My friends are not particularly competitive or risk-seeking, which makes them an odd bunch to share a table with at the casino. But they do have one game they’re all pretty awesome at: Soduku.
The logic-puzzle craze that swept the nation a few years ago had many iterations, but only Soduku made it to my coffee table—and my airplane tray—without competition. As far as I’m concerned, I might as well be playing Tetris the way they effortlessly fill in the grid.
When Quake III Arena was my favorite pastime, I was known as “the human checkpoint.” I let people win at pool. And forget about any video game that requires fast twitches and even fresher reflexes.
It’s probably best that I stay away from roulette.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of fun casino games that do favor skill over luck, where I actually stand a chance against the other suckers risking their vacation money at the tables. Here are three of my favorites.
3 Card Poker
Three Card Poker is a game that I can play—and usually beat—at any casino. It’s based on the ancient Italian game As Nas, which has been popular across Europe and the Middle East for centuries. In recent years, it’s gone by the name Primo in American casinos.
In this game, you’re playing against the house rather than other players, so there’s no need to bluff. You’re using a standard deck of 52 cards, so a good memory for the locations of cards can give you an edge. But the real opportunity to win big comes with careful analysis of the probable value of the cards still to come.
And that makes it a lot like blackjack, another game that’s more about skill than luck once you understand the statistics.
Basic Rules of 3 Card Poker
- You make two wagers on each deal: one against the dealer, and (optional) a "pairplus" bet that pays off if you make a pair or better.
- Each player and the dealer receive three cards.
- After examining your cards, you can fold, or make a “play” wager up to five times your ante.
- If you don’t fold, your wager is revealed and compared to the dealer’s hand. (A wager is a bet placed before the deal that indicates the size of the play wager you will make.)
- The dealer must have a “qualifying” hand—a hand with a rank of “queen” or higher—to qualify.
- If the dealer doesn’t qualify, you get your ante back and any wagers pushed.
- If the dealer qualifies and beats your hand, you lose both your ante and your wager.
- If you win, you get paid 1 to 1 on your ante and your wager.
- If there’s a tie, neither hand wins.
- If you win and you made a “play” wager that was five times your ante or less, your wager is paid off at 1 to 1.
- If you won with a wager greater than five times your ante, you’re eligible for a bonus payoff based on the value of your hand. Bonus payoffs are expressed as multiples of your ante, like this: • Royal Flush: 50 to 1 + 5x Ante \ Straight Flush: 4 to 1 + 4x Ante \ Three of a Kind: 3 to 1 + 3x Ante \ Straight: 2 to 1 + 2x Ante \ Flush: 1 to 1 + 1x Ante \ Pair of Aces or Kings: 1 to 1 + 1x Ante \ Pair of Queens or Jacks: 1 to 1 \ Any Other Pair: 1 to 1 + 1x Ante
Of course, just memorizing those rules isn’t going to turn me into a Three-Card Master. So I called up MIchael Konik, author of Suckered: The Five Year Quest by Two Guys to Crack the Code of Poker and a regular at card tables around the world.
Konik got his start in Three-Card poker during a trip to Tel Aviv, where he says the game is played on street corners by teenagers after school. He recommends a simple strategy for beginners who want to minimize losses while learning the odds.
“I would tell somebody to put in what they can afford to lose and to stick to a certain budget,” he advises. “Ante no more than one unit—one chip—every hand, and bet no more than three units, ever. And walk away when you’re done.”
That three-unit limit applies to the “play” wager you place after seeing your cards. By limiting yourself to three units—regardless of how confident you feel about your hand—you avoid the temptation to gamble, and you establish a pattern of play that tipsoff other players or the house dealer nothing about the quality of your hand.
Of course, you could simply fold every hand and you can’t possible lose more than one unit per hand. But that strategy doesn’t give you a chance to win the big bonus payoffs that make Three-Card Poker interesting—and potentially profitable.
So how do you decide when to hold ‘em and when to play ‘em?
Q
= a queen; J
= a jack;
K
= a king;
A
Top-Rated Free Download Slot Machines to Get You Started= an ace.
Any Three-of-a-Kind: Play a Q64 for at least 20 units. Fold anything lower.
Any Pair: Play any pair except 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, and 99 for at least 6 units. Fold the pairs 78, JQ, and KA, unless the Ace is high, in which case play for at least 4 units.
Aces: Play QA A or JA 2 for at least 4 units. Fold all other Aces.
King: Play KA K for at least 2 units. Fold all others.
Jacks: Play J8 J for at least 2 units. Fold all others.
Ten: Play T9 T for at least 2 units. Fold all others.
Nine: Play 98 99 for at least 2 units. Fold all others.
Eight: Play 87 88 for at least 2 units. Fold all others.
Seven: Play 76 76, 77 for at least 2 units. Folder all others.
Remember, these are betting strategies—not playing strategies. You should always look at your cards before you make the decision to fold or bet three units.
