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With that being said, you will still be new to the types of games you can play in an online casino. The good news is that some are easier to pick up and try than others. Here, then, are our top five best casino games for beginners. If you have never played a slot game before, you must have lived a sheltered life.

The card game of poker has many variations, most of which were created in the United States in the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds.

Popular poker variants[edit]

The most popular poker variants can be divided into three broad groups:

• Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. The most common of these is five-card draw.
• Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are five-card stud and seven-card stud. These two variants are further played in other different formats.
• Community card poker: Games in which each player's incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. The most common of these are Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em.

Some common rule variations include:

• Wild cards are added. This can range from adding jokers as wild card, to making certain low cards such as deuces wild to the 7-card stud variant named baseball.
• Lowball: The lowest hand wins the pot. There are different rules about whether or not aces count as low, and the effects of straights and flushes. The most common variants are Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw
• High-low split: the highest and lowest hands split the pot. Generally there is a qualifier for the low hand. For example, the low hand must have 5 cards with ranks of 8 or less. In most high-low games the usual rank of poker hands is observed, so that an unsuited broken straight (7-5-4-3-2) wins low (see Morehead, Official Rules of Card Games). In a variant, based on Lowball, where only the low hand wins, a straight or a flush does not matter for a low hand. So the best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A, suited or not.
• Players can pass cards to each other. An example of this would be Anaconda.
• Kill game: When a fixed-limit game is played and some condition triggers the stakes to double. A common version is if the same player wins two plus in a row.
• A twist round in which players can buy another card from the deck. If a player does not like the purchased card, the player can purchase another one by adding money to the pot. This is sometimes called a 'tittle.'

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Mixed poker games[edit]

Poker can be played in a mixed game format in which each variant will usually be played for a fixed number of hands or time and then the players will move on to the next game. There are many types of mixed poker games. The most notable mixed poker variation is HORSE poker, a mix of Texas hold 'em, Omaha high-low, razz, seven-card stud and seven-card stud eight-or-better.

Specific poker variant games[edit]

Some poker games don't fit neatly into the above categories, and some have features of more than one of these categories. These variants are most often played in home games, usually as part of a dealer's choice format.

High Chicago or Low Chicago[edit]

Either of these two versions can be played in any stud high game. In High Chicago, or sometimes simply called Chicago, the player with the highest spade face down (referred to as in the hole) receives half the pot. In Low Chicago, the player with the lowest spade in the hole receives half of the pot, with the A♠ being the lowest. If the player with the highest hand also has the highest/lowest spade in the hole, then that player receives the entire pot - having won both sides of the bet.

Follow the Queen[edit]

This 7-card stud game uses a wild-card designated as whichever card is immediately dealt (exposed, or face-up) after any queen previously dealt (exposed). In the event that the final card dealt (exposed) is itself a queen, then all queens are wild. If no queens are dealt (exposed), then there are no wilds for that hand. Betting is the same as in normal 7-card stud games. Follow the Queen is a typical game variant in Dealer's Choice poker games.^[1][2]

Countdown[edit]

In this 5-card game, the dealer gives each player 5 cards face down. After the first round of betting, each player may choose to replace zero to three cards. A second round of betting follows and then players may opt to replace zero to two cards. Upon completing another round of betting, each player may replace one card of the cards in their hand. After a final round of betting, any remaining players show their hands, and the highest 5 card hand wins. The cost of cards doubles each round. For example, if the dealer says each replacement card costs $10 in the first round, then each card costs $20 in the second round, and $40 in the final round. When players purchase cards to replace ones in their hand, they put the cost of the cards in the pot.^[3]

This game will only work with 4 players (or fewer) otherwise you will run out of cards.

Criss Cross poker[edit]

Criss Cross Poker is one of the few games derived from Texas Holdem that give players eight cards to make their best hand with. This game is best played with 6-8 players because of the number of cards used during the game. Criss Cross Poker can be played with wild cards and because of that players can expect more players to stay till the end of the game and bigger hands than you would normally see in Texas Holdem. Each player is required to ante before the deal. Once the players have placed their antes into the pot, the dealer can begin to give each player five cards faced down. Players are able to look at their cards but must keep them hidden from the other players. Once all of the cards have been dealt, the first betting round will begin. The player to the left of the dealer will open the betting. After the initial betting round is complete, the dealer will deal five cards face down in the center of the table. These cards are called the “community cards” and will be used by all of the players at the table with their hands to make the best poker hand possible. The cards will be placed in a cross formation with one top, one bottom, one right, one left and one middle card. The dealer will flip over the first card on the table. The first card can be any card except the middle card. The middle card is always the last card to be turned over. A betting round will start with the same rules applying as before. All betting must start with the first player to the left of the dealer. The dealer will turn over the second card on the table, and again another round of betting will take place. This pattern continues until all of the outer cards have been turned over and each card is followed up with a round of betting. The final card to be turned over is the middle card. This card is wild and can be used in combination with the player’s hands and the board. Any player who has the same ranked card in their hand can use that card as wild to complete their best poker hand. A final betting round will take place and the player with the best five card poker hand wins the pot. When using the board, players can only use three cards that are directly related. This means either the horizontal row or vertical row. You can’t mix and match the cards.^[4]

