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Ever since the first casino opened its doors to the public, decades ago, casinos have been attracting flocks of eager visitors with promises of easy money and thrilling entertainment.
But while some people view casinos as a place to have fun, others see them as a danger to society, preying on the vulnerable.
Fortunately, most players recognise the reality of casinos lies somewhere in between these two extremes. If you want to gamble responsibly and maximise your chances of success, you need to learn the casino rules and strategies outlined in this article.
The first thing you’ll need to do is familiarize yourself with the basic rules of casino games. Fortunately, these are often straightforward. Take a look at this overview of the most popular casino games:
Slots
Slots are the bread and butter of casinos, so you can expect to find them everywhere, from Las Vegas to Monte Carlo.
The object of the game is to line up symbols on paylines. In online casinos, these are digital paylines, whereas in brick-and-mortar casinos they tend to be physical lines on the slot machine.
Different slots games have different numbers of paylines, and you can choose how many you want to play. Of course, the more paylines you select, the more expensive each spin becomes.
Fortunately, slots have a set volatility, or RTP (return to player), which means individual spins don’t have a bearing on subsequent spins. This applies to both land-based and online slots.
For example, if a slot has an RTP of 97%, this means that it will (on average) return £97 for every £100 spent on it.
There are no known ways to manipulate a slot, and no strategy exists for playing them. Each spin is entirely random, void of any predictive patterns. The only decision you’ll need to make is how many paylines and coins you’d like to play per spin.
Roulette
Roulette is one of the most popular table games in casinos around the world.
Playing the game involves placing bets on where you think a ball will land on a spinning wheel. You can place bets on individual numbers, groups of numbers, or categories such as odds or evens.
Each roulette variation has its own table layout and set of rules, so be sure to study these before playing.
For example, American Roulette has a wheel with 38 pockets, including zeros labelled 00, whereas European and French Roulette wheels contain just a single zero. This makes a significant difference to the odds and payouts of different bets.
The house edge in French Roulette, for example, is 1.35% on even-money bets, whereas in American Roulette it’s 5.26%.
<a href="https://remycasino.com/tag/blackjack/”>Blackjack
Blackjack is a card game that involves the player and the dealer trying to get their hands as close to 21 as possible without going over that number.
Each card is worth its face value, picture cards are worth 10, and aces are worth 1 or 11.
Before the dealer deals any cards, players place their bets, and receive two cards. They then have the option to stick with the cards they have, or take more cards in an attempt to get closer to 21.
The best possible hand is a blackjack, which is an ace and a picture card, and this automatically beats any other hand, except another blackjack.
The dealer has to take more cards if their initial hand is 16 or less, and must stop taking cards if their hand is 17 or more. These rules can vary between different blackjack variations.
In most cases, the player can choose to insure their hand if the dealer’s first card is an ace. This means that if the dealer does have blackjack, the player will lose only their insurance bet instead of their initial bet.
Poker
Poker is a type of card game that relies heavily on both chance and skill.
The object of the game is to make the best possible five-card hand using a combination of the two cards you’re dealt with and the five community cards laid out on the table.
Betting is a crucial part of poker, as players must bluff and strategically bet to win.
The player with the best hand wins the pot, or all the money that has been bet during a single deal.
In casinos, poker is usually played against other players rather than the house, so there’s no house edge to worry about.
However, to counteract the role of chance, skilled players will attempt to mentally calculate the probability of making different hands to determine whether it’s worth continuing with a hand or not.
Baccarat
Baccarat is a card game that involves two hands, namely the banker and the player.
The object of the game is to score as close to nine as possible, with the banker and player hands vying to get closer to nine points than the other.
Card values are calculated according to the following rules:
Face cards and tens have a value of zero
Aces have a value of one
All other cards are worth their face value
Only the last digit of your score matters, so if your cards add up to 15, your score would be 5.
Betting on the outcome of a baccarat hand is a common part of the game for many players. You can choose to back the player, the banker, or tie bets.
Although baccarat is a game of chance, it’s still useful to know about the card values and betting options.
Casino Rules: Do’s and Don’ts
Having looked at the rules of different casino games, we can explore the do’s and don’ts that will make your time at the casino more rewarding:
Do learn the rules of the games beforehand
Whenever you’re playing a game at the casino, it’s essential to know the rules beforehand.
This rule applies especially to table games such as roulette, blackjack, and poker, where knowledge of rules and betting strategies can make the difference between winning and losing.
Do manage your bankroll
Bankroll management is a crucial aspect of casino gambling, regardless of whether you’re playing slots, roulette, or poker.
Your bankroll is the amount of money you have reserved for gambling. If you exceed this, it can lead to trouble.
Before you start playing, work out how much you’re willing to spend during your session. Then, stick to that amount, and never borrow money to fund your gambling.
It’s worth remembering that gambling is meant to be fun, so it’s fine to walk away when you’re having a losing session.
Don’t assume the games are fair
It’s easy to get carried away with the excitement of the casino environment, but you need to remember that the games are biased in the house’s favour.
Therefore, you should never assume that a game is fair or that you have a better chance of winning than anyone else.
Casinos rely on the house edge, which is a calculated advantage that dictates how much advantage the house has over players over a long period.
Don’t chase losses
It can be tempting to try to win back money you’ve lost by gambling more, but this is a dangerous path to follow.
If you find yourself in this situation, the best thing to do is accept the loss, log out, and revisit another day.
Casino Games: Top Strategies to Improve Your Chances
This section covers the top strategies for some of the most popular casino games:
Roulette
Regardless of whether you’re playing online or in a land-based casino, roulette is a game of chance, with no skill required.
However, you can use a strategy to improve your odds of winning and make the game more exciting.
Play French Roulette over American Roulette
The roulette variations differ in their wheel layouts and numbers available for betting.
American Roulette is the most common variation, but it’s also the one that gives the house the highest edge, at 5.26%.
This is because the American Roulette wheel has both a zero and double zero included in the numbers.
French Roulette is very similar to European Roulette, with one zero on the wheel. However, with French Roulette, if you place an even money bet and the ball lands on zero, you will get half of your money back.
This rule dramatically reduces the house edge to 1.35% on even money bets, giving you a much better chance of winning in the long run.
Play outside bets for better odds
Inside bets involve placing chips directly on numbers (including zero) on the table layout.
Outside bets, on the other hand, are bets that are placed on the outside of the table layout, on options such as red, black, even, odd, columns, and dozens.
The odds for outside bets are significantly lower, but the chances of winning are much greater.
In fact, by placing an even money outside bet, you have almost a 50% chance of winning, giving you the best odds of any roulette bet.
Blackjack
Blackjack is a game of skill, and the key to success is knowing which decisions to make to optimise your chances of winning.
The fundamental strategy is the bare minimum you should know before playing blackjack.
This strategy is a series of guidelines indicating the best possible move in every possible situation, based on the cards you hold and the dealer’s exposed card.
Remember, the objective of blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over that number.
While it can be tempting to hit on a low card count, if the chances of going over 21 are high, you should stand.
