A 5 Minute Guide to Table Games

Roulette

A game that is very easy to understand, Roulette is played with a numbered wheel and you place bets on where a ball will land on the wheel. There are many variants of roulette, but the most common are the European, the American and the French Roulette games. The basic rules of the game do not vary much between the three games; European and French roulette have a wheel with numbers 0 to 36, whilst the American version also includes a 00 number, to bring the total to 38 numbers. French roulette is also often played with a special rule known as La Partage, but it does not change the basics of the game.

In the ball is released into the spinning wheel and eventually it comes to rest on a numbered segment. The segments are coloured either black or red, alternating one after the other going around the wheel, with a green zero. Bets are placed before the ball is released, and usually you will have to place your chips onto the betting area on the table. The croupier will call out when the ball is to be released, and all bets will be fixed.

There are many bets that can be placed, including bets on specific numbers, odds or evens, red or black, as well as groups of numbers that are presented on a layout on the betting table, where you can bet in rows, columns and more. In specific variants of the game there are additional number clusters that you can bet on, for example in the French game you can bet on “Voisins du Zero” or on two different “Orphelins” or the “Tiers du Cylindre”, which are number clusters that are shown on the betting table.

Ultimately, this is a great game to play that does not require strategy, but rather some lucky numbers and the thrill of taking a risk.

Baccarat

It is a quick game to pick up, the dealer plays a hand of cards to two positions, to the player and to the banker. You can make bets on which position will be higher, the banker or the player, or make a bet that there will be a tie. In the case that the banker wins, most versions pay 0.95:1 the original bet, if the player wins then it pays out 1:1, and in the event of a tie, the payout is 1:8.

The bets are placed at the start of each round, and then the dealer usually deals out the first card to the player, the second to the banker, the third to the player and the fourth to the banker. The number cards are taken at face value, whilst the tens and royals all count as ten, and aces count as one. Once the numbers go into double digits, ten is subtracted to the value, to set all hands at a value of between 0 and 9.

This means that landing a King and a five, will result in 15, which is then set to five. With the value of the royals and the tens at virtually zero, gamers will hope to see lower card values dealt to the hand they bet on, and to try and get as close to 9 as possible.

Once the first turn is made, and both banker and player have received two cards, there are a number of scenarios where a third card is dealt.

The player always stands on a value of 6, 7, 8 or 9, whilst the banker stands on 8 or 9.

The banker draws a third card if the player stands and the banker has a value of 5 or less.

The player draws a third card if they have a value of 5 or less.

If the player draws a third card before the banker, there are some scenarios in which the banker will draw a third card after, these include

If the banker has a total of 0, 1 or 2.

If the banker has a value of 3, they will draw if the player’s third card was 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 or 10 (excluding 8)

If the banker has a value of 4, they will draw if the player’s third card was 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 (excluding 1, 8, 9 and 10)

If the banker has a value of 5, they will draw if the player’s third card was 4, 5, 6 or 7

If the banker has a value of 6, they will draw if the player’s third card was 6 or 7

If the banker has a value of 7 they always stand.

Whilst it may sound complicated, it is quick to understand during gameplay, and you will soon become accustomed to the third card rule.

Blackjack

Easily one of the most popular card games, blackjack is also referred to as 21, and has many variants. The most common game is the American Blackjack, which is played in nearly all casinos. Basically the player makes bets and then receives two cards with the dealer putting a card face down and one face up for the house. The numbered cards are taken at face value, whilst the royals count as 10 each. The ace can count as 1 or 11 depending on the scenario.

The player and the house both compete to try and get as close as possible to 21 without going over. In the first round, when you receive your two cards, the value of these are added, and you have the option to hit, stand or split, with some cases including doubling down and surrendering.

To hit is to add another card to your two, to try and get a higher value, and if you think that you can still go higher, you can hit again.

Standing is when you are happy with the value that you have, this usually depends on the value you have as well as the first card that the dealer has, as you may be at 17, but if the dealer has an 8, there is a strong chance that they can land a 10 (as this is the most common card in the deck) in which case you need to decide whether you want to hit or not.

When your two cards both have the same value, then you have an option to split, in which case the cards are split into two different hands, and you need to put a second bet that matches your original bet into the second hand. The two hands both receive secondary cards that you can choose to hit or stand with.

Doubling down is when you receive your first two cards, and you want to double your bet, and will receive only one more card.

Surrendering is when you decide to let go of your hand, and you can take half your original bet back.

Poker

The poker games that you can find at casino tables vary greatly, as there are many different forms of the popular game, but the most important part about these poker games is that you are not playing against other players, but rather directly against the house.

The turns and the hands that win follow the same rules as those in the poker that is played between people, only in this game you do not need to make any bluffs or try to beat a player, but rather play against the odds.

While it may not sound as appealing as the original format of the game to some, it can be a great place for beginners to get started, as they can learn all the different hands and get a feel of how the game can be played. It is not limited to only being a training game though, as many players find that they would rather play poker against the house and prefer to take their winnings from the casinos rather than fellow players.