Online casinos offer the chance to win money from the comfort of your own home. In many cases, the wins are small. But with repeated tries, they can quickly build into something more significant.
It’s easy to see why online casinos have become so popular. In fact, the number of online casino users in Canada alone is expected to hit 15.17 million by 2027.
However, before you select an online casino, it’s important you check out its reputation and which game variants they offer.The more reputable casinos, such as Mansion Casino, will offer guidelines for playing top casino games. They will also be invested in creating a positive and safe gambling experience.
This is essential as the number of games and possible variants has increased dramatically since the early days of casinos when you simply chose between Blackjack, Poker, Roulette, or slots.
It’s the original casino games which now arrive in an array of variants:
Table of Contents
Blackjack
The basic game of Blackjack involves trying to beat the dealer without your cards totalling more than 21. Of course, this simple premise is a lot of fun, but there are variants.
- Las Vegas Strip Rules
This is a popular variant. It uses four decks of cards and allows you to double down on the initial hand and split hands. It’s possible to split twice and create four hands, then double down some more.
The dealer stands with a soft 17 but make sure you check the payouts. 3:2 is a good option.
- Atlantic City
Atlantic City Blackjack arrived on the scene when gambling was legalized in Atlantic City. It uses 8 decks of cards and allows you to surrender, even after the dealer checks for blackjack. This means you only lose half your bet.
You can split your cards 3 times to create 4 hands. It’s also possible to double down whenever you want. Again, watch the payouts as a 3:2 is the best option for you.
- European
In European Blackjack you can use between 2 and 8 decks of cards. A key rule to this variant is that the hole card is not dealt until after your hand is down. That prevents the dealer from seeing a blackjack early.
Having 21 won’t beat a dealer’s blackjack. It is possible to split your cards once and you can only double down once.
Roulette
Roulette basically involves spinning a wheel to see where the ball ends up when it stops. There are two types of wheels used for this game, American and European. The main difference between these is that the numbers are in different places and American roulette has two greens, zero and double zero. European has just one green zero.
- French Roulette
Unsurprisingly, this uses the European roulette wheel. The game is played in the same way but there is an additional bet option. It’s known as trace track and allows you to bet on a section of the wheel.
- Mini Roulette
This variant uses fewer numbers. The wheel only has the numbers 1 to 12 and the standard green zero. It’s generally a faster-paced game and there doesn’t have to be a wheel, a marker at the edge of the wheel can be used to define the number.
- Double Ball Roulette
Double ball roulette has two balls bouncing around the wheel, potentially increasing your chances of a winning bet. It was introduced to add a little variant to the game and has become a popular option.
Poker
There are many different versions of poker but the most popular variants are covered by these groups:
- Draw
Any poker game where your cards are dealt face down and kept hidden while you replace cards. They are only seen at the end of the game. The most common version is five-card draw.
- Stud
This is commonly five or seven cards. Some will be dealt face-up, others face-down. It helps to assess what other players may have and what cards may be left in the pack. There are usually multiple rounds of betting.
- Community
In this version, there are several cards in the middle which all players share. The remaining cards are in your hand and you need to make the most of the cards in your hand and on the table to beat your opponents.
Poker is considered a game of skill rather than luck.
Summing Up
Every casino will decide which variants of the most popular games to offer. They should offer the name of the game and a set of rules. All you have to do is decide if it’s the right variant for you.