At times, it seems to me there are a dozen new games being offered at every online or land-based casino I visit, with more games being constantly invented by enterprising manufacturers in the gaming industry.
Several games are enhanced versions of classic casino games, with an added steroid kick, while others are entirely new, fresh out of the figurative box. With that thought in mind, I decided to take a look back at some of the classic casino games that have stood the test of time.
The most popular version of Poker played in casinos right now is Texas Hold’em. The popularity of this game is said to be significantly credited to its exposure on television, where thousands, and possibly millions, of people have watched famous celebrities play Texas Hold’em for high stakes.
But you must have a lot of experience playing low limit games and learning the ins and outs of this poker game before you can consider yourself worthy to play in a high stakes casino tournament.
The games that you may have seen on television are the ‘No Limit Texas Hold’em’ games. What does no limit mean? It means that all chips can be wagered at any time a player wishes. This makes games on TV exciting, but if you are a beginner, you may want to play limit Texas Hold’em first. The money that can be wagered on each round is limited, and the betting rounds are more controlled to begin with.
Another excellent way to start with is to try video poker games. You are palying against a computer instead of real players and that helps a lot!
Another popular card game that has been an institution in casinos, Blackjack, can be played with one deck, up to six or even eight decks of cards.
Cards are held and dealt by the dealer in the course of a one or two deck blackjack game, while a so called ‘shoe’ is used to deal cards in three or more deck games. Today, however, machines are being used that are constantly shuffling in more and more casinos. These continuous shufflers can automatically shuffle and even deal cards, which makes it easier and more accurate for the dealer to deal cards to players, while hampering card counting attempts.
No matter how many decks are used, the basic game remains the same for blackjack – beating the dealer. If a player scores higher than the dealer without going over 21, you have won the game. “Busting” means that you have gone over twenty-one by counting the cards in your hand. If the dealer busts, you win. If you bust, you automatically lose, whether the dealer also busts or not. You must know the glossary of the game if you want to master it!
Roulette is a classic game where you try to guess the correct number that appears after the spin of the wheel. In addition to betting on a single number, roulette players can also bet on a combination of numbers, the color bet of the winning number, or whether it will be odd or even.
There are two different roulette wheels that are used in casinos everywhere. One is the European wheel, which is the oldest version. It has 37 slots numbered from 0 to 36. The single zero slot makes the house a 2.63 edge. The second roulette is the American one, a modified version of the European wheel. This version added a slot with the double zero zero already present, thus forming a total of 38 numbered slots. Due to this extra double zero slot, the house edge increases to 5.26 wherever the American wheel is used.
It is considered to be the most sophisticated gambling game that can be found in a casino. Usually only players of a certain level or VIP players are allowed in the dedicated gaming rooms.
Baccarat is played with two or three decks of cards between a banker and a certain number of players arranged in two groups (tableau), to the right and left of the banker. Each player places his stake in front of him and the banker deals, one by one, two cards to each group and to himself. Whoever has eight or nine points (each card is worth the points he scores, except 10s and face cards which are worth zero) “beats”, that is, he reveals the cards, otherwise he keeps them face down.
If a player “beats” the banker, the coup is over. The banker withdraws the stakes if the tableau has fewer points than his. On the contrary, it pays if the points are higher. If they are the same, it impacts. When no one beats, the banker offers a third card, face up, to whoever wishes it and, if it suits him, takes one for himself.
Then, having discovered the games, the points of the cards are added, subtracting from the total 10 (or multiples of 10) if the sum is greater, after which the payment proceeds as in the first case.
Keno is a very popular game in several countries and basically looks a lot like Bingo.
Players bet by choosing numbers ranging from 1 to (usually) 80. When all players have finished their bets, 20 numbers (some variations of the game have fewer numbers) are drawn at random.
These numbers can be drawn with a ball machine similar to those used for lotteries and bingo, or with a random number generator.
Each casino creates its own ‘pay table’. The player is paid based on how many numbers have been chosen (either selected by the player, or selected by an RNG random number generator), based on the amount of numbers hit and the value of the bet.
The difference in the pay tables is very large and is based on the choices of individual casinos. In fact, the margin can vary a lot, from a minimum of 4% up to 35%. It is in fact one of the games on which the house gets the most profits.
A typical and characteristic card game of casinos is Chemin de fer. It can be considered a derivation of baccarat in all respects.
In fact, the only differences with the latter are essentially two: the bank changes continuously, and instead of two points in this case we find only one. It is played with approximately 10 people arranged around an ovoid table. The player to the right of the banker can decide to keep the bank or not, and in the latter case the decision will be up to the next player.
After placing the bets, a face down card is dealt and the operation is repeated until the player decides to stop. The player who comes closest to the value 9 wins the maximum bet on the bank, bearing in mind that the figures are worth 10 and all the other remaining cards correspond to their face value. If a sum greater than 10 is made, this number must be subtracted from the total (for example, if the total is 15, 10 must be subtracted and therefore it will remain 5. Finally, it must be borne in mind that any player can call the bank at any time and play this sum Alone (which in case of victory will be paid).