The popularity of casino gambling has gone through the roof in recent years. Online casinos are obviously leading the charge but there is also a lot of sports betting and playing games at land-based casinos. However, the most important thing in this industry is obviously the casino games. They are played in every casino around the world, no matter if it’s a land-based or online casino. Most of these games are easy to learn but there are some that are more complex. Nevertheless, the most important thing players need to know before playing are the rules of each game. After all, you are playing for money so you should know as much as possible about the game you will play.
Going in unprepared can lead to money loss or missing a huge win. For that reason, in this article, we will cover details about the most popular categories of casino games. We will also share with you much more than just the rules of these games. There will be tips and tricks that will help you win while playing these casino games. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about the most popular games that you will find at any casino.
Popular Casino Games
Things have definitely changed when it comes to casino games in the modern gambling industry. If we compare them to games that first appeared back when land-based casinos were invented, we would find almost no similarities at all. Back in the day, casinos offered a handful of games, mostly blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. However, all of that has changed over the last 20 years. Now players have thousands of different options as well as the possibility to play at an online casino. We can safely say that any game out there that was played in a bar or at home is now available online. You can choose to play for fun but also play for money and win huge rewards.
Out of the thousands of different options out there, there are several groups of games that are more popular than the rest. For instance, table games are very popular in the gambling community. For that reason, casinos are offering hundreds of different variants of those games. The gameplay is pretty much the same in all of them but some of them have large maximum/minimum bets, some of them have jackpots, etc. There are even games, like online slots, that come with bonuses attached to them which makes them even more popular. Below, we will share important details about all the most popular groups of casino games.
Slots
The first category we will mention is, of course, slots. Arguably, slots are the most important asset of every casino, no matter if its land-based or online. If you visit a real casino you will surely notice the hundreds of slot machines lined up right next to each other. The reason for this is simple, the gameplay is as simple as it gets. All a player needs to do is push the spin button or pull the handle on the machine. There are slot titles that require more effort but among all casino games, slots are the easiest to learn.
In the beginning, slot machines were all fruit-themed. They had only one payline and three reels. Things have changed drastically in recent years because slots now resemble video games. Players can choose the number of active paylines, there are titles with more than 3 reels, and there are titles that don’t even have gameplay based on paylines or fixed reels. There are certain Megaways slot games that can have as many as 100,000 paylines. On top of that, slots are the only casino games that come with bonus features in them. Some titles have bonus rounds, jackpots, gamble features, free spins, and more.
Online casinos today offer hundreds of different slots to their player base. There are several groups of slots like:
- Progressive Slots
- Jackpot Slots
- Tumbling Reels Slots
- Scatter Slots
- Megaways Slots
There are other slot types as well and you can find information about them on our website.
Table Games
When casinos first appeared in the world, they were land-based operations and all the games they offered were considered table games. These games usually use cards as part of their gameplay and the player gets to play against a dealer. Today, there are online casino games which are technically table games but since they are played online, the player faces the computer instead of a real live dealer. Below, we will share a few sentences about the most popular table games in the world.
Blackjack
We will start with one of the oldest and most popular casino games, Blackjack. Even though it’s a game of chance and luck, some skills are needed, especially if you want to get up from the table with some profits. Blackjack is a very easy game to learn because the rules are straightforward. The idea is to get as close to 21 as possible but without going over 21. That’s why in some parts of the world, the game is known as Twenty One. The original game is played with just one deck although casinos and online casinos now have variants that use more than one deck. In the game, all the cards in a deck are used, except for the jokers. Every card has its own value while face cards like the Jack, Queen, and King have a value of 10.
There are a lot of different blackjack variants out there. Land casinos have only a couple but online casinos have lots of variants. The biggest difference in these blackjack variants is the way the cards are dealt to the player. If you want to learn more about this table game, please check our article on Blackjack.
Roulette
Here we have what is considered the oldest casino game in the world. On top of that, it’s the only table game where cards are not used. Instead, players get a roulette wheel that spins and a small ball that falls in one of the slots of the roulette. Unlike blackjack and other table games, roulette is more of a game of chance rather than skill. There are certain strategies players can use to improve their chances of winning but ultimately, you can’t really influence the game of roulette.
On the other hand, the rules of the game are very simple. You place a bet, pick where you think the ball will land and then the roulette wheel will start spinning. Players can bet on a number, colour, combination of numbers, etc. There are many different types of bets that you can make, and also many strategies that you can use to make money. Just like blackjack, there are several variants of roulette. The basic ones are American and European/French roulette. In these two, the difference is simple, the American version has double zero’s. However, in recent years, a lot of roulette variants have appeared, especially in online casinos.
Baccarat
Just like roulette, the game of baccarat is one of the oldest casino games that ever existed. It used to be a game for the upper class and it was played with large stakes. However, things have changed through the years and today it’s possible to play baccarat with lower stakes. The rules for the game are very simple and they resemble the ones we find in blackjack. The game is similar to blackjack as well; instead of chasing a sum of 21, in baccarat, the player needs to reach a sum of 9. All the cards have their own value except for the face cards which have a value of 10. The one major difference to blackjack is that when a player’s card value goes above 9, a sum of 10 will be automatically subtracted from the total.
As for the gameplay, the player makes his bet before the cards are dealt. Essentially, you are playing against the dealer; however, there can be other people on your baccarat table as well. So, you can bet on your hand, on the dealer’s hand or on the hand of one of the players on the table. Different variants have additional side bets that the player can make and those bets have much higher payout value. The popularity of Baccarat has gone down in recent years so a lot of online casinos will have only one or a couple of Baccarat variants.
