Which Card Games Are the Biggest Game of Chance?
One common conversation you’ll hear in gambling circles is whether a game is one of skill or chance. If it involves skill the player’s level of expertise plays a role in the outcome. If it is one of chance, then all is random, and no strategy will have any effect.
Nowadays, more and more people prefer to play casino table games and slots online, which utilize random number generators. While these games feature a decent return-to-player, you can hardly improve your odds in any way. Even though many believe that it takes skill to be successful at blackjack, or specific types of poker, let us look at a few card games you can find at casinos where you are more at the mercy of fate.
Three Card Poker
Three Card Poker was created in 1997 by Derek Webb. After being rejected by casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City, Grand Casino Gulfport in Mississippi adopted it.
In the game, the player makes an ante bet, and the dealer gives the player and himself three cards. The dealer’s ones are down, and the player gets to examine his own. If he has made an ante bet, then he must either call or fold. Folding forfeits the ante. Calling means making a play bet, equal to the ante. The dealer then turns his cards over, and they see whose hand is better, or if it is a tie.
By default, the game features a significantly higher house edge than blackjack and baccarat, and if you choose to make a pair plus bet, you’re really rolling the dice. All of these factors combined make it a very unique take on the classic version of Poker that players are familiar with.
Casino War
Bet Technology, a small Carson City-based company, created Casino War in 1993. A year later, it was on offer at five Nevada casinos.
You play it with six standard 52 card decks, and it utilizes the same rankings as poker. Both the player and dealer get one card each, and if the player’s hand is higher, he wins. In the case of a tie, the player can surrender, losing half the bet, or go to war and double his stake.
You cannot do anything to improve your chances. It’s just best to avoid side bets and do not surrender.
Caribbean Stud Poker
Poker player David Sklansky claims to have invented the game in 1982, under the name Casino Poker. However, he was unable to patent it, and years later, he was approached by someone who had and brought it to Aruba, where it was called Caribbean stud.
The dealer deals five cards, face down, to each player with an ante bet. Then, he deals himself a five-card hand face down and usually flips the last one face up. Once the player looks at the cards, he can place an extra bet on top of the ante. If he folds, he loses the ante.
Caribbean stud poker can offer terrific payouts, but the house edge is very high. You can do very little for a favorable outcome.
Photo by Yan Ming on Unsplash