One of the main advantages online gambling websites have over land-based venues is the extensive selection of different types of entertainment. In a regular casino, everything is usually limited to table games and slots. The choice is much wider in online casinos thanks to the variety of the types of games and the number of their versions with different rules and options for receiving payouts. You can simply start playing online casino games to get access to them. Gambling websites do not restrict users in any way. To start, you only need to register and make a deposit.
Despite the variety of options and available entertainment, there’s usually a list of the most popular games available on every website.
All games are divided into categories in the casino catalog
Taking into account the high demand for certain game formats, casinos create the offers. As a result, these games can be found literally on any specialized gambling website.
Slots
The popularity of this type of entertainment is thanks to its simplicity. To start a game, you don’t need to have any special skills or knowledge. All you need to do is launch the slot, set the size of the bet, and start spinning. The slot machine pays out prize money if a certain combination of identical symbols comes up on the playing field. The more rare they are, the higher the reward.
At the core of any slot is an RNG (random number generator). It determines the symbols and their placement on the field for each spin.
Despite the same principle of operation, these online gambling games have a lot of variety. All slot machines have different designs, themes, levels of return, degrees of risk, etc. So, before spending money in the slot, you should study its parameters.
Parameter
Description
RTP
This basic parameter reflects the level of return of a slot machine. The higher the RTP percentage, the more profitable it is to bet in the slot. This parameter shows what proportion of money from the total amount of investments the slot returns to players in the form of payouts.
Volatility
Indicator of the riskiness of a slot machine. The higher the volatility, the greater the dispersion of payouts, and the less often they occur. However, along with the level of risk also grows the potential size of the prize.
Maximum won
The maximum amount of money that can be won in a slot.
All these parameters are set by the provider when creating a slot machine. Since the software is located on the developer’s servers, the casino administration and players can’t influence the parameters and the level of return.
Roulette
The most popular board game which is a symbol people associate with casinos and the gambling industry in general. It attracts players with its simple rules. Before the start of the draw, players place bets on specific numbers, their range, or their color. Then the roulette wheel is launched, and when it stops rotating, the ball falls into one of the numbered sectors. If the result matches players’ bets, they receive the corresponding payout.
Bets on red or black, even or odd, over or under are called equal odds bets
There are more than ten varieties of roulette. However, the most popular are the three basic variations of the game.
Roulette type
Features
European
The classic roulette wheel. Bets can be placed on 36 numbers from 0 to 36.
French
The rules practically don’t differ from the European version. The field includes the same numbers, but there are additional types of bets. In addition, there’s the La Partage rule which lets you return half of the bet for equal chances if the ball stops in the Zero field.
American
Its main difference from other types of roulette is the additional double Zero section. Two zero sections increase the advantage of the casino.
Roulette payouts range from x1 to x35 of the initial bet. Some roulette games have additional rules that increase the size of the prize for certain outcomes.
Online Poker
It follows the rules of classic Texas Hold’em, but there is only one opponent — the dealer. You get two pocket cards and can bet on the flop, turn, and river. However, your bets are not challenged by other players, but by an employee of the casino or the provider.
Video Poker
A more popular type of poker that gamblers can play at online casinos. At the start of the game, you get five cards and can exchange any number of them for new ones. The main goal is not to beat the dealer, but to get the best combination possible. The higher the combination, the more prize money you receive.
In video poker, you don’t have any opponents. The game itself is more like a slot. The results, as in slot machines, are determined by a random number generator.
Live Dealer
Players who want to get as close as possible to the atmosphere of a land-based casino can try live dealer games. They are broadcasted live. After starting a game, you can see the dealers and communicate with them and other participants via chat. This creates an immersive experience.
Live dealer games do not support demo mode. Bets can only be made for real money.
Since all actions are performed by actual people in live broadcast, the influence of the random number generator is reduced or eliminated.
Progressive Jackpots
Many people prefer to play an online casino game with an accumulative prize pool. Both table games and slots can have a jackpot system in place. The advantage of a progressive prize pool is that it grows constantly. From each bet made by players, a small percentage is deducted, which adds to the jackpot.
The jackpot amount can be shown on the slot thumbnail
The prize fund can grow from just one slot machine, several slots, or even games in several casinos. Although the chances of hitting a jackpot is very small, it gives additional motivation and fuels excitement.
Blackjack
This is one of the three most popular table games along with roulette and poker. The main goal is to beat the dealer. To do this, you need to score points using cards. The more the better, but it has to stay within 21 points. If you go over 21, you bust and lose the round.
