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Side Bet City Review
If you have a hard time choosing between live dealer poker games and game shows, Evolution Gaming offers you the best of both worlds in the form of Side Bet City!
Evolution has once again proven that, despite already being a renowned gaming studio in its own right, it doesn’t sleep on the job.
Instead, the game developer continuously creates innovative live casino games to dazzle punters. A quick look at the unique, fast-paced Side Bet City shows that Evolution Gaming is at it again!
Say goodbye to your regular poker games because Side Bet City springs onto the market and offers punters instant wins as high as 1000x their stake.
As unique and refreshing as classic poker already is, Evolution adds even more simplicity, fun, and engaging gameplay into the equation!
Where to play Side Bet City?
To participate in this exciting retro poker game show, sign up with an Evolution-powered online casino.
We’ll quickly point out that selecting an online casino offering the popular Side Bet City won’t exactly be a walk in the park.
That’s because there are hundreds of online gambling sites for you to go through.
While having the game present in the games lobby is well and good, countless other factors need to go under scrutiny before making your final decision.
That includes zeroing on aspects, such as platform usability, safety features, security, casino bonusses, payment options, withdrawal processing times, overall game selection, and, and, and!
No doubt, that can be an intense process to go through for any gamer. But you don’t have to because we’ve already taken care of business.
We’ve vetted some of the top Evolution-powered real money casinos offering the game using a strict criterion that ticks off the mentioned aspects. Just go ahead and choose one!
How to Play Side Bet City?
Simple gameplay is the name of the game with Side Bet City. Instead of playing against the dealer or each other, here you’ll be playing against the paytable.
The game objective is pretty simple—you need to predict the winning hand from four available options. Each of the four hands contains different poker combinations, which ultimately determine the hand’s value.
To get the game started, players have to place their bets. A word of caution: Side Bet City doesn’t have in-betting options, so once you place your bet, there’s no going back.
Once you’ve placed your bet, the friendly and efficient dealer shuffles the cards and builds the hands. Your betting options are as follows:
- 3 Card – Result determined by the first 3 cards dealt from the deck
- 5 Card – Result determined by the first 5 cards dealt from the deck
- 7 Card – Result determined by the best 5 cards from all seven cards dealt from the deck
- All lose – You predict that none of the hands will form
Once you’ve placed your bets, the live dealer proceeds to deal seven cards and places them on the table face-up.
The combination of winning hands is structured as follows:
- Royal Flush – Ace, Queen, King, Jack, Ten.
- Straight Flush – Cards in sequential order from the same suit.
- Four of a Kind – Same number card from each suit.
- Full House – 3 of a kind and a pair.
- Flush – All cards are the same suit.
- Straight – Cards in sequential number order.
- 3 of a Kind – 3 cards of the same value.
- 2 Pairs – 2 sets of pairs (only playable on the 5-card hand).
- Pair AA to JJ – Pairs of Jacks or better.
- Pair -2 Cards of the same value.
The entire Side Bet City game is automated, so once you’ve placed your bets, you must follow the prompts on the screen.
Side Bet City features & betting options
Evolution Gaming is known for its state-of-the-art studios. Expect nothing less from the Side Bet City gaming studio.
The game is streamed from Evolution’s European studio and exudes a 1980s feel thanks to the neon lights and arcade ambiance.
Players will find professional live dealers dressed in an 80s-like Florida ensemble to complement the retro feel.
The game is characterized by high-quality graphics for added clarity. You’ll see all the hands clearly displayed on the right-hand side of the screen, including their respective odds.
The same display even shows the winning hands while the dealer is still dealing the cards! That’s a really helpful feature that players who’re new to the game will appreciate.
Side Bet City is open to an unlimited number of players, so you’ll definitely get your seat around the virtual table.
While you can bet on either the 3 card, 5 card, or 7 card betting options, know that the 3-card game is usually the easiest to predict, followed by the 7-card, and lastly, the 5-card, which of course, has the highest odds.
Depending on the hand or combination you choose, the following payouts apply:
3 Card Hand
- Royal Flush – 100:1
- Straight Flush – 40:1
- Three of a Kind – 35:1
- Straight – 5:1
- Flush – 4:1
- Any Pair – 1:1
5 Card Hand
- Royal Flush – 1000:1
- Straight Flush – 250:1
- Four of a Kind – 100:1
- Full House – 50:1
- Flush – 40:1
- Straight – 25:1
- Three of a Kind – 7:1
- Two Pairs – 4:1
- Pair AA to JJ – 1:1
7 Card Hand
- Royal Flush – 500:1
- Straight Flush – 100:1
- Four of a Kind – 50:1
- Full House – 7:1
- Flush – 5:1
- Straight – 4:1
- Three of a Kind – 3:1
All Lose bets payout 0.70:1
Side Bet City RTP, volatility, minimum stake & maximum stake
To bet on Side Bet City, you can start with a minimum stake as low as $0.50. The maximum stakes differ with each online casino but can go as high as $2,000.
Overall, Side Bet City doesn’t have the best RTP when compared to other poker games. The game features different RTPs depending on the size of the hand, which are as follows:
- 3 Card – 96.69%
- 5 Card – 95.21%
- 7 Card – 94.34%
- All Lose – 96.29%
Side Bet City hints and tips
As mentioned earlier, Side Bet City is an automated game which means that after placing bets, pretty much everything is out of your control.
That means the outcome is purely based on chance more than anything else, and all you can do is control your betting choices.
So, if you want to play the game with some sort of strategy, you could either bet on the All Lose bet and use it as insurance, while also making a 3-card bet.
If the 3-card bet loses, there’s a chance that the remaining hands will also fail. But having made an All Lose bet, you’ll get some form of consolation.
Another tip is to take your cue from the different house edges of the hands. The 7 Card bet has the highest edge, followed by the 5-card bet.
That means you lower your odds of winning if you chose these options. To play it safe, rather go with the 3-Card bet.
However, if you’d rather try your luck and hope to bag the big rewards, at some point, you’ll have to take your chances with the 5 and 7 Card betting options.
Whichever strategy you decide to use, remember these tips aren’t foolproof, but worth considering nonetheless.
Final Thoughts
To wrap up, Evolution Side Bet City is one of the simplest casino games you can play. The rules of the game are pretty simple to master, even if it’s your first time playing.
Players will love how fast-paced the game is if you’re not particularly crazy about long drawn-out poker games.
Although some players feel the speed is a tad too quick. But that’s a matter of perspective.
If you decide to play it safe by going with the 3-Card bet (as mentioned in our tips), it means your returns will mostly be on the low side.
But the lively atmosphere and cheery hosts will more than make up for any negative sentiments you may have on the game.
Side Bet City is perfect for new poker players who’re keen to learn about the different hand combinations. But this isn’t to say seasoned gamers won’t get a kick out of the game too.
The studio is aesthetically pleasing, the interface is intuitive, and the video quality exceptional.
Granted, it’s not your conventional poker game, but Side Bet City is simple enough to master and definitely a must-try for all poker lovers out there.
