Microgaming and Playtech are two online casino software providers that offer a feature known as gamble game in quite a few of their slot machines. Though the Playtech and Microgaming gamble games are structured differently, there is an underlying commonality that needs to be understood up front. The objective of the gamble game is to allow the player to stake the winnings from the online slots spin in a game of chance that can multiply the payout. However, if the player loses in the gamble game then the payout won in the slots spin is totally lost. The gamble game is entirely optional. The player need not participate in it. He can simply collect his online slots winnings and carry on.

Should the player decide to participate in the Microgaming gamble game, he will have to stake the entire payout won in the slots spin. He can choose from two options offered. He can try to double the staked amount by guessing the color (red or black) of the next card. Or he can try to quadruple the staked amount by guessing the suit (spade, heart, diamond or club) of the next card. If the player guesses incorrectly then he loses the staked amount and is returned to the online slot game. The player can repeat the gamble game till he loses or till the gamble game limit is reached. Usually the limit is specified in credits. Therefore if the player starts with a smaller stake he can play the gamble game more times, provided he keeps winning. The previous card exposed is displayed in the game. It is not of significant importance, however.

The Playtech gamble game is different in two material ways. Players who opt for the gamble game are given the option of either staking their entire payout from the slots game spin or staking half and collecting half. This gives the players the best of both worlds. By collecting half they are ensuring something in the kitty if they lose the gamble game. Yet they can use half of their winnings to try and make some extra cash. The game play is also different. Five cards are dealt on the screen. The first one is face up and the remaining four are face down. The player has to pick one of the face down cards. If it is higher than the face up card then the player wins and the staked amount is doubled. If it is lower than the face up card then the player loses the staked amount. The game is so designed that none of the face down cards is of the same rank as the face up card.

Discerning online casino players would have noted that the gamble game offers mathematically correct odds. This means that there is no house edge and the online casino does not make any money out of the gamble game in the long run. It does not lose any money either. From the online casino’s point of view it is offering the player an option and increasing the value of the slot machine. Whether the player should opt for the gamble game or not depends on his risk taking propensity. Players at Playtech online casinos going for the gamble game in online slots should go for the collect half option.