The Best Casino Games for Beginners
Gambling may have been around for thousands of years, but it’s changed substantially since the ages of the Romans and the ancient Greeks. In those days, wagers would be placed on everything from gladiator matches and Olympic sports to animal fights and coins tosses. It’s even said that planet Earth was only created because the ancient gods Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon were playing a dice game that would determine who would own the sky, who would own the sea, and who would manage the underworld.
Today, dice and card games are still being played in casinos across the globe, and people still place bets on fighting matches and sports events, albeit they’re much less blood-thirsty now than they were 2,000 years ago. Genius inventions like the roulette wheel and the video poker machine were also created in the last few centuries, paving the way for a whole new era of casino gaming that’s now accessible from nothing more than a mobile device.
If you’re looking to get into the world of casinos and online gambling, our best advice is to start with the most beginner-friendly games. This includes easy-to-learn games with favorable player odds that do not require much knowledge or skill.
If you play any of these casino games online, you also have the opportunity to practice for free. This is an ideal way of getting to know the ins and outs of a game before you play for real money. It’s also a great way to get accustomed to a game before you go head-to-head with other players in a real brick-and-mortar casino.
With this in mind, let’s take a quick look at the top 5 best casino games for beginners!
Baccarat
Baccarat is so popular it’s even the casino game of choice for fictional characters like James Bond. It’s also one of the best games for beginners because it’s based entirely on luck. The game is played between the player and the banker, and the objective is to achieve a hand as close to 9 as possible from a two-card hand.
You can choose to bet on the player, the banker, or a tie bet. The first two have a low house edge between 1.06% to 1.24%, while the tie has the worst house edge of 14.36%. Some players have argued that past results in the game can have an impact on future outcomes, but this theory is completely incorrect and unprovable.
The results in baccarat have almost the same equal winning probability as a coin toss when it comes to the banker and the player bets. However, because there is always the possibility of a tie, this shifts the odds slightly. The likelihood of the tie bet pulling through is very rare (about 1 in 11 hands), so any experienced baccarat player will probably advise you to avoid this wager and stick to either the player or the banker. The banker is statistically likely to win the most, but as all casinos are aware of this, you’ll usually find the house charges a 5% commission for every winning wager; therefore, the player bet is technically the best option.
Slots
Slots are the epicenter of land-based and online casinos these days. These games come in hundreds of different variations and themes, complete with exciting bonus features and huge jackpot prizes.
Slots are ideal for beginners because there’s no strategy needed to play, and they are dead simple to learn – you just decide how much you want to bet, then either pull the level or hit the spin button to start the reels. Depending on how many lucky symbols match up on the screen, you’ll either hit a payout or trigger a bonus feature where you can earn some extra rewards such as free spins, prize multipliers, or a mini jackpot.
While land-based slots date back to the 1800s – think the one-armed bandits you’d typically find next to the jukebox in a bar or cowboy saloon – video slots have only been around for the last 20-30 years. These digital games are more challenging than traditional land-based slots. This is mostly because their older counterparts do not feature these second-screen bonus events and because they can be quite limited when it comes to paylines and jackpot potential. Land-based slots aren’t any less fun to play, though, and visiting your local casino venue where you can experience slots with all the bells and whistles makes for a fantastic night out.
As we mentioned earlier, the benefit of playing any online casino game is the fact you can play for free. So if you’d still like to get used to how slot games work without risking any money, feel free to utilize this option and try our range of fantastic slot games at Crypto Loko.
Roulette
The little wheel has been a staple in casinos for well over a century now, and it’s still enjoyed by players online and offline everywhere. Even though the table may look a little overwhelming at the start, it’s easy as pie once you understand the betting options.
The aim of roulette is to predict what color, number, or group of numbers the ball will hit on the roulette wheel. You can bet on the inside or the outside section of the wheel for a minimum of $5 at most casinos.
Even though your chances of winning roulette is 37 to 1 (or 38 to 1 on the American variant), you can bring the house edge down to as low as 2.7% on the European version of the game.
This makes it one of the best casino game options for beginners, not only because of the favorable odds but because it’s so easy and fun to play as well.
You can bet on black/red, odds/evens to start with, then as you build up your confidence and knowledge of the other betting markets, you can opt for some more adventurous bets that are more likely to increase your payout potential.
Blackjack
Up next is the much-loved classic, blackjack. Even though the movies depict blackjack as a game that requires you to be a mathematical mastermind to count cards and beat the house, in real life, this game is actually much easier to learn than you might think.
The objective is simple: beat the dealer by obtaining a hand that totals twenty-one or a hand that is as close to that figure as possible. The game begins with both the dealer and the player getting dealt two cards each, and from there, the player must decide whether they want to hit (get more cards) or stand (stick with the cards they have).
If the player exceeds twenty-one during this time, they lose, and the dealer wins by default. If they have a hand that’s still under twenty-one and they wish to stick with that total, the dealer then takes his/her turn; then both parties compare their hands to establish the winner.
It may take a bit of practice and time to learn this game properly, particularly when you start exploring other variants besides the classic format. But after a while, you’ll master the rules and easily get the gist of it.
Tip: You can also refer to blackjack strategy charts to prepare you for the different possible outcomes that could occur in any variation of blackjack. This will also teach you the most optimal moves to make based on the dealer’s hand.
Video
Poker If you’ve never played poker or video poker before, the best place to start is to get to know the different hand rankings. There are multiple variations of poker, including Texas Hold ’em, Joker Poker, Deuces Wild, Jacks or Better, and many more. Fortunately, the hand rankings are pretty much the same for all of them, and you can expect the same payout percentages for each.
In every game, you will be dealt five hands before deciding whether you want to draw another card or stick to your current hand. The aim of the game is to obtain the strongest five-card hand out of all the players, with a pair of jacks or better as the minimum needed to win a prize.
Video poker is one of the most straightforward games you’ll find at online casinos, making it one of the best starting points for beginners. It’s definitely a game of skill as much as it is luck, but unlike most casino games, you have more control over your hand and the direction of the gameplay.
