Popular Games at Las Vegas Casinos

The city of Las Vegas is called the entertainment capital of the world. It is known for its mega-casinos, lavish hotels, twenty-four-seven entertainment and, amazing musical shows. In Vegas, the vast majority of entertainment comes from gambling. Casinos make tons of money because every game offered has a built-in statistical advantage. Due to this advantage, the house always wins that helps them in making huge profits.  There is a common misconception about casinos being a dark place, but in reality, it is like an amusement park for adults where one can play any game if you have enough money to spare. Newcomers can even ask for advice at the table on how much to bet or what move to play. Many casinos in Vegas have free beginner lessons for various games like Craps, Baccarat, Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker.  One of the main attractions of the casinos is the flow of free drinks. Servers serve the drinks as long as players bet at a table or put a small change into a slot machine.

Las Vegas casinos have a wide variety of games. Let us look at some of the popular games.

Blackjack

Blackjack is among the simplest games in a casino with the lowest house edge of about 0.5 percent. The game aims to beat the dealer’s hand without going over 21. At the beginning of the game, each player is dealt with two cards each. The players’ cards are dealt face up and, the dealers’ cards have one face down and the other face up. The face cards are worth ten, and an ace is worth 11 or 1, depending on the player’s hands.

Slot Machines

Slot machines are the most popular in casinos having the highest house edge between a whopping 5 to 15 percent. The simplicity and the dizzying array of colors and themes of the slot machine make it super appealing. There are no dealers on the slot machines as it is automated. The aim, when playing at slots, is to create maximum winning combinations at the pay lines. You spin the reels after the bet. If the winning combination appears, you win. In some machines, you can do that without taking any credits off your board, as long as the game allows this special feature. It is now widespread for the online slot versions as well, gathering hundreds of options for gamblers unable to travel to a brick-and-mortar place. The beauty of slot machines is that a player’s skill does not affect the outcome, but the chances of winning can be increased by betting on multiple pay lines.

Roulette

The game of American Roulette is played on a wheel divided into 38 pockets. Each pocket contains a number from 1 to 36 in a random pattern and alternates red and black. The other two divisions have the numbers 0 and 00 that are in green. A ball is spun around the bowl until it comes to rest after landing in one of the pockets. The player aims to guess the number on which the ball will land. Before rolling the ball, the players bet. Bets can be placed on single numbers, various combinations of two or more numbers, even or odd numbers, red or black pockets, or sets of a dozen numbers at once.  

Craps

Craps is one of the most elaborate table games. The main objective in craps is to bet on the outcome of the roll of two dice. Craps is a game of chance with many betting options, and the player aims to envision the numbers that will come up on the next roll of dice.

Baccarat

Baccarat is a simple card guessing game that is easy to learn. The player tries to bet on a hand out of two dealt; the banker’s hand and the player’s hand. A winning hand has the highest points out of a possible 9 points. The house edge varies in Baccarat, the average being around 1.06 percent. The casino taxes the banker’s winning hand at 5 percent to ensure that they make money on the game.

Video Poker

Video poker has the best odds in the casinos. It is compared to slots as the two are played on similar-looking machines. However, the game offers higher odds of winning than slot games. A skilled player has higher chances to affect the outcome of the game. The competition aims to acquire a particular set of cards that help in winning. This game is based on the classic five-card draw poker. The player is dealt five cards and given the option of drawing up to five new ones to make a winning combination. The payout depends on the final hand of the player. The winning hand in video poker is the same as in regular poker, although there may be some difference, depending on the variation.

Poker

Poker is different from other casino games. In this game, skilled players compete against one other, which means the house has no vested interest in the outcome. There is no house edge in poker. However, the casino makes money by taking a rake out of each pot in cash games and hosting various tournaments.