How to Play Deal or No Deal Live: Qualifying, Top-Ups & Strategy

Deal or No Deal Live Casino turns the classic TV game show into an exciting live experience. You’ll find key details of the game such as RTP, max win, and volatility. A step-by-step guide on the various stages of this live casino game is also provided, so you won’t have any problems jumping into the action.

Key Beats

How to Play Deal or No Deal Live Casino

Deal or No Deal Live is broken into three distinct phases. 

You’ll start with an initial qualifying game, followed by the top-up wheel, then the main game, where you’ll open up to 16 numbered briefcases.

Stage 1 – Qualifying Round

The first stage is a simple 3×3 slot. To qualify for the main game, you must drop a scatter onto each reel. 

Scatters can also feature multipliers of up to 30x, meaning you’ll enter the briefcase round with increased values in each briefcase.

If you land a scatter but fail to qualify, it stays on the reel, moving down one position. For example, a scatter on the central row drops to the bottom row next time, guaranteeing one of your three required symbols.

Other symbols include traditional BAR and seven icons, as well as classic fruits like cherries. There’s also a WILD symbol that substitutes for anything other than the scatter. 

These combinations pay like regular slot machines, with prizes ranging from 0.5x to 75x.

XXXtreme Spins

Don’t feel like waiting to qualify organically? You have two options to expedite the process. However, these come at a cost:

• XXXtreme Spins – For a 15x fee, you’re guaranteed at least one scatter every spin. You’ll also increase the chance of landing multipliers.
• Super XXXtreme Spins – Pay 75x for guaranteed entry to the main game, plus even more multipliers than XXXtreme Spins.

Qualifying Game: Step-By-Step

Stage 2 – Top-Up Wheel

After qualifying for the main Deal or No Deal Live game, you must wait for it to begin. This provides a brief opportunity to utilize the optional Top-Up Wheel.

You’ll see a Wheel of Fortune-style game with 15 segments. Each contains a value ranging from $5 to $50, assuming a default top-up bet of $1, although this can be adjusted. 

Select any of the 16 briefcases, spin the Top-Up Wheel, and the result is instantly added to the chosen value. 

For example, imagine briefcase 16 contains $150. If you choose this case, spin for $1, and land on 25, its value increases by $25 to $175.

You can adjust the top-up bet size as needed, increasing or decreasing the potential rewards accordingly. 

Top-Up Game: Step-By-Step

Stage 3 – The Briefcase Game

Now we come to the main event, the start of which is signaled by the game’s logo appearing, backed by some seriously funky music.

As the Deal or No Deal Live logo fades, the studio comes into view. The host stands by a table containing the final suitcase, plus the game’s iconic telephone. 

At the back of the set, a co-host stands by the other 15 briefcases, ready to open them. The action will unfold very quickly, so be prepared. 

How It Works 

After a brief introduction, the co-presenter reveals the first three numbers. These signify which boxes are eliminated before the banker makes the first of four offers.

Ideally, you want the revealed numbers to be as low as possible. Knocking out the lesser amounts leaves you with bigger potential wins, forcing the banker to make larger offers.

After the first reveal, you’ll see an offer on your screen. You have around 15 seconds to decide – deal or no deal?

If you choose to deal, the money is yours, and the game is over. You’ll return to the qualifying slot to begin another round. 

Alternatively, you can decline the offer and keep playing.

More Offers

Next, the presenters reveal four more numbers, with the four corresponding briefcase amounts removed. You’ll then receive a second offer from the banker – the choice is yours again.

The process repeats twice more, with the decline occurring once with four numbers removed and then again with another set of three. All deals are unique to you, based on your briefcase amounts.

If you decline all four offers, you’ll keep whatever’s in the briefcase next to the main presenter. This is revealed first, followed by the last remaining number, which completes the game.

Main Deal Or No Deal Game: Step-By-Step

Deal or No Deal Live Bonus

Fans of other Evolution live casino games, like Crazy Time, might expect to see some bonus rounds. However, Deal or No Deal Live doesn’t work that way.

It’s based entirely on the popular television show, so there’s not much room to incorporate anything other than the opening of briefcases. That is the bonus game.

The closest you’ll get to a special bonus round is the aforementioned Top-Up Wheel.

Top-Up Wheel Feature

After qualifying for the main briefcase game, there’s a short time before it begins. 

Here, you may voluntarily place additional bets, increasing the values of your nominated briefcases.

Deal or No Deal Live RTP & Volatility

The return-to-player (RTP) rate for Deal or No Deal Live is 95.42%. 

This is lower than the average for slots (96.00%) but compares well to some other Evolution games. Crazy Time, for instance, is 95.41%, while Monopoly Big Baller clocks in at 96.10%.

However, it lags far behind others, such as Cash or Crash (99.59%) and Stock Market Live (99.00%).

Deal or No Deal Live is also highly volatile. You’re not guaranteed to qualify for the main game, and the initial slot can quickly burn through your bankroll. When you do eventually make it, there’s an awful lot of luck involved.

Deal or No Deal Live Demo 

Sadly, if you were hoping to learn how to play the Deal or No Deal Live casino game for free, it’s not possible. 

Evolution may not offer free-to-play demos, but this guide is the next best thing.

Deal or No Deal Live Max Win 

The Deal or No Deal Live casino game features a maximum payout of 500 times your stake.

It’s possible to bet just $0.10 per play, with a maximum wager of $1,000. However, some online casinos may impose different bet limits. 

Deal or No Deal Live is different from most games of chance due to the decisions you’ll make. The very nature of the offers received means they’ll always be lower than the maximum possible prize.

To earn 500x, you must stick around to the end and hope for the largest amount in your briefcase. You’ll also need assistance from multipliers and top-ups in the earlier rounds.

As such, it’s a rare accomplishment and shouldn’t be your aim. The goal should simply be to deal for more than you paid to qualify.

Pros and Cons of Deal or No Deal Live  

Like everything in life, the Deal or No Deal Live casino game has positives and negatives. In the interests of balance, let’s run through both.

Our Personal Experience on Deal or No Deal Live

I always enjoy Deal or No Deal Live, but the main game moves very quickly. Offers come thick and fast, and you don’t get much thinking time. 

That aside, it’s a highly entertaining live casino game. 

For starters, it looks great. The studio design is just like the real thing, complete with a telephone and briefcases. Whether you play via a desktop browser or mobile casino apps, the streams are clear, and the game interfaces are intuitive.

The qualifying round can be tricky to navigate, so I prefer to pay 15x for XXXtreme Spins. This isn’t a tactic for the smallest bankrolls, but you’ll reach the main event more quickly. 

Conclusion

As entertaining as games like Deal or No Deal Live are, it’s important to play responsibly. 

You might be having lots of fun, living out your dream of appearing on a popular television show. But don’t forget it’s real money you’re playing with. Manage your bankroll carefully and limit the length of your sessions. 

If you find this problematic, online casinos offer a range of responsible gambling tools to assist. Impose voluntary deposit, loss, and bet limits, for example. Or take a temporary time out, if strictly necessary.

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