Double Cross poker[edit]

Double Cross poker is a High-Low variant of Criss Cross Poker, one of the few games derived from Texas Holdem that give players seven cards to make their best high hand or low hand with.^[5] This game is best played with 6-8 players because of the number of cards used during the game. Double Cross Poker can be played with wild cards and because of that players can expect more players to stay till the end of the game and bigger hands than you would normally see in Texas Holdem. Each player is required to ante before the deal. Once the players have placed their antes into the pot, the dealer can begin to give each player four cards faced down. Players are able to look at their cards but must keep them hidden from the other players and may only use two of these cards in their final high or low hand. Once all of the cards have been dealt, the first betting round will begin. The player to the left of the dealer will open the betting. After the initial betting round is complete, the dealer will deal five cards face down in the center of the table. These cards are called the “community cards” and will be used by all of the players at the table with their hands to make the best poker hand possible. The cards will be placed in a cross formation with one top, one bottom, one right, one left and one middle card. The dealer will flip over the first card on the table. The first card can be any card except the middle card. The middle card is always the last card to be turned over. A betting round will start with the same rules applying as before. All betting must start with the first player to the left of the dealer. The dealer will turn over the second card on the table, and again another round of betting will take place. This pattern continues until all of the outer cards have been turned over and each card is followed up with a round of betting. The final card to be turned over is the middle card. If playing with a wild card, this card is wild and can be used in combination with the player’s hands and the board. Any player who has the same ranked card in their hand can use that card as wild to complete their best poker hand. Because this is a high-low split game, the pot is divided between the player with the best traditional hand (called the high hand) and the player with the best low hand, each formed using two down cards from the player's hand and three cards from the board either horizontally or vertically. If a declaration game, a final betting round will take place after a 'declare' and the player with the best five card high hand or the best five card low hand, using two down cards and three board cards, split the pot. When using the board, players can only use three cards that are directly related. This means either the horizontal row or vertical row. You can’t mix and match the cards.

There are two common methods for playing high-low split games, called declaration and cards speak. In a declaration game, each player declares (either verbally or using markers such as chips) whether he wishes to contest for the high hand or the low hand. The lowest hand among those who declared low wins that half of the pot, and the highest hand among those who declared high wins that half. In a cards speak game, all players simply reveal their cards at showdown and the hands are evaluated by all players; high hand wins half of the pot and low hand wins the other half. Especially when using the ace-to-five low method, it is possible for one player to have both the low hand and the high hand, and therefore win all of the pot (called 'scooping,' 'hogging' the pot, or 'going pig'). In the event more than one player ties for either high or low, the pot can be further split into quarters or smaller fractions. For example, if one player has the high hand on showdown, and two other players tie for the best low hand, the high hand wins half of the pot and each low hand wins only a quarter of the pot.

In Double Cross poker, where each player has a selection of nine cards, each player chooses five of his cards to play as his high hand, and/or five of his cards to play as his low hand. The sets may overlap: for example, combining four down cards and three board cards (horizontally or vertically), a player having 7-7-6-4-4-3-2 can play a high hand of 7-7-4-4-6 (two pair, sevens and fours) and a low hand of 7-6-4-3-2 (seven-high). The player may play any two down cards with any three horizontal or vertical board cards to make a high hand or any two down cards with any three horizontal or vertical board cards to make a low hand. If the player in a declaration game is attempting to 'scoop' the entire pot, by winning both the high and the low hands, the player may play any two down cards with any three horizontal or vertical board cards to make a high hand and any two (the same or different) down cards with any three (the same or different) horizontal or vertical board cards to make a low hand. Any player who declares an attempt to scoop the pot must win or tie for the high hand AND win or tie the low hand. If they were to lose either the high hand or the low hand, they would receive no share of the pot.

Billabong and Shanghai[edit]

Just as Oxford stud is a mixed stud/community card version of Texas hold 'em, Billabong is a mixed version of Manila. Each player is dealt two down-cards and one up-card. Low up-card starts the betting with a Bring-in if you are playing with one, otherwise high card starts the betting. Next, two community cards are dealt, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the best exposed partial poker hand (counting the community cards, as in Oxford stud). Then a third community card is dealt, followed by a third betting round. Finally a fourth community card is dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the three in his hand plus the four on the board in any combination.

Shanghai is the same game with an extra hole card, but no more than two hole cards play. That is, the game begins with each player being dealt three down-cards and one up-card; each player must discard one of his hole cards at some point during the game as determined ahead of time. The most common variation is to discard immediately as in Pineapple; the second most common is to discard just before showdown as in Tahoe.

Guts[edit]

Guts is a family of games that are cousins of poker rather than poker variants. They usually involve hands of 3 or fewer cards, ranked similarly to hands in poker, and multiple successive rounds of betting each of which consist of the decision to be 'in' or 'out', and each with its own showdown. The losers of rounds of guts generally match or double the pot, which grows rapidly.

