, as the result of the central hand doesn’t impact the outcome of the side bet.
I honestly don’t think it matters – follow a trend. Watch a few hands, then start betting. Over the long term, you’ll get a 50% return. If you get ahead early, I’d recommend banking the profit and stopping playing them for a while.
The in-game statistics and result trackers are pretty basic in Football Card Showdown.
The last twenty-one results are displayed on the screen as either H or A. There is no further information about the score or card values.
There is no information on the result of the side bets – therefore, nothing useful to view when deciding how to play them.
The game statistics for the day are displayed behind the dealer on a scoreboard, showing the day’s total Home, Away and Draws.
Then there’s the game round scoreboard, which serves little purpose for statistical information by just displaying the cards and whether the win was Home or Away.
The three games are very similar in their play, but some fundamental differences may influence which game you choose. Let’s look at the game’s different elements and how they compare.
Football Studio, Card Matchup and Football Card Showdown have the same payouts for the Home and Away positions and the side bets. All pay even money 1:1.
The payouts for the Draw differ. Football Studio and Card Matchup pay 11:1, while Football Card Showdown pays 10:1.
The only difference with the side bets is how they are named. They all behave the same, and the payouts are the same.
Burn cards are used when a new dealing shoe is started and between each hand in Football Card Showdown. This makes it challenging to track cards and uses fewer cards in the shoe before it needs changing. Ace is low in this version, while the competitors have Ace as High.
The best results statistics are in Football Studio and Card Matchup.
Football Studio and Card Matchup use widgets to provide results information from football games. You can choose the leagues or competitions for which you want to see the results.
Both Card Match and Football Studio are better games than Football Card Showdown.
It feels to me like Playtech has just thrown together Football Card Showdown. I think it’s because the other suppliers have similar games, and we’ve entered the World Cup, so not having a game like this puts Playtech at a disadvantage.
As games go, it’s a simple game, but Playtech has managed to produce a game with worse payouts for the Draw bet and lower RTP for the Draw and side bets.
You have to ask yourself why’d you play this version over the others. With poorer results information and no Football results service, you wouldn’t choose to play Football Card Showdown if you’re interested in those options.
If you’re betting on Home and Away, you’ll get the same payouts as the other games, so no fouls. Play this game with caution, as there is a better alternative elsewhere.
Football Card Showdown is a live dealer card game by Playtech. Two Cards are matched against each other, and the card with the higher value wins.
You can play at any Playtech online casino that has live dealer games. My recommendation is BetVictor Online Casino.
There isn’t a strategy that will guarantee you’ll win, but there are playing techniques that will help manage your bankroll and help you win more often. Refer to my Strategy Guide for more information.
Football Studio by Evolution and Card Matchup by On Air Entertainment are similar games.
The RTP is 96.27% for the central hands. A Draw has an RTP of 82.17%.
There are four side bets for the Home and Away positions. Each covers BIG, SMALL, ODD and EVEN. They all pay 1:1.
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