Top 5 Table Games for US Players

Online Roulette is normally available in three main table game variants – European, French and American. The small difference in wheels used by European and American Roulette – one featuring a single zero and the other also a double zero slot, has a big impact on the theoretical return to player (RTP). Still, even though American Roulette comes with an RTP of 94.74% vs 97.30% of the European version, casinos catering to the US market also feature the first for the benefit of US fans.

As far as gameplay goes, both are played in the same way. The croupier spins the roulette wheel in one direction and the ball in the other, inviting players to guess the latter’s final resting place. There is a range of different bets grouped into two – Inside and Outside bets.

The first group comprises of Straight Up bet (an individual number), Split (two adjoining numbers), Street (3 numbers in a single line), Corner (4 numbers in a square layout), and Six Line (2 adjoining Street bets). If playing American Roulette, you’ll also be able to place Trio bets (a wager covering numbers 0, 1, 2 or 00, 2, 3) and Five number bets (wagering on 0, 00, 1, 2 and 3).

Red/Black, Even/Odd, High/Low (19-36/1-18), Dozen (1-12/13-24/25-36) and Column bets (12 numbers on any of the three lines) are all Outside bets. One major difference between Inside and Outside wagers is that the first is harder to win but offer higher payouts than the other.

French Roulette plays according to European rules with one important difference caused by La Partage rule, and in some cases also En Prison rule. In European Roulette, the ball landing on green zero slot will result in a loss of all chips placed on Even Money bets (Red/Black, Even/Odd, High/Low). Games featuring La Partage rule will instead give you half of your wager back, and those using En Prison rule will leave your chips on the same spot for the following spin.

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino table games not only among US players but worldwide. Fans like it because it’s quite simple and easy to learn, and the fact it’s a casino game with low house edge also helps. The objective is to beat the dealer with a higher-value hand without going over 21 (busting). Cards have their nominal value while Aces can count as either 1 or 11.

A round starts by each player receiving two cards face up and the dealer one facing up and the other facing down. Depending on their own hand and what’s visible of the dealer’s hand, the player can choose to take one or more additional cards (hit) or continue with what they’ve been dealt (stand). Most variants also offer an option to Split two initial cards of the same value and play two separate hands for twice the original stake. There’s also an opportunity to Double the wager on the initial hand while receiving a maximum of one additional card. Depending on the table game developer, different splitting and doubling rules apply.

The biggest payout available in a standard game is 3:2 and it’s paid for Blackjack – a combination of a 10-value card and an Ace. As this is significantly lower than potential wins in roulette (35:1 for Straight Up bets) and poker (up to 250:1 for a Royal Flush), casino table games developers have introduced a range of optional side bets which are completely independent of the main bet. The two you’ll see most often are Perfect Pairs (paying up to 25:1) and 21+3 (win potential of up to 100:1).

Perfect Pairs bet wins if your initial two cards make a pair, meaning they’re of the same rank, same rank and color, or identical in rank and suit. The 21+3 bet will pay if your two cards and the dealer’s up card create a 3-card poker hand, such as Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Straight Flush and Suited Trips.

Baccarat is a casino card game played between two hands called the Player and the Banker. For the benefit of newbies, it should be mentioned that neither applies to you or the dealer; players can bet on either winning or place a wager on a Tie.

What makes baccarat a tad more complicated is the way it assigns card values and calculates totals; 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 all have their face value, 10’s and face cards count as zero, and Aces have the value of 1. When calculating hand value, the 10 positions are dropped so that a total of 14 becomes 4, 18 becomes 8, and so on. The highest possible score is thus 9, which same as a hand of 8, is considered to be “a natural” and automatically wins.

A round of baccarat starts with both the Player and the Banker hand receiving 2 cards. If one of them has a natural, it wins; otherwise, further cards are drawn according to pre-set rules. Eventually, the two hands are compared to determine the winner. With rare exceptions, a winning Player bet pays 1:1, Banker pays even money minus 5% commission, and Tie delivers 9:1. Various side bets are being added to make the game more exciting and increase its win potential.

The 3 Card Poker is a relatively new game variant paying for hands consisting of only three cards instead of the usual five. Both the player and the dealer receive three cards each, the first set dealt face up and the other face down. Players then need to decide whether to continue playing, in which case they have to place an additional wager equal to Ante bet or fold and lose their stake.

The dealer will then reveal their own cards and announce the winner. Your opponent will qualify if holding at least a Queen high. If they don’t, you’ll get paid even money on your Ante bet while Play bet pushes. If the dealer qualifies and your hand outscores theirs, you’ll be paid 1:1 on both Ante and Play wagers.

In addition to that, Ante Bonus (active without having to place an additional wager) will pay for a Straight, Three of a Kind and Straight Flush, no matter what the dealer has. Optional Pair Plus bet wins for a pair or better irrespectively of the result of the main game. Payouts differ between variants produces by different developers, but in general, you can win between 1:1 and 40:1.

Craps is a popular dice table game which at first looks incredibly complicated, largely due to a wide range of bets one can place. It may also have something to do with the fact that the same outcome may be desirable at one stage of the game and not at another. The goal is simple: correctly predict the outcome of a dice roll.

A game of Craps plays in rounds, with the first one (Come Out Roll) potentially being the only one if 7 or 11 (a Natural) or 2, 3 or 12 (Craps) come out. Should the outcome of this roll be any other number (4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10), that number becomes the Point and game continues until the two dice deliver a total equal to the Point or 7.

There are two main bets one should learn about to start with Pass Line and Don’t Pass Line. These are placed before the first roll and one can theoretically play the entire round without making any additional wagers. By placing a Pass Line bet, you’re betting that the outcome of Come-Out Roll will be either 7 or 11, or (if the game continues beyond the initial roll) that the Point will come out before a 7.

Players that place Don’t Pass Line bets are predicting that 2, 3 or 12 (Craps) will be rolled during the Come-Out roll, or that a 7 comes out before the Point number later on in the game.