People have been visiting casinos and playing the traditional games there for quite a long. There are numerous reasons why they enjoy it and we won’t be going into that right now. The choice of games of luck is pretty huge these days. There are many new games that appear every day and we also witness the development of new variations of existing games. One of the main factors that contributed to the emergence of new casino games was the establishment of online casinos. The increased number of players and the rapid development in IT technology were the main factors here. Software engineers were able to develop and promote new games and variants in shorter periods of time. Although there are certain local trends, the majority of the popular games are played throughout the world. Whether you’re in the UK, USA, Australia or in a non-English speaking country, you’ll still find people playing roulette, blackjack, slots and other popular games. This article will address the following topics:
- Which are the most popular games among British players?
- What are the advantages of playing online?
- Some specific questions asked by real players.
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The Best Casino Games for UK Players
In the past there were a lot of games that were considered to be typically British, such as Bingo, Pontoon, and the famous British bookie tradition. Nowadays, the same casino games are popular more or less across the globe. So, practically the same or at least similar games are played throughout casinos, both online and land-based, all over the world, including Europe and the UK. The most popular games of fortune for British players would be blackjack, roulette and slots. That’s why there’s a rich array of variants and sub-variants of these games, including live blackjack and live roulette offered in all UK casinos.
Roulette is a French word meaning “little wheel” and this game has been considered one of the most popular and classiest casino games. Popularised in casinos and hotels in 18th-century Paris, it spread throughout Europe and the world and even today it is one of the most commonly played games. The game is fairly simple. Pockets containing the numbers 0-36 are located on a wheel and a small ball lands in a particular pocket after the croupier spins the wheel. The same numbers appear on a table where the players place their bets. The point is to guess the exact number, or at least the group of numbers to which the winner belongs. The easiest bets are the 50/50 ones. In them, you bet whether the number is going to be red or black, even or odd, low or high (that is, below or above 18). There are two main versions of roulette, American and European, and the latter is sometimes called French. One of the best places to play online, 888 Casino, features special roulette promotions in their offer.
Britain’s most popular casino games
Popular Themed Slot Games
Classy BlackJack Games
Innovative Roulette Variations
BlackJack is one of the most popular card games in the world. It is played with a standard 52-card deck. Here, although more than one player can participate, they all actually compete with the dealer, and not the other players. The winner is the player who get 21 (Blackjack) with the first two cards, or gets as close as possible to 21, without exceeding it, while the dealer has a lower hand, or exceeds 21. All the face cards are worth 10 in blackjack, and an Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11. The dealer deals each player two cards and two cards to him- or herself, one of which can be exposed, depending on the variant. Then, if the player is happy with his or her cards, the dealer stops dealing, if not – the player can be dealt as many cards as needed. The number of decks used, as well as some other details determine the blackjack variant. If you are looking for variety, Winner Casino should be an obligatory place for you. They offer over 15 different blackjack games, a great welcome bonus and the most amazing software in the industry.
Slots are known as fruit machines in the UK, and puggies in Scotland, and they haven’t been around for long. In fact, it is barely over a century since the first slot machine was made. However, most casinos, especially after the Second World War, kept freeing more and more space for slot machines. The fact that one game at a slot machine is very fast and allows you to win a lot of money on a very small bet is probably the main reason for their popularity. You don’t need to learn any rules, or obey any norms, all you need to do is insert a coin and wait for the reels to spin. Online it’s even simpler. There are literally thousands of different slot games. Some are traditional, resembling the early days’ fruits, bars and sevens, while others are based on trendy films and books, i.e. have themes running on them. The so-called progressive slots have the highest winning prizes. The ones offered at Mr Green Casino are especially lucrative. That is a place where the NetEnt amazing multi-million jackpot slot games are featured.
Advantages of Online Casino Games
Over the past several years lots of fans and players started drifting from land-based and offline locations towards online casinos. With technological development this process continues and becomes really widely spread. The reasons for that are numerous. Here are some of them:
Better game selection: It is far easier to develop and test an online game than do it in a brick-and-mortar establishment. Furthermore, online casinos don’t take up physical space, so there can be an unlimited number of games. For example, if a traditional casino can only place 10 roulette tables, there’s no problem for an online casino to have 100 or even more. That’s why they can offer more varieties of roulette or blackjack, or any game that you like to play, really.
24/7 open & convenient: In addition, just like all the other land-based establishments, regular casinos have opening and closing hours, and often you need to travel, sometimes even hours in order to get to the casino of your choice, or any casino for that matter. Whereas, with online casinos, you are free to “visit” them whenever you feel like it and you don’t even need to leave your living-room sofa. Moreover, with the introduction of mobile online casinos, you can access your favourite casino from your tablet or smartphone and you can enjoy a game of blackjack even whilst queuing at the bank or supermarket.
