Classification Of Online Casino Games

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New players would rarely join an online casino with the intention of playing a specific casino game. Most new players would sample the various games available at the online casino before narrowing down on a few selected games. In this context it is helpful to know how online casinos classify the games they offer. Apart from understanding the common characteristics of a set of games this also helps in locating specific games in online casinos.

Most online casinos classify games into three broad categories. These are table games, online slot games and video poker games. Table games are those games that are played on tables at land casinos. There are two types of table games, one type that involves the use of playing cards and the other type that does not involve the use of playing cards. Some online casinos have separate classifications for these two types, which are known as card games and table games. Card games usually involve a comparison between the player’s hand and the dealer’s hand according to a well-defined set of rules. The most common card games are blackjack and baccarat. Both these games are based on popular land casino games. In blackjack the hand that is closer to a value of 21 wins, whereas in baccarat the hand that is closer to a value of 9 wins. There are other card games that compare hands based on poker hand rankings. Some of the more common games in this category are Caribbean stud poker, Pai Gow poker and 3 card poker.

The two most common table games are roulette and craps. Roulette is easily the most well-known of land casino games because of its frequent presence in Hollywood movies. In roulette, players bet on a number or a combination of numbers. The winning number is decided by a ball that comes to rest on a particular number in a spinning wheel. The essence of roulette is easily captured in online casinos but the glamour of the game can only be experienced in land casinos. Craps is a game in which the winning number or combination of numbers is determined by rolling a pair of dice. As in roulette players bet on certain numbers on number combinations and are paid out if the dice show those combinations. However there are several bets in craps that are not decided in a single roll of the dice. Therefore craps can be a complicated game for new players. Another reason why new players should avoid craps is that most of the bets have very high house edges.

Slots are the most common online casino games. They are no different from the slot machines that are found in land casinos. There are many ways in which online slot games can be further classified. The most common way is as those having fixed jackpots and those having progressive jackpots. Fixed jackpot online slot games payout a determined amount that is stated in the payout table. The jackpot in a progressive slot games keeps increasing as players wager. When the specified combination is hit the total amount of jackpot is given to the player who has hit the winning combination. The jackpot is then reset to a starting level and begins to increase again. Many people play slot games for the sheer audio visual treat. The payout ratio of slot games is generally less than that of many table games thus keeping serious gamblers away.

The video poker games are card games, but even in land casinos they are played on computer screens, if at all they are offered. The objective of the games is to make the highest possible ranking poker hands by replacing some of the dealt cards. Because these games require some skill and they offer high payout ratios, video poker games are very popular.

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