Casino Gambling

A casino facilitates and promotes certain types of gambling. Games such as poker, roulette, slots, blackjack, baccarat, craps, etc are commonly played in a casino. Many casinos also accommodate hotels, restaurants, bars, retail outlets and live entertainment events.

What is Casino?

A casino is considered by large to be a public house where people go to play game of chance or gamble on certain forms of card, dice or ball games. The most commonly played games in a casino are poker, roulette, slots, blackjack, baccarat and craps. A casino is usually setup near or next to a hotel, restaurant and often host entertainment events such as concerts, stand-up comedy, etc. These additional conveniences make casinos attractive for all age groups over 18.

Many casinos are big enough to have themed areas to entertain and provide diverse enjoyment and gambling experiences. Some larger casinos also have retail shopping on offer within the complex.

Casinos in UK are governed by the licnsing regime set out by Gambling Commission.

Brief History of Casinos

Which ever way one looks at it, gambling has been an inherent part of human pursuit from the time of ancient caveman to now! In prevailing civilisations of the Indus valley, ancient Egypt, Romans, Chinese and the Greeks all indulged in some form of gambling. Gambling is also mentioned in the old and new testaments!

First recording of gambling

The first recorded invention of a game of chance using tiles was by the Chinese in 2300 BC. Around 1500 BC ancient Egyptians have been recorded to play dice games made from ivory. In 1200 BC Greek soldiers use to pass time playing dice games and similar artefacts have been discovered in India, Japan, China and Italy.

The eccentric English king Henry VIII was a prolific gambler but the practice was outlawed by him when he was informed that his soldiers were spending more time gambling than improving their battle skills. The first recorded casino in Europe was established in Venice, Italy around 1638 named Casino di Venezia which is still in existence today as one of the oldest casinos.

In the United States, early casinos were known as the saloons where travellers came to find food, drink, chat and gamble. By the early 20th century all gambling was outlawed across US until 1931 when the state of Nevada legalised casinos and very soon Las Vegas became world centre for gambling.

Gaming houses in Macau (Eastern China) was granted license by the Portuguese government in 1850. So that you have a little background, Macau was a Portuguese colony from the 16th century until 1999. Macau was the first and last European colony in China and enjoys a very large autonomy under Chinese rule. Today Macau is considered as the gambling capital of the east with casinos from Sands Corporation, Wyn Resort, Galaxy and SJM leading the way.

Popular Casino Games

If you have never visited a casino then you have missed an experience. Even if you decide not to gamble, it is a real entertainment to see games in motion and the thrill in the air! Some of the most popular games that you will see being played in the casino are poker, roulette, blackjack, slots, baccarat and craps.

Casino Poker

Texas Hold’em is one of the most popular casino poker games. Many of the poker playing options are discussed in my page on Poker Betting.

Casino Roulette

Casino roulette is considered globally as a symbol of gambling! There are two variants of roulette operated in casinos. In Europe the roulette wheel has a single zero whilst the North American version has one additional zero. However the single zero roulette remains the most popular gambling game in Europe and in many other parts of the world.

Single zero online roulette is played extensively and preferred over the North American version.

How to play roulette

In the game of roulette, bets can be placed on a number or a range of numbers, even or odd numbers or if the colours red or black. When the croupier or the dealer spins the wheel in one direction but throws the ball in the opposite direction along the curved circular track running alongside the wheel. Once the ball loses speed, it falls into one of the coloured and numbered pockets on the wheel. European roulette has 37 pockets whilst the North American version has 38 because it has an additional zero. The ball’s resting location determines the winning number and colour.

Types of Roulette bets

Roulette is played with two types of bets namely Inside bets or outside bets.

Roulette inside bets

Inside bets are placed on the specific numbers contained within the internal area of the roulette table. The aggregate total for the bet must match the table minimum. Hence if the table minimum in £5 then you can bet on 5 numbers at £1 each or chose to bet on one number at £5 or any other combination in between as long as minimum bet of £5 is met.

Roulette outside bets

There are a number of betting options available on the outside of the roulette table referred to as the outside bets. Unlike inside bets, in the outside bets each bet must be at least the table minimum. As an example if you bet on odds and red then each bet must be placed at £5 with a £5 minimum. Note that the outside bets cannot contribute to the inside bets total.