Better payout rates than land-based casinos: There’s more competition in the online casino industry and casinos have to find ways to attract more players and be more successful than their competition. And what better way to attract players than by offering higher payout rates?! In addition, online casinos have lower operating cost which allows them to be more generous to their customers. Imagine a simple slot machine. A regular one takes space, requires maintenance, plus the machine itself costs money. An online slot, on the other hand, doesn’t take up space and it doesn’t need maintenance, so it costs the casino less.
A wider choice of table limits: This may be very important, because there are people who fancy playing low-limit hands, i.e. wouldn’t want to bet more than a pound or two per hand, whereas others wouldn’t care to play unless the bet is at least £10. Due to the limited space in land-based casinos, the number of tables is limited. Some land-based casinos may have enough tables with a high maximum limit, but no tables with a low minimum limit, or vice versa. At online casinos you won’t have that problem and you can bet £1 per hand now, and then switch to a £15-bet table later if you’re feeling lucky.
Other Casino Games Also Loved by Online Players
So far we only discussed the most popular online casino games that have achieved a certain cult status over the years. However, since the game selection in digital Las Vegas is not limited, we will present you here four other game variations that keep the fun factor at the highest level. More exist, of course, but these constitute the basis.
- Poker
Poker is actually a group of card games and it’s so popular that many online casinos have special poker portals. In poker, the players compete against each other, and not against the dealer. There are literally hundreds of variations of poker. Usually, players would raise their bets according to the strength of their respective hands. There are three main groups of poker: draw poker, stud poker and community card poker. These variations can have further sub-variations. - Baccarat
Baccarat is quite an old French card game, modeled after the Italian original called Baccara. It is a common casino game these days and it has three main variants – Punto Banco (which is popular in North America), Chemmy and Baccarat Banque. The first is a game of chance, whereas there’s a bit of knowledge involved in the two latter variants. In baccarat, the player competes against the banker. The game is fairly simple and it’s easy to learn the rules.
- Sic Bo
If dice appeal to you the most, you shouldn’t miss the game of Sic Bo. It is played with 3 dice. The player makes his/her bets on a table with a special betting layout and the dealer shakes a small chest with the dice. There are several types of bets, the most common being “big/small” and “odd/even”. Each shake means either a win or loss for every bet, making Sic Bo a game of pure chance. - Bingo
Bingo has been one of the most popular games of chance in Britain and there was a time when bingo-houses flourished throughout the country. Nowadays it’s mostly played online. The main differences are that instead of a human caller, software picks the numbers out, and you don’t need to hand-daub your numbers. The main variants of online bingo remain the same – 90-, 80- and 75-ball bingo.
What does payout rate (RTP) mean? The RTP (Return-to-player), or payout rate is the percentage of the total sum of wagered money that the casino gives back to the players via prizes. So, if the payout percentage is 95% and £1,000,000 has been wagered, the expected winnings of the players would be £950,000. The higher the payout percentage the better it is for the players. Of course, we’re talking average figures.
Should I bet on single numbers at roulette? Betting on a single number at roulette gives you a 35:1 payout, which means that by betting £1 on a number, you have the chance of winning £35. However, the winning odds are only 2.7%, which means that you don’t stand a significant winning chance. Therefore, it would be wiser to choose a bet that has a higher winning probability, like odd/even, black/red, a dozen, a column or some other combination of numbers, such as the called bets.
Which roulette variation has the best winning probability? If we compare the two main variants of the game, European and American, it is clear that European roulette has a better winning probability. The house edge there is only 2.7%, whereas in American roulette it is 5.3%. In addition, if either “la Partage” or “en Prison” rule is enforced (which is only possible in European roulette), the house edge drops further to 1.35%, which significantly less than the American roulette house edge.
Is it possible to manipulate online slot machines? No, it is not possible to do that. Reputable casinos use only licensed and reliable software with certified random number generators. One independent certification body that performs such audits is eCOGRA. In addition, online casinos have standard payout percentages, so the opportunities for any manipulations have been eliminated. What you can do, as a player, is to investigate the payout rates and the winning prizes of different slot machines at different online casinos and pick the one which you think gives you the highest winning odds.
Is it forbidden to count cards at blackjack? Card counting is a practice which has the purpose to eliminate the house edge in games of the blackjack family. Players who count cards are in a better position to judge what they should do next – hit, stand, double or split. Although it is not strictly forbidden to count cards, casinos don’t like card-counters, since they’re more likely to win money. And since casinos have an exclusive right to decide who is allowed to play, you may be asked to leave the premises if you’re caught counting cards. So, it’s not illegal, but it is usually not tolerated.