But knowing the approximate value of your hand before you see the cards can really burn a hole in your wallet the next time you find yourself at a table of sodukers.
Video Poker
If you want to play poker without dealing with a tableful of coworkers and strangers, video poker is an excellent choice. Like Three-Card Poker, video poker is a game that favors skill over luck, but leaves less room for error.
Instead of playing against the house, you’re playing a version of five-card draw against an unseen deck of cards. That means you still have to worry about betting and bluffing, but since you get to see the other “player’s” cards, there’s no need to worry about being outthinked.
You can lose this game purely on luck, but even a beginning player with a good video poker strategy can expect to pull down better than a 98% payback rating—making it one of the most generous games in the casino.
Payback ratio is an important metric for comparing casino games, because it takes both the probability of winning and the amount paid out for a win into account. Since different casinos games offer widely varying payback ratios, it’s possible to compare apples to oranges when trying to determine which games are “looser.”
Simple Tricks To Write A Top-Notch Casino Online ReviewFor example, a beginner playing a slot machine with a 95% payback ratio could reasonably expect to lose $50 on a $100 betting stake. But that same 95% payback ratio applies to both wins and losers in baccarat, so a talented player could reasonably expect to lose only $5 on $100 at the baccarat table.
In other words, some games are looser than others.
And video poker is one of the loosest games in town.
Like three-card poker, video poker is based on cards, making it easy to keep track of what’s already been dealt and what’s likely to show up in the future. But unlike three-card poker, video poker doesn’t give you much time to make your decisions.
Each suit, rank, and sequence of cards has a standard abbreviation that you’ll need to learn to communicate the complexity of the game.
Basic Video Poker Rules
- Insert money or voucher into bill acceptor.
- Select DENOM button to select desired denomination of play (for example, 25¢, 50¢, or $1.00).
- Selection HOLD on a card you wish to keep.
- Press DEAL.
- Discard all unfolded cards by pressing DRAW.
- Press & BET ONE to bet one credit.
- Press NEXT PAY LINE to play multiple pay lines.
- Press GAMBLE to initiate a double-up wager.
Once again, memorizing the rules of the game isn’t going to turn me into a video poker champion. So I turned to professional poker player Jonathan Little for some advice on getting started with a video poker strategy.
Little writes strategy columns for numerous poker publications, including Poker Pro Magazine and Blue Chip Poker, and is the author of Hollywood’s Bankroll. According to Little, the first step to winning at video poker is understanding the value of a good pay table.
Unfortunately, video poker machines can come in dozens of different varieties, each offering slightly different payouts for various hands.
Since every machine is configured differently, the first thing you should do at the video poker machine is check the pay table. Look for a 9/6 machine, which offers a payout of 6-1 on a full house and 9-1 on a flush. Machines that offer the proper payouts for a full house and flush are often referred to as “9/6 machines.”
“They provide the best return of any video poker machine,” says Little.
There are fewer of these machines around these days, but they can still be found at most casinos. When you can’t find a 9/6 machine, Little recommends looking for a machine paying 8/5 on a full house and 5 on a flush. These machines generally offer a 98.38% payback rating when played properly.
888poker - Top-Rated Online Poker Site for 2023Even if you can’t find one of these ideal machines, video poker remains one of the more generous casino games. Payback ratings for common video poker configurations range as high as 99.54%, compared to the 78% to 96% paybacks offered by most slot machines.
Just remember, you’re looking at a pay table that lists what the machine will pay you for various hands, not what those hands are actually worth to you.
A royal flush, which will pay off 800 to 1 on most machines, is only worth 250 units if you’ve been betting one credit per hand.
Little recommends betting the maximum number of credits per hand—usually 5—to open the biggest royal flush jackpot, while still following a basic video poker strategy.
Here’s the video poker strategy Little teaches to beginning players.
- Always hold pairs, triplets, straight, flushes, and four-of-a-kind or better.
- Never break a set of three-of-a-kind unless you have three of a kind of 4’s, 5’s or 6’s and you draw to (and hit) a royal flush.
- Unless you have four-of-a-kind or better, draw five cards if you have any of the following: • A straight, despite having a pair • Four cards to a flush • High pair below a flush draw • Three cards to a royal flush • No high pair and three suited cards
- If you have a high pair (Aces down to Jacks) and don’t have any of the above draws, hold the pair and draw four new cards.
- If you don’t have a high pair, draw all five cards.
These guidelines sound confusing, but they simplify to a single question: “What’s the best hand I can get on the next draw?”
If the answer is a straight, then hold a pair and draw three new cards. If it’s a royal flush, hold three cards of that rank and suite, and draw two new cards. And so forth.
By focusing on the best hand you can get, rather than holding on to sentimental favorites, you give yourself the best shot at a profit.
If you want to move beyond this beginning video poker strategy, Little suggests picking up a copy of Video Poker for Dummies or Winning Low-Limit Hold ’ems (also by Jonathan Little), both of which include extensive charts outlining playing strategies for specific hands.