The process is simple:
Players get two cards face down, and the dealer places one card face up.
Players take turns drawing additional cards until they decide to stop.
When all players have made their moves, the cards are taken by the dealer. The dealer cannot stop if their hand totals less than 17 points.
After all the cards are revealed, winning players get their payouts. You can play blackjack against a computer or with a live dealer. In the first case, the results are determined by a random number generator. In the second, they use real decks.
Keno
This is one of the oldest numerical lotteries with simple rules. Players buy tickets with a fixed price and mark from 1 to 20 numbers. After that they start drawing numbers with the lottery drum randomly selecting 20 balls out of 80. The more matches you get, the higher your prize money.
Craps
It’s a popular board game in America where players bet on the outcome of a dice throw. Each draw has two phases. First, the players guess the number that will come up, after which players can make additional bets. There are two possible outcomes — either there’s the point or one of the other possible numbers.
Baccarat
This is a card game where you bet on a player, a banker, or a tie. The side that scores the most points using 2 or 3 cards becomes the winner.
Baccarat has only three options for bets
The goal of baccarat is to collect a combination of cards that gives you the sum of points as close as possible to 9. If the combination gives more than 10 points, a ten is subtracted from the score. For example, instead of 13 you get 3, instead of 15 you get 5.
Betting on a player s paid 2 to 1, on a banker — 1.95 to 1, on a tie — 9 or 8 to 1. Baccarat is not much different from slots, since players cannot influence the outcome. The only decision they make is the type of bet. There are also fewer options than in roulette.
Sic Bo
This is the second most popular game that involves dice. It first appeared in China but quickly spread throughout the world thanks to its simple rules. In sic bo, you place bets on certain outcomes of the roll of three dice. For example, all the dice showing the same number, giving an even number in total, etc. After accepting bets, the dealer places three dice in a special chest and shakes it. Then the dealer announces the results and makes the payouts.
Caribbean Stud
Another popular casino gambling game in the poker category. According to its rules, the players receive 5 hole cards after making a mandatory bet (ante). The croupier deals a similar hand to themself, but one of the cards remains open.
After assessing the hand, you can either pass and lose the mandatory bet or make an additional bet and continue participating in the draw.
In the second case, they compare the combinations. If the dealer does not have a single combination of Aces and Kings, they lose regardless of what cards the player has. In other cases, payouts are made based on hand comparisons.
When a player wins, they receive a double ante, as well as prize money corresponding to the combination they got. Payout multipliers can be viewed in the payout table.
Pai Gow
The game uses a regular 52-card deck with an additional Joker. Each player receives 7 cards face down, which have to be spread over two boxes — upper and lower. The first gets five cards, the second — two. Combinations are laid out on the table face up. The lower hand has to be weaker than the upper. Otherwise, the player loses the round.
When all players have made decisions, the dealer lays out their hands, after which the combinations are compared one by one. If both of the player’s hands are higher than the dealer’s, the player wins. If not, they lose. If the combinations are the same, it’s a draw.
The Joker in pai gow can replace any missing card in the top hand. You can use it to form a straight, flush, straight flush, and royal flush.
Real Money or Free Games
Many casino games and slot machines support two modes. The first is the standard mode where users play for real money and can claim payouts.
You can choose the launch mode in most slot machines
The second is the demo mode. In it, bets are made using free chips that do not have a monetary value. This lets you eliminate any risks, but you cannot get prize money. The demo mode is intended for testing slot machines, evaluating the level of their impact and mechanics.
You get limitless chips in demo mode. If they run out, you can reload the page or re-enter the slot.
Demo mode is available only where you play the game against the computer. There are no such modes in lotteries and the Live section.
In European — 2.7%, in American — 5.26%. In French, when the La Partage rule is active, it decreases to 1.35%.
You can get up-to-date information about slot parameters on the developer's website and in the slot itself.
It depends on your bankroll and your gambling goals. The higher the volatility, the more money you need. Such a game is riskier, but it can potentially bring large payouts.
In most casinos, wagering is only possible in slots. In table games and the Live section, progress is either slow or not available.
It works, but it’s not perfect. This is because it is designed for more than one deck. At most blackjack tables, the dealer uses more than 5 decks.
Ashton was born and raised in the USA. In 2012 he entered The University & Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 2017. There he got acquainted with gambling and realized that there was not enough information about reliable websites on the Internet.
