By Leo Carnicer.
Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games, and it’s not difficult to see why. It gained popularity following 21, a Hollywood movie with Kevin Spacey as the main character. Playing blackjack is easy to understand for most people since the goal is to get a value as close to 21 or by letting the dealer bust his hand. Are there alternatives to this awesome table game? There are quite a few, and we’ll highlight a few of them in this guide.
Baccarat
Another popular alternative to blackjack is baccarat. This game is available in Royal Club Korea’s Best Baccarat Sites. Although there are variants to this game, the main aim is to bet on the banker, player, or tie. Pay out for each differs and the player and banker are excellent examples. Both pay out at 1:1 ratio, however, the winning banker bets include a 5% commission. Only the tie bet pays 8:1 ratio.
To play the game, cards are dealt to the player and banker from a shoe of eight decks. Knowing the card values also increases your chances of winning. For instance, face cards are zero, the same as tens, while only the last digit counts when it is a two-digit number.
Players can draw a third card if the hand equals zero to five. The winner needs to have close to nine, and if the hands are the same, it is a tie.
Poker
Like blackjack, poker involves betting with cards and getting the best hand. It comes in a variety of forms, including Texas hold ‘em poker and video poker. To play the game, you need to understand the rankings of the hands. These include the royal flush (best possible hand), straight flush, four-of-a-kind, full house, flush, straight, three-of-a-kind, two pair, one pair and high card.
When the game starts, the players place bets, some of which are called blinds and antes. The blinds are mandatory bets to start the game, while the ante is a forced bet from players. Poker often has a series of betting rounds. For example, in Texas hold em poker, there are four rounds.
During each round, you can either bet, fold, call or raise. You fold when you want to give up your bet and call when you want to match the highest bet. There’s also an option to check which means pass without betting.
Pontoon
Pontoon is quite similar to blackjack but includes around five to eight players. There’s a banker, often one of the players, and this person has the highest card. A banker can deal players a face down card but doesn’t look at their cards. The goal of the game is to get a card with a higher value than the banker. However, it must not exceed 21.
Cards in the game include ace, king, queen, jack, and ten. You win when your hand is higher than the banker’s and has a payout ratio of 1:1. The banker will only win if the player and banker have the same total.
Pai Gow
This is a poker variation where you place your bet, deal the cards, and form hands. After forming hands, you compare the hands. If the two hands beat the dealer’s hands, you win. You have an option to double your bet. If both hands fail, you lose, but if one wins, you can keep the bet.
There is a banker in this game and the role often rotates among both the dealer and the players. There are a number of variations of Pai Gow poker that are popular in casinos today.
Craps
Craps is slightly different from the games above because it is considered a dice game. It often includes a player called the shooter who throws the dice after placing bets. Craps also has a come out roll or the first roll, and you win when you place a bet on the pass line, and the shooter rolls 7 or 11. You can also bet against the dice (don’t pass) that wins with a roll of 2 or 3.
There are field bets in craps which are essentially single roll bets. Players can win here when the next roll is 2,3,4,9,10,11 or 12. Craps gives players many different ways to place bets but the best bet is the ability to place odds on your pass line or don’t pass bets.
Roulette
We saved the best for last. This table game is one of the most popular on the list. It involves betting on the results of a ball and a spinning wheel. The table often has a specific layout with numbers from zero to thirty six. When you place bets, the croupier will spin and you win if the ball lands in a matching pocket.
You can choose to take your winnings or place another bet for the new round. Betting options here include the straight up, split, corner, street, and basket bets.
IMAGE CREDIT: Pixabay.com