Try some of the online casino table games for a change

Although many Irish casino players are basically slots players there is a lot of fun to be had from the various table games which are available at online casinos, some of which are extremely well known and others which are seldom played.  The two most popular table games are, without doubt, Roulette and Blackjack simply because they are the best known and virtually everybody knows s how to play and even if you don’t they are very simple games to learn. Roulette has got to be the easier of the two games to learn as there are no tactics or knowledge that will help you to win; it is a simple matter of luck. Contrary to what some people will have you believe, knowing which numbers have gone before is absolutely no help in determining which number is coming next. Just because there have been 10 black numbers in succession does not mean that the next number will be red or indeed that any of the next 10 numbers will be red. The numbers which come up on the roulette wheel at an online casino are decided using a random number generator or RNG for short. As the name suggests the numbers which come up are completely random. Statistics will tell us that over time there will be as many red numbers as black numbers but it is the definition of “over time” which makes life difficult. Is that millions of spins of the roulette wheel or 10s of millions?

The good thing about roulette is that there are no bets which are better than others in terms of value for money. Whether you place 18 chips on red or place one chip on each of the 18 red numbers the result will be the same. Similarly placing one chip on each of two adjacent numbers will have the same result as placing two chips on the line dividing those two numbers or placing 3 chips on a row is the same as placing one chip on each number in that row. Probably the best way to play roulette is simply to spread your chips around and hope for the best.

Online casinos blackjack on the other hand does have some wrinkles that might help you win but nothing will guarantee it. The key lies in the definition or purpose of the game. There are online casinos that state that the object of the game is get as close to 21 as possible without going over 21 or busting as it is known. Casinos.ie believes that a more accurate purpose is simple to beat the dealer and you don’t necessarily need a higher hand than the dealer to do that. That might sound strange but it is  a fact that following the dealer’s play, which is drawing a card on anything less than 17 and standing on anything of 17 or above, will result in the hand busting more frequently than you might think. If the dealer busts and you are still in the game then you win no matter what you are holding. The problem is that there is no sure fire way to know when the dealer will bust. If you are holding 17 or above the chances are you don’t care as you will stand anyway but if you have a hand of 15 or 16 it becomes very relevant. If you draw a card and bust you have lost even if the dealer later in the hand busts as well. Had you stood on your 15 or 16 and the dealer went bust you would win. The only clue is the single card that is showing in the dealer hand so pay attention to that and don’t always draw cards in an effort to get to 17 or above and you just might do better.

Another interesting card game which is available at all online casinos is Caribbean Stud Poker but don’t be put off by the fact that it is called Poker. The only thing that Caribbean Stud has in common with the Texas Hold’em poker game which features on our television screens is that in both games you have to form a poker hand of five cards and the value of those hands is in the same order. The Texas Hold’em casino game is played against other players with a lot of bluffing and it is possible to lose more than you bargained for in a single hand. Caribbean Stud has none of that. It is played against the dealer only and the player sets the stakes. The house cannot raise the stakes. The casino game itself is simple enough with two hands of five cards being dealt with only one of the dealers cards showing after the player has placed an ante bet. The player then has to decide whether their hand is better than the dealer hand. If the player thinks it can be then they place a raise bet and the cards are turned over and hands compared if they think not then the hand is folded and the ante bet is lost. In the event that the hands are compared the raise bet will only pay if the dealer has a qualifying hand which at most online casinos means an Ace/King or better but in compensation if the players hand is two pairs or better then the raise bet pays out at increased odds. These odds can be as much as 20:1 for four of a kind or a crazy 200:1 for a royal flush. If the player decides to raise and the dealer does not have an Ace/King or better then the raise bet is returned but the ante bet is still paid out at even money.

These are just three of the many table games available at online casinos but if you are game for a bit of experimentation then try Craps, Baccarat, Red Dog or Pontoon all of which are interesting games with a good chance of winning.