Five-O poker[edit]

Five-O Poker is a heads-up poker variant in which both players must play five hands of five cards simultaneously. Four of the five cards in each hand are face-up. Once all five hands are down, there is a single round of betting. The winner is determined by matching each hand to the corresponding hand of the opponent. The player with the stronger poker hand in three (or more) out of the five columns, wins, unless a player folds on a bet that was made. If a player beats their opponent with all five hands, this is called a “Five-O” win.

Chinese poker[edit]

Chinese poker is a 2-4 player poker game with thirteen cards. The idea is to make three poker hands with increasing rank : two with five cards and one with three cards. If one of the hands does not adhere to increasing rank (i.e. is mis-set), the hand is declared dead and results in some sort of penalty.

Kuhn poker[edit]

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Kuhn poker, using a three card deck, is more of game theory problem than an actual game people play, but it can be played by two players.^[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^Pokernews.com: Fun Home Poker Game Rules - Follow the Queen
2. ^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Follow the Queen
3. ^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Countdown Poker
4. ^https://www.onlinepoker.net/games/cris-cross.Missing or empty |title= (help)
5. ^Zee, Ray (1992). High-Low-Split Poker, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha Eight-or-better for Advanced Players. Two Plus Two Pub.; 2nd edition, ISBN9781880685105^{[page needed]}
6. ^'A Parameterized Family of Equilibrium Profiles for Three-Player Kuhn Poker'(PDF).

There are some players out there that refuse to play a video blackjack game. Some feel that they know they are getting a fair game if they play with cards. The video blackjack games available in Nevada are the same machines that can be found across the world. These video blackjack machines are legitimate in their deal. In some cases it is better to play on these video blackjack games as opposed to the live tables. There are several reasons for this.

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Lower Minimums

Video blackjacks machines will often have a lower minimum bet than the table games. Some video blackjack games will have a minimum bet of as little as $1. At higher-end casinos, the minimum bet may be as high as $5. Whatever the minimum bet is it is going to be lower than the minimum bet at the table games.

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Better Rules

In many instances, the video blackjack game will have better rules than any live blackjack game that can be found in the same casino. There is a video blackjack game that has shown up in Las Vegas that stays on all 17’s, offers surrender, double after the split and split up to 3 hands. These are better rules than any table game offered in several casinos. In fact, it is rare to find tables that stay on all 17’s anymore. When the dealer stays on all 17’s it decreases the house advantage by .22%.

Better Comps

Comps are the free perks casinos give to their high rollers. If you only plan on playing a few dollars a hand then there is no reason to play the live blackjack tables. Some casinos will not rate you if you play under $25. Those that will rate you will give you very little in the way of comps. On the other hand, if you play on a video blackjack machine, you will get rated for every bet regardless of how small it is. You will typically be graded as a higher player when you play video blackjack than if you play the live tables if you are not going to average a $25 bet. There will also be some promotions that only apply to slot machines. Typically video blackjack machines will count as a slot machine. If a casino has a slot points race, has a point multiplier day, or gives you free slot play, the video blackjack machines will usually qualify for these promotions. It is very easy to earn points on these machines. Cashback can also be earned on video blackjack machines where table games usually do not give players cashback.

No Dealers

I am certainly not knocking dealers. They have a tough job and I respect them. From a player’s point of view though, I would rather play the video blackjack games. This is because there are no mistakes in dealing on these machines. You never have to worry about the hand being declared a misdeal or not getting paid correctly. Some dealers also hate their jobs and it is obvious. They can bring the whole aura of the environment down. You also do not have to worry about tipping the blackjack machine. Video blackjack games are also faster than most dealers can deal, especially if the dealers have to hand shuffle.

Advantages to Playing Live Blackjack

While I prefer video blackjack, there are certainly advantages to playing live. If you would like good drink service, you will get served more drinks in the table games pit than you will in the slot area where video blackjack games usually are located. If you are going to average $25 or more a bet then you will get noticed in the pit and you are likely to get better comps. If you are going to count cards it will be much easier to do so at the table games. It is impossible to count cards on some blackjack machines. A full table game of blackjack will likely be faster than a video blackjack game because novice players are more likely to be on the machines. If a player is being slow at a table the dealer will remind them that it is their turn, where on a video blackjack machine it may not. If smoke bothers you then table games might be best for you too. Casinos will often make a table smoke free upon request. That cannot be done in the slot area. Table blackjack games also tend to be more social than video blackjack machines.

Bad Video Blackjack Machines

The machines that can be played advantageously are multi-seat machines where blackjack pays 3 to 2. Some video poker machines such as Game Kings and Game Makers have a heads up blackjack game on them. These are terrible blackjack games. These games typically pay even money on blackjack. They typically do not allow doubling after the split either. Some of these machines do not allow doubling at all. It is best to avoid these games. Some multi-seat games are single deck games that pay 6 to 5 on blackjack. Avoid these single deck machines as well.

There are advantages to playing both live and video blackjack. Each player has their own goal as to what they would like to get out of a blackjack game. While I lean towards video blackjack, some players still cannot get used to the idea of playing a table game on a machine. Blackjack can be fun whether it is a video blackjack game or a live blackjack game; it is up to the player to decide which they enjoy more.

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