The world of online casino games can be very intimidating. A good start is vital since you’re playing with real money. If your bad habits as a beginner are left unchecked, you could go quickly without proper bankroll management.
Choosing the right games is part of getting a good start in the online casino scene. Players always wonder, “Which games are the easiest?” or “Which games are the best for earning?” If you’re new to casino games and want advice, this guide is for you. We’ll provide recommendations and go through popular casino games and why you should – or shouldn’t – try them out.
The best beginner game: Blackjack
Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games in the world, both online and offline. It’s a simple card betting game where players try to make the hand with the highest value possible. However, your hand value may not exceed 21, or you “bust” and automatically lose.
A hand’s value is calculated as the total of all numerical card values. Face cards are worth ten, while aces can be used as either ones or elevens. To improve their hand, players have two actions: “Hit” or “Stand.” Hitting means requesting another card while standing means finalizing your hand and becoming unable to hit again.
Why is blackjack so good?
Blackjack is especially popular among beginners for two reasons. The first is its simplicity. The rules are very straightforward, with only two actions for the strategy element. You don’t need an in-depth understanding of strategy like poker, nor do you need to know many special types of bets, like with craps.
The second big thing about blackjack is its odds. It has some of the best odds and lowest house edge out of any casino game, thanks to the player’s ability to control how they play the hand. You can get blackjack’s house edge as low as 0.5% with a perfect basic strategy and a favorable ruleset. This means that for every $100 you gamble, you’ll only lose about 50 cents on average. It’s important to remember that no casino game will let you earn over time – except poker.
A casino classic: Roulette
Roulette is another ubiquitous casino game where players bet on the outcome of a spinning wheel and a ball. The wheel’s slots are numbered from one to 36, and those numbers are equally split into red and black. There’s also one green slot labeled zero, increased to two in American roulette.
Players can bet on which color the slot falls on or try guessing specific numbers for a higher reward. Unlike blackjack, there isn’t anything you can do to influence the outcome of the wheel spin; roulette is a pure game of chance.
Why roulette is worse than blackjack
Roulette can be fun, but we recommend blackjack over it for beginners because of blackjack’s better odds. With a basic blackjack strategy you can learn in minutes, it’s almost impossible to go broke since the house edge is so slight. Roulette’s house edge can increase to 5.26% for the American version with two zero squares. This is a net loss of $5.26 for every $100 you bet, which can quickly pile up if you’re not careful.
One game to avoid: Craps
Craps is another viral casino game, but unlike roulette and blackjack, we recommend staying away from craps while you’re still new. The main reason for this is that the betting system of craps is incredibly complex. You can make numerous kinds of bets, like pass line bets, field bets, prop bets, place bets, and more.
Additionally, there are a lot of unspoken etiquette and rules surrounding craps. While most of the etiquette doesn’t apply online, it’s still a barrier to entry that’s especially prominent in live casinos.
While craps is a challenging game to pick up, you shouldn’t avoid it entirely. Craps can be very fun, and their odds can potentially surpass blackjack’s! Depending on the casino, the house edge can go below 0.5 percent, allowing you to play craps for a very long time without worrying about your money.
The one game where you can earn: Poker
Now, if you’re an ambitious beginner who wants to win and make a profit, there’s only one casino game for you: Poker. It’s different from every other game because you don’t play against the house; you play against other people.
This makes poker reward skill more than luck, making it the only game you can consistently earn from since you don’t play against the dealer or casino. If you don’t play against the casino, they will not see a need to bias the games towards themselves.
While poker strategy can be overwhelming with how much you need to consider, there are plenty of resources online, thanks to the game’s popularity. You can focus on one part of the strategy at a time to make learning the game easier. Poker’s wide variety of stakes makes it very accessible since you can play at stakes low enough for your losses not to impact your bankroll.
Have fun trying these games out!
So, here are a few of our recommendations on which casino games you should try and which you should steer clear of as a beginner. While nothing stops you from trying roulette or craps if you really enjoy them, you must remember that gambling online can be very addictive, and those games could have serious consequences on your bankroll because of the high casino edges.