Casino Blackjack

The popularity of blackjack (also known as 21 or pontoon in many parts of the world) is universal and is the most widely played casino card game. In comparison to other casino games, the advantage with blackjack is that it provides a variable house edge to match your skill level which is uncommon in table games. In addition, blackjack rules permit whilst in mid-play to alter the bet if the circumstances are in your favour!

How to play Blackjack

It is common place for blackjack player to compete against the dealer i.e. casino or bank but not against other players. The aim of the game is to draw cards until you either reach 21 or come close to it but not exceed 21. Likewise if the dealer comes close to 21 without exceeding then they win the game. Each dealer has the rules of blackjack written for house advantage and must be understood before placing the bets.

Blackjack rules usually have the following values for the cards. 10, J, Q, K = 10, Ace = 1 or 11 and all other cards = face value i.e. 2 = 2, etc. The blackjack rules for the dealer require that they draw a card if their hand is 16 or less. If their hand is 17 or more then they must stand. In some casino’s the rules allow the dealer to hot soft 17 which gives the casino a slight advantage.

Casino Slots

Slot machine (USA), fruit machine (UK) or poker machines (Australia) are very popular in and widely available in casinos universally. The popularity of slots reaches out as far out as theme parks to seaside towns and resorts. One of the popular seaside towns in England is Blackpool. Many of the Slots playing options are discussed in my page Slots Betting.

Casino Baccarat

Baccarat is one of the oldest card game which was invented in 14th century Italy. It was brought into France shortly after its invention and the game was promoted to a wide public appeal. It is strictly a game of chance similar to playing a lottery and is considered a simpler game to learn than its near cousin the blackjack. Historically baccarat was played by the rich and aristocrat nobles but in the recent years casinos and online casinos have given it a popular reach such that it is played by virtually everyone who visits casinos. Baccarat was introduced to North America as recent as the 20th century.

Rules for playing Baccarat

Playing baccarat is one of the easiest card game with the simplest set of rules. A game of Baccarat has three possible outcomes – Player, Banker or a Tie. The term Player or the Banker does not refer to the customer or the house but merely represents the options available to the customer to bet.

In Baccarat a minimum of one player is required to play against the banker who also takes on the role of the card dealer. Baccarat rules require the points total to reach as near to 9 as possible over a 2-3 card hand. To commence, both the player and the banker is dealt with 2 cards always beginning with the player. The hand that brings the total close to 9 wins the game. The card values are as follows:

All 10’s and face cards = 0
All cards accept Ace = Face value
Ace = 1

Note that in Baccarat the numbers are worked out in Modulo 10 i.e. the tens digit is ignored. As an example 6 + 8 = 14 = 4 i.e. when the sum of two cards is greater than 10 then the point total is reduced by 10 and in the example the point total is 14 but if 10 is subtracted then the end result is 4.

Casino Craps

Craps is a casino dice game which has been little understood by many because it is deemed to be a difficult game to learn! I have to admit that Craps is one of the most fascinating and exhilarating games in a Casino. This becomes obvious when you hear the noise emerging from a live craps game in motion!

Rules for playing Craps

I intend to show you how simple it is to learn to play a game of Craps. Craps offers many wager opportunities some with very poor odds but my suggested approach would be to keep things simple and straight forward whilst you are a novice. I would like to mention that the Puck in the game of Craps can be in two states ‘ON’ or ‘OFF’ positions. It is in the ‘ON’ position that serious bets can be placed.

The simplest bet that you can play with is the Pass line bet. The Puck is set to ‘OFF’. So that you understand the terminology, a shooter is the person, who throws the dice and other people around the table will wager the bets on the dice rolls. If the shooter rolls 7 or 11, you win. The shooter keeps the dice to roll again. If the shooter rolls 2, 3 or 12, the shooter wins and keeps the dice to roll again. If any of the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 are rolled then a Point is established and the ‘Come-out’ roll is completed. The Puck is set to ‘ON’ to identify to all players the exact point number.

Once the point number is set, the shooter will continue to roll the dice to either obtain the Point number or 7. If the shooter successfully rolls a point number then the Pass Line bet wins. However if a 7 (referred to as Seven-out) is scored then all the Pass Line bets lose i.e. the House wins. It does not go without saying that multitudes of bets are possible when other numbers apart from the Point number or number 7 are rolled. The seven-out ends the current round and the dice must be passed clockwise to the next player who now assumes the role of a shooter.

The popularity of Online Casino Gambling has increased in recent years and the various gaming options are discussed here.