One of your first considerations when choosing an online casino is likely to be the range of games on offer. Most casinos will have a selection of slots, card games and table games, as these tend to dominate interest.
Some sites will also provide more original games, such as bingo, to make themselves attractive to a wider range of players. Online casinos are still a growing market, so the types of game available are ever-increasing.
Casino Games
Casino games are right there amongst the most popular forms of online gambling. The term simply means those games most commonly found in land-based casinos. This category includes online slots, which like their land-based counterparts are available in countless forms and themes.
It also includes ever popular card games such as baccarat and blackjack, and other significant table games including roulette.
Slots
Most major slots sites offer hundreds of different slots, making them easily the most popular type of game. You can play anytime and anywhere, without the sedentary and mechanical restrictions of land-based slot machines.
With new games constantly being developed, you will never run out of something to play, and the quality of graphics and design is continually improving. Most casinos will also offer free demos so you can try a game before betting real money on it.
Slots games are available in every imaginable theme. You can play the more traditional fruit machines, or slots licensed from modern media giants such as Marvel Comics or Game of Thrones. Many slots are about one historical period or character, but the gameplay, bonuses and number of ways to win can vary wildly.
Table Games
Table games include pretty much any game that is not traditionally played on a slot machine or other mechanical device such as a slot machine. Table games include card games such as baccarat, blackjack and poker, as well random number games such as roulette.
Baccarat
Baccarat has a history going back hundreds of years, with its popularity ever increasing. It is even the favourite game of fictional secret agent James Bond. This has resulted in it being considered an elite game, mostly for high rollers, but even the everyday player can easily find something to enjoy in baccarat. There are different versions of baccarat available, with the most common being punto banco.
The rules may seem complicated at first, but at its most basic you just need to score higher than the dealer up to a value of nine. Other popular variations are baccarat chemin de fer (chemmy) and baccarat banque.
Blackjack
Of all the table and card games available in online casinos, blackjack (known simply as 21 in some areas) is probably the most popular. It requires a degree of skill and strategy that is not present in every game. Rather than competing with other players as in poker, the aim of every player is to achieve a total that is closer to 21 than the dealer.
There are differences between the rules for American and European versions of blackjack, in addition to some variations between different casinos, so make sure you know which you are playing.
Roulette
Another of the most popular and recognisable casino games, results cannot be much more random than at a roulette wheel. This makes it one of the most exciting games to play, with rules simple enough that anyone can follow them. The two most common versions of roulette are European and American.
European is older and the one you are more likely to see in most casinos. French roulette is a variation of the European version, whilst bonus roulette is an online variation of the American style.
Poker
Online poker is an interesting variation on the real world game, because you cannot rely on reading facial expressions and body language to see if an opponent is bluffing. This means that you need to adjust your strategy to analyse an opponent’s betting language to see if an opponent is bluffing. This means that you need to adjust your strategy to analyse an opponent’s betting patterns.
Poker sites also gives you the opportunity to play people from all around the world, significantly increasing the number and range of opponents available (you can also have as many seats at your virtual table as you want, rather than relying on who can fit in a limited physical space).
Poker has one of the largest ranges of variations available of any casino game. All require a degree of skill as well as chance, with the most popular varying between regions and players. That said, Texas Hold’em is probably one of the most dominant forms. Other popular versions include Omaha, Stud and Draw.
Craps
Craps is a classic casino table game where players must bet on the outcomes of rolling a pair of dice. Players can place bets against each other or against the bank. The game is believed to have originated in 1788 as an English variation of the dice game hazard when it was called “Krabs”.
The game has grown in popularity online over recent years. Online craps casinos provide players with the chance to enjoy craps in the comfort of their own home. Despite the game being considered one of the most sociable table games in land-based casinos, it has continued to thrive in the online world.
Bingo
Bingo in traditional halls has always been a great community event, and that has been recreated in the increasingly popular online version. Online chatrooms ensure that you can interact with fellow players, with every bingo room having its own unique feel and culture. It’s easy for anyone to play bingo. All you need to do is match the numbers on your card to those announced by the caller, and you could win.
Online bingo tends to come in three variations, 90-ball (the most common in the UK), 75-ball (the variant popular in the USA) and the occasional 80-ball version.
Scratch cards
Who hasn’t been tempted by the scratch cards on display in their local newsagent or corner shop? Now you can play online as well, with the same instant thrill and potential big rewards for the same small investment. Scratch cards will often have their own section in an online casino, and once you have purchased you just have to click to create the same effect as scratching off a physical card. Scratch card results are completely random.
Lottery
Online lotteries give people from every part of the world the chance to buy a lottery ticket from any other part of the world. Playing an online lottery opens up the number of draws you can enter and the prizes you can win. That’s in addition to not having to worry about going to a shop to buy your ticket. Lotteries may have some unfriendly odds, but they also come with some of the biggest available wins in the gambling world.
Live Casino
Live casinos gives you the chance to play the most popular card and table games in an interactive setting, just as you would in the real world. Most live casinos will offer the most common games, such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette and poker. Some will offer more unusual selections, including the likes of Dream Catcher and Dragon Tiger.
Experienced dealers host the games, which can be available 24 hours a day. As well as the dealers, you have the opportunity to communicate with other players, allowing you to truly recreate the land-based experience. With ever improving technology, live casinos are constantly growing in popularity and quality.