War
War is the oldest child’s game known to man, dating back to the 14th century when it was played with just about anything that could be divided evenly in half—from food to servants to women, although I strongly recommend against mixing the last two.
On our family vacations, my brother and I would while away the hours on long car rides or cross-country flights, pushing cards across the back seat and declaring “War!” whenever our hands tied.
best pc poker gameLike many kids, I graduated from War to poker at a young age, and forgot all about the simple game that gave birth to all card games. Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered that War—like poker, Blackjack, and countless other card games—can be both simple and fiendishly complex, depending on how you play it.
And imagine my further surprise when I discovered that War can be played—and profitably, too—at the casino.
Casino War is based on the same simple rules we learned in grade school: Each player makes a bet, or “declares war” by placing a bet of twice the amount of their original wager.
The dealer reveals the value of his face-down card, and does the same for the second, hidden card after revealing your card. Highest card takes the pot.
While that’s still the same old War from my childhood, the casino has added a few twists to tip the odds in its favor.
- The house uses six or seven decks of cards, shuffled together.
- The player wins if his first card is higher than the dealer’s first card.
- The player and dealer each receive one card to begin, with a second round of card deployment in the event of a tie.
- The dealer automatically wins if a tie results after both players have received their second cards.
- The player receives a payout of 1 to 1 for beating the dealer.
- If you declare “War”, you pay an additional 3x your original ante (mandatory fee to be in the hand), and receive a third card dealt by the dealer. The player with the higher card gets a payout of 3 to 2, plus their original ante and wager back. If the dealer wins the tie after the third card, the player loses their 3x wager (the declaration of war).
- Ties are rare, but sometimes a sixth or seventh deck is used to resolve ties when the player and dealer both hold the same rank of card (such as both holding a 2 of Clubs). Players do not put any additional money on the line for tie resolutions.
Unlike Three-Card Poker and video poker, casino War is strictly a game of chance. There are no good decisions to make once you’ve put your ante on the table, so the only War strategy you really need to know is when to declare War.
Declaring War is, obviously, a bad move. Not only are you paying an extra three units for the privilege of flipping a coin, the dealer has the statistical advantage in a showdown between identical cards.
So, when not to declare war?
Almost always.
Vegas Click and Roll author Frank Pallotta recommends declaring War only when you’re facing a dealer 6 or lower and you’re holding a 10 or higher rank of card—preferably a picture card. Using this War strategy, you should go to war less than 2% of the time, but only lose money 34% of the time you declare war.
That gives you worse odds than craps or roulette, but still better than Keno or bingo.
Of course, the best War strategy is to avoid the game altogether and look for something with deeper strategic elements. A couple of variations on classic War, available on the Internet and in some casinos, add just enough depth to make the game interesting and potentially profitable.
Profession War, played primarily on the Internet, is a heads-up match between two players and their computers. Each player begins with 28 cards, developing each hand according to traditional poker ranks: Aces can be used either high or low, with straights and flushes having ranking priority over single cards and pairs.
The first player to score 51 points by winning three-card hands or “going solo” (presenting the only three-card poker hand) below a certain rank wins the game. Rankings below 7 are legal for soloing, but the lower the rank, the fewer points it’s worth.
Extreme lowball games like this are currently popular among professional poker players, who say the intense strategy sessions required to master Extremely Lowball games can mean the difference between winning and losing millions in the .
New War, also known as ‘Ultra Progressive War”, is offered at a few casinos around the country, including Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
In this exciting variation, a progressive jackpot builds with every hand in which the player wins a showdown, just as in Caribbean Stud and other casino card games. Since the odds of winning a showdown occur about once every 30 hands on average, the progressive jackpot builds very quickly when New War catches on at a table.
Be prepared to wait, however. Some California casinos report that a showdown in New War is so rare they may go days—even weeks—without giving away the progressive jackpot.
Best PayPal Casino Sites in UK - Top online PayPal Casinos 2023Michael Konik likes both profession War and New War, but cautions that the lack of small payouts means the game isn’t good for stretching a betting stake very far. Instead, he says, these versions of War can help a player build a quick fortune—or lose one very fast.
“This is the kind of game you can take $10,000 to the table and in five minutes be up $500,000—or be broke,” Konik says. “There is no in between.”
One final War variant is gaining popularity among online casinos, but I couldn’t find it listed anywhere on the Strip. In Fireworks War, every time you win a hand you’re treated to a pyrotechnic display right there in the middle of the casino. Unfortunately, every time you lose a showdown, your opponent gets a firework all her own.
At 10 bucks a pop, that can get expensive. Still, I hear Nepal is beautiful this time of year. Anyone got a light match?
Comment on that thread here on the forums.
More information:
- Read more about card games for beginners on Wikipedia.
- Find free video poker machines and an introduction to the game at VideoPokerTrainer.com.
- Learn more about War from CasinoGamesStrategist.com.
- Try a Free Three-Card Poker Game or read more about the game at Casinogames.com.
Happy Gaming!