Poker
When we mention the word gambling, most people think about poker. It might not be among the oldest casino games in the world but poker is definitely the one that’s famous everywhere as it is played all around the world. Unlike the other table games we reviewed, Poker is the type of game that requires skills and knowledge. Sure, luck plays a part but experienced players can win even if they have a bad hand. The game of poker has several different variants and all of them carry a different name. The original game is known as community card poker right now. It’s the version that’s often played at home or in bars, hence the name.
The goal is to have the best winning hand possible, with the highest hand being the Royal Flush. To get the Royal Flush, you need a hand with a Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and an Ace. However, getting these cards with the same symbol is worth even more in a Royal Flush. For instance, having a hand of a 10 up to an Ace and all of them are spades is the best hand a player could get in the game of Poker. In the original, community card poker, the dealer will give each player 5 face-down cards. The player looks at his cards and then makes a decision if he wants to replace a couple of them with new cards as he is trying to get the best possible hand. Players can ask to replace cards only once in the game.
Texas Hold’em Poker
The most famous poker variant in the world is known as Texas Hold’em. The gameplay of this variant is completely different to the original. The player gets only two face-down cards, while the dealer opens five face-up cards in the middle of the table. Players are supposed to make the best hand by combining the two cards in their hand with the five cards on the table. Players play this game against each other, unlike other variants where they play against the dealer. There is a version of Texas Hold’em which is called Casino Hold’em and in this one, the player goes against the casino rather than the other players currently on the table.
Video Poker
The last version of poker we are going to mention is Video Poker. This is a game that’s a combination of poker and slots. It has been around for decades and once upon a time it was the most popular game in land-based casinos. However, with the invention of online casinos, a lot of casino games have dropped down the pecking order. Nevertheless, Video Poker is still a thing and certain online casinos will have hundreds of versions of the game. In this version of poker, you don’t play against anyone. You get your hand and the better the hand, the better the reward. Each video poker game has a paytable which explains how much each hand pays out. Out of all the poker variants, this is the one that’s easiest to learn and is also the one where luck is a much bigger factor compared to all the rest.
Live Casino Games
These days we can’t imagine the casino industry without mentioning live casino games. Modern online casinos can’t survive their competition if they don’t add live games to their portfolio. These games are basically table games that players can see in all land-based casinos. However, instead of travelling to a casino to play, you can do it from the comfort of your own home. Live casino games are run by a so-called live dealer. This type of casino works via video streams, i.e. players connect directly to the studio via their computer, phone or tablet.
The rules of the games remain the same as in a land-based casino. Additionally, you won’t be playing alone but rather against many players that have chosen the same game. Basically, players get the full casino experience from the comfort of their own homes.
Other Casino Games
Lastly, we will talk about all the popular casino games that don’t fit the above-mentioned categories. Games that we will mention in this category are Keno, various dice games, Bingo, Lotto, etc. You can find at least one variant of these games at pretty much every online casino. They are not very popular at the moment because players prefer online slots and live casino games. However, there are places in the world where these games are still very popular. For instance, bingo is among the most popular casino games in Kenya. The same goes for lotto and dice games. Below, we will share a few words about these games.
Bingo
There is nothing much to be said about the game of Bingo as we all understand how it works. Players get a bingo ticket, make their predictions and then wait for the Bingo game to pick numbers in hopes that they will be the numbers that they picked. Back in the day, Bingo was a game that we all watched on TV once or twice a week. These days, a lot of casinos, especially ones in Kenya offer different variants of the game. It’s the easiest thing a gambler can do, just pick a couple of numbers and wait for the round to end.
Keno
Keno is a lottery-style game just like bingo or lotto. The biggest difference to bingo is that not only do you pick the numbers you want to play, but you also pick how many numbers you want to play. Depending on the variant, you can choose between 1 and 20 numbers, out of a total of 80. Once you hit play, the balls are drawn and you win depending on how many of your numbers were drawn, as per the table with payouts. It’s important to note that a player can play one or more Keno tickets during one round. There are different variants of the game out there and some of them offer bonus-like features which mean players can win more than the original bet.
Dice Games
Last but not least, we have to mention dice games when we are talking about casino games. Back in the golden days of brick-and-mortar casinos, a lot of dice games were played. One of those games and definitely the most popular one is the game of craps. The rules of the game are simple which is why a lot of people were playing it. All the players around the table bet on one person who we call the shooter. They bet whether he will be successful or not.
The shooter is the person that throws the dice in hopes of winning a sum of 7 or 11 on his first roll. Other “good” outcomes are to roll a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, or 11, so as to have the opportunity to match it on the next roll. If the shooter rolls a 2, 3, or 12, he immediately fails. In such a scenario everyone who bet on him to win will lose; however, the players who bet against him will win their bet.
How to Play Casino Games?
All the casino games we have mentioned above require at least a little knowledge before you can play them. Some of them are more complicated and players should prepare before playing or risk losing a lot of money. For that reason, we suggest looking at online guides and reviews that will help you learn all the casino games out there. Once you have done that, players can enjoy virtually every casino game out there without risking their hard-earned money. When it comes to casino games in Kenya, we suggest looking at a lottery, bingo, and table games. Those are the ones that are popular there and Kenyan players should know how to play them before joining a casino.
How to Win Casino Games?
Now, this is a question that we can’t really answer. All casino games are based on luck, even the ones that require knowledge and skill. Players can learn every little detail about a certain game and still not be able to beat it because they were on a bad roll. Our answer to this is to search and analyze casinos and the games they offer in hopes of finding the games that suit you the best. Visit casinobonus.ke and check our reviews on casinos and slot games which will help you find your favorite game. Additionally, make sure to check some of our guides on certain table games which will help you win at casino games. These guides will help you understand when you need to bet, double down, but also when you need to stand up and walk away.