With online casino gaming, there are as many game choices as there are players, and there are plenty of benefits that online casinos have over land-based ones. While some players prefer video-game styled slots, others enjoy the intricacies of traditional card games. Though there are many popular choices, three card games are often chosen as favorites. These are Baccarat, Pai Gow, and Blackjack.
While each of these card games shares the common thread of card-based gameplay, they each have a distinct set of rules, strategies, and nuances that set them apart from each other. If you’re curious about which one may be a good fit for you, these are their common rules and differences.
Baccarat
The history of Baccarat is one that embodies elegance and sophistication. It is one that many players associate with luxury and decadence, and it’s often played for high stakes, depending on the players at the table and the online casinos house rules.
The main attraction for the game is its simplicity, since very little choice is required. Players do not play against each other. Instead, all gameplay and bets are placed between two hands: the Player and the Banker. All bets are required to predict which hand will have a total closest to 9, or if there will be a Tie between the two hands. Cards aren’t touched by players, and the dealer is the one who does all the cardwork and reveals. Thanks to this gameplay style, the game is seen as a timeless and easy-going pastime to learn, allowing players to focus on their intuition to make calls on which hand will be the winning one.
For new players to the game, all cards are worth their shown value, except face cards and 10s which are worth zero. Aces in Baccarat only have a value of 1. Thanks to this easy to memorize scoring chart, players are able to hone in on paying attention to the cards and hands dealt, rather than memorizing complex strategies or requiring to do complicated calculations.
The various online casinos will have different payout options for the bets made, with the house edge differing depending on where the game is played. As Baccarat is a game played that was once favored by rich aristocrats and royalty, it has kept its cloak of refinement and opulence, allowing players a chance to enjoy the thrill of high-stakes gambling from wherever they are in the world.
Pai Gow
One of the most interesting fusion card games around, Pai Gow Poker blends traditional poker and nese dominoes into a game that features the best of both strategy and luck. In this game, players are dealt seven cards and are required to create two separate poker hands: a five-card hand that is known as the high hand, and a two-card hand known as the low hand. The aim of the game is to outmatch both the high and low hands of the dealer at once.
What helps to ensure Pai Gow Poker is seen as a different game from its more traditional card game counterparts is the inclusion of the Joker. This addition helps to add in an element of unpredictability and luck-swaying excitement to each hand.
The joker serves as a wild card, which is capable of finishing straights and flushes, or even acting as an Ace, which can improve players’ chances of creating winning combinations. As such, jokers are a way in which more strategic depth is added to the game, since players must carefully consider how to best utilize the Joker to their advantage if they get it, while crafting their hands carefully.
In order to do well at Pai Gow Poker, it pays to have a good understanding of basic hand rankings and the top combinations that can be made for the high and the low hands you’ll have to make. This understanding is what allows players to strategize well, and to create two hands that not only beat the dealer’s hands but also maximize their own chances of winning.
By maintaining the balance of a strong high hand, while still creating a useful low hand is part of the game’s charm, along with trying to anticipate the dealer’s possible hand combinations. This unique blend of excitement, unpredictability and strategy is why Pai Gow Poker has remained a top online card game to play, for both novice and veteran players alike.
Blackjack
The game known as 21 or Blackjack is one of the most recognized card games around. Not only for being a favorite on casino floors by longstanding players, and with younger gamblers, but with those who seek a blend of skill, strategy, and luck in their online gaming experiences. Much like baccarat with its simple rules, blackjack too has a very simple requirement: outscore the dealer’s hand without surpassing a total of 21.
This ongoing need to get as close to 21 as possible is what drives the game and is what ensures players make calculated decisions at every turn. In blackjack, players hold their own cards, and are required to beat the dealer. Cards retain their numerical values, while face cards count for 10. The Ace can be used as either a one or an 11, depending on what is more advantageous to the player.
Now, with the cards dealt, players need to either get more cards (hit the deck), stand their hand, split their hand, or double down on their bets. The choice to double their bet and receive another card can often help players to win spectacularly or lose just as quickly. By learning and utilizing basic strategy within the game of blackjack, players can fairly accurately weigh the value of their hand against the dealer’s visible card (the upcard). By focusing on an intricate balance of chance, choice and weighing up probabilities, blackjack is an intriguing choice that appeals to players of all skill levels.
While Baccarat, Pai Gow, and Blackjack share the commonality of being popular card games in online casinos like Big Dollar, each offers a unique gaming experience with its own set of rules, strategies, and intricacies. There are plenty of opportunities to play each of these games on their own, and to rotate between them depending on your mood and bankroll.
