The common belief is that the world of online casino started around 1994, thanks to a law passed by the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda that permitted businesses to obtain licenses to operate gaming services on the internet.
There’s some dispute about who was the first to get an online casino up and running. Microgaming, who created The Gaming Club, and Cryptogaming, who brought Intercasino to life, both claim to be the one, as did several other companies. What is certain, however, is that both companies played a prominent role in the development of online casinos, providing essential technology to power the games and the financial systems to process transactions.
At the time, online casinos were most revolutionary, but, by today’s standards, rather basic. There were fewer games and the software was much less functional. Gaming has evolved immensely, however. Today, players can play for progressive jackpots on slots and more. This post looks at some of the best online casino games visitors like to play.
Blackjack
Blackjack moves rapidly fast and the rules are generally the same wherever you play it. It’s also fairly simple to play. Best of all, it has a lower house edge, which means the casino is less likely to win. All of these features have made blackjack a popular casino classic.
When you play blackjack, you’re only playing against the dealer, each of you trying to get as close to twenty-one as possible without going bust. The dealer will deal each player their cards face up, but only deal their own first card face up. You can stand and keep the cards you have; hit if you want another card to bring you closer to twenty-one; and if you get two initial cards the same, split them to increase your chances of beating the dealer.
You can also double down and increase your bet or, if the dealer has blackjack (an ace and a ten), take out insurance to protect yourself against a potential win by the dealer.
Roulette
Think of a casino game and roulette probably springs to mind more than any other game; and why not? The roulette wheel gives the game a somewhat iconic image and, ultimately, is what provides the excitement of the game. The fact you’re not playing against an opponent and that the rules of the game are simple also make the game immensely popular. You can grasp how to play pretty quickly.
The wheel has 18 red-coloured slots, 18 black ones and a green zero, unless you’re playing an on American wheel which as has an extra, double-zero slot. In each round, the players wager on the outcome. Will the roulette ball land on a red slot or a black one? On an odd number or an even one?
These are some of the simplest wagers a player can make. It’s possible to go for more complicated ones, such as whether the ball will land on a certain number or splits in which you bet on the line separating two numbers and the ball landing on either number to win.
Baccarat
Baccarat requires little strategy and gives you good odds of winning. If you’re good at maths, it’s a good game to play, as you can work out the odds and play the game to your advantage. If you’re playing online, you also don’t have to wager a lot on your game.
In baccarat, you lay your money down before the round. The object of the game is to predict whether which one of two hands, each receiving two cards, will score a total closest to nine. You must decide whether it will be the banker hand or the player hand, or whether there will be a tie. Tens and “face” cards score zero and aces score one. If a hand scores over nine, ten is subtracted from the original total.
Three card poker
Three card poker is relatively new but enjoying considerable popularity for the same reasons as several of the other games above: it’s fast, it’s easy to learn and to play and the house edge is lower. Apply a good strategy and you can make a handsome sum.
Just like blackjack, you’re playing against the dealer, which is different to several other versions of poker in which you’re going up against the other players. The object of the game is to make the best hand possible with three cards.
Before the game, you play your money down as an “ante” and/or, confident you’ll have at least a pair or better cards, a pair plus wager. You then look at your cards and decide whether to play, in which case you then put some more money on your cards. If you play, you’ll turn your hand over to establish whether it’s better than the dealer’s.
If you fold, the dealer collects your ante and your pair plus wager. If the dealer has lower than jack high or equal to it, you receive an amount equal to your ante, plus your play wager back. If the dealer has queen high or better, the ante and the play wager is paid out at 1:1 if your hand beats the dealer’s. If your hand is worse than the dealer’s, the dealer takes the ante and the play bets. The pair plus wager is played independently.
Online casinos offer some amazing games. They’re straightforward to play, pacey and, in some cases, the player has much better chances of winning. Qualities such as these have made them a hit with players.
