This game is the closest thing to a table version of a slot machine: You place your bets, the cards are dealt, and then they tell you whether you won or not. You don’t make any decisions, just like a slot machine. You simply bet and cross your fingers. You have a choice of three different bets (Banker, Player, or Tie). Banker is the best bet, so just bet on Banker every time. You’ll enjoy a very low house edge of only 1.06%. The dealer will take a 5% commission on winning hands, but your low 1.06% disadvantage includes the commision.
This is all you need to know to play Baccarat, but for those who want more, we have a complete guide to Baccarat..
No popups, no registration, no download, no B.S., just the game. One click and you’re in.
Craps
The players take turns rolling the dice. Everyone bets on the same roll of the dice, no matter who’s rolling. It probably won’t be your turn to roll right away, and if you’re still getting used to the game you can pass your turn (unless you’re the only one playing, of course). After you’ve bought chips, look for a big hockey puck on the table that says ON or OFF. If it says ON, wait until the dealer turns it to OFF before you place your bet. As soon as it goes to OFF, then put your betting chip on the part of the table marked PASS LINE. If you lose the dealer will take your chip. If you win the dealer will give you another chip, which you’ll pick up, and let your original bet play again. If the marker gets turned to ON, you’re moving into a bonus round and have another chance to win. At this point place another chip below (due South) of your original bet. Most of the other bets at craps are sucker bets, so don’t make them. If you play as recommended, you’ll enjoy a very low house edge (casino profit per bet) of less than 1%.
You don’t even have to understand what’s going on, though it’s probably more fun if you do. Short summary: Right after you place your bet, rolling a 7 or 11 wins, while a 2, 3, or 12 loses. Any other number moves you into the bonus round. In the bonus round, rolling the number that got you into the bonus round wins, while a 7 loses, and any other number is irrelevant, For more info check out our detailed craps lesson.
Roulette
The odds on roulette are at least five times worse than situs poker online baccarat, blackjack, or craps, but it’s played much slower so your expected loss is about the same. But the bad odds do mean you’re less likely to walk away a winner than if you’d played one of the other games instead. Most roulette wheels have a 0 and a 00, and have a 5.3% house edge. Some wheels have only the 0 (no 00), and have about a 2.6% house edge. Although the Single Zero wheel gives better odds, even with a 00 wheel and $5 bets you’ll lose less money than on a 5-coin nickel slot machine. Playing Roulette is easy: Just buy chips, and put your chip(s) on the number(s) you think will win, or on red or black, even or odd, etc. For the most part, it doesn’t matter what bet you pick: Except for one obscure bet, all bets carry the same odds. To make your money last longer try to find a single 0 wheel, and make only one bet per round regardless of what kind of wheel you find. Also, understand that your odds are the same on every spin. If black has just come up ten times in a row, your odds haven’t changed, black and red are equally likely on the next spin. (If you don’t believe me start flipping a coin and notice that after three heads, you’re equally likely to get heads as tails on the next flip.) For the curious we also have more detailed information about roulette.
Blackjack
You can get an ultra-low 0.5% house edge with a couple of hours of study. But even with just this crash course you’ll enjoy a low house edge of around 1.5% and lose way less money than at slots. Remember, if you don’t understand these instructions, just tell the dealer what you want to do and s/he’ll help you. For example, if you have two 8’s and you know you want to split, ask, “How do I split these?”
Here’s how the game works: Each player plays against the dealer, not against each other. So your objective is to beat the dealer. Here’s how the scoring works:
Whoever has a higher score when the round is over, without going over 21, wins.
If the total of all the cards in a hand is over 21 (22 or higher), that hand is said to “bust”. If you bust, you automatically lose, even if the dealer busts too.
If you didn’t bust then you win if your total is higher than the dealer’s total.
If either side gets a ten and an ace, it’s called a blackjack and wins automatically. If the other side also has blackjack then it’s a tie.
All cards are face value, except face cards count as 10. An ace counts as eleven unless it would bust your hand, in which case it counts as 1. You and the dealer each get two cards but you only get to see one of the dealer’s cards. Your choices are now:
Hit (take another card)
Double (double your bet, take one more card, and end your turn)
Split (too complicated to explain in the crash course, see the full rules)
Stand (end your turn and let the others play)
Here’s your crash course strategy:
(1) Never play a game marked “Super Fun 21” or a game that says “Blackjack pays 6:5” on the table felt. These games aren’t real blackjack and the odds are three times as bad as the real thing.
(2) When your total is 9, 10 or 11, double when the dealer’s up card is less than your total.
(3) Always split two 8’s or two Aces.
(4) If the dealer’s up card is 7 or more, then hit until you have at least 17, then stand.
(5) If the dealer’s up card is 6 or less, than hit until you have at least 12, then stand.
(6) Never take insurance or even money.
Dealers and players may want to give you advice and suggest you play differently than what’s suggested above. It’s usually fine to take their advice, except that you should always split 8’s and aces, you never want insurance or even money, no matter what the dealer or other players say. (The dealer is trained to deal the game, s/he knows nothing about the math behind it.)
For those willing to do a little extra work we also have the complete blackjack strategy. If you learn the proper strategy then stick to it and ignore when the dealer and other players tell you you’re playing “wrong”.