Name That Game - The Best Online Casino Guide Blog
There are many different types of games played in casinos and there are many different terms used to refer to them. This can be quite confusing for new gamblers who are not quite sure what to make of terms like ‘Table Games", Casino Games", "Ticket Games", "Random Number Games", "Machine Games" or "Card Games." These terms are used to describe the different categories of games that are found in the casinos. In order to make things a little less confusing for the person who is new to the casino, let’s take a look at some of these terms and find out what they mean.
"Casinos Games" might seem pretty obvious to most people. When properly used the term "Casino Games" should refer to all the different types of games found in a Casino. To many, this is the proper useage and it’s a no brainer. However, the term "Casino Games" has occaisionally been misapplied to describe certain games found in casinos that are not table games or card games such as Slot Machines and Keno. This incorrect use of the term just adds to the confusion. Simply consider the term, "Casino Games" to refer to all the games in both online casinos and land based casinos and you can’t go wrong.
"Table Games" is used to refer to games played in a casino that use a board or table in the playing of the game. This term is used to describe games like Craps and Roulette. Both of these games have an elaborate setup that involves the use of a large flat area that is covered with a cloth that has all the different bets printed on it and has spaces for the gamblers to place their bets. Bets are made using chips of various denominations that the gambler buys before betting. In the case of roulette, the game is played on an open flat topped table with the wheel at one end and the bets are printed on the cloth in front of the wheel. The gamblers stand at the sides of the table and place their bets. In Craps, the table is a large rectangular table that is rounded on both ends and has raised sides that serve to prevent the dice from leaving the play area. The gamblers stand all around the craps table and the dice are passed in order from one player to the next. The shooter throws the dice the length of the table till they bounce off the side board at the other end and come to a stop.
Due to the elaborate setups used for Blackjack and Baccarat, they have come to be known as "Table Games" despite the fact that they are played using cards. They are both played at cloth covered tables with the various bets printed on the cloth. Blackjack is played at a traditional kidney shaped table with the dealer on the inside of the curve and the players on the outside. The players either sit on stools or stand at the table depending on the casino. For Baccarat, the table is circular and again, the bets are printed on the cloth that covers the table. The active players in the game will sit on chairs around the table and as in blackjack, the cards are dealt from a special box called the "Shoe."
"Card Games" for our purposes refers to Poker in all its various versions. These versions include Texas Holdem, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi / Lo, Omaha, Omaha Hi / Lo, Draw Poker, Five Card Stud and Pai Gow Poker. There are many other variants of poker found in different casinos, both online and land based. All the different versions of the great game of poker are best included under the term "Card Games". In the various poker games the players sit around a table with their chips in front of them and the hole cards are dealt in front of each player in turn. The community cards are dealt face up and placed in the center of the table. Bets are placed by each player in turn and placed into a community pot that goes to the winning hand.
The terms "Random Number Games" and "Ticket Games" are both used to refer to games like Keno and Bingo. These are games where all the players are trying to be the first to fill in a pre determined area or group of numbers on a game card or ticket. Bingo is played on a card which contains 25 squares arranged in five vertical columns and five horizontal rows. Each space is marked with a printed number and a typical game is played with a pool of 75 numbers. To win the player must complete a row of 5 numbers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line. The keno gamecard is a printed ticket with the numbers 1 to 80 marked on it. Each individual keno game is called a "Race". The player will choose which wagers they wish to select from the keno pay table and then select their numbers accordingly. When the race starts, balls are pulled one at a time from a hopper using 80 balls marked 1 to 80 until 20 numbers have been selected. As each number is selected, it is posted on the Keno Game monitors that are found at the keno game booth and throughout the casino. Since the numbers in these games are selected randomly, they can be called "Random Number Games". Since they also use game cards or tickets, the term "Ticket Game" is also correct. Feel free to use either term or to combine both terms into "Random Number Ticket Games".
Our final term is "Machine Games". This term is used to describe the various Slot Machines and Video Poker Games that are so common in every casino. Slot Machines are found by the thousands in major land based casinos and in towns like Vegas, they can even be found in food stores, bars, hotel lobbies and at airports. They are everywhere in areas that allow legal gambling. They are also the most common type of games found in online casinos. Slot Machines generate the largest share of any casinos income. This is because of two reasons. First of all, every gambling jurisdiction sets pre determined minimum payouts for these games and any payouts above the minimum are up to the casinos. For example, the minimum payout in Nevada is 75%, and in New Jersey, 83%. Most casinos program their slot machines to payout as winnings between 82% to 98% of the money that is wagered by players. However most of the machines are set to payout at the lower percentages and there are very few machines that payout at the higher percentages, since this is totally left up to the casinos.
The second reason slot machines are so common in casinos is because there is absolutely no way to beat the machine. Slots are totally based on luck and nothing else. All the results are determined by the RNG or Random Number Generator found in every machine. Combine that with the fact that every machine is programmed to pay out at a pre determined percentage that is below 100% and you can see why people cant beat the machines. There is no possible strategy or system that one can use to beat the Slots. They should always be played for fun and people should expect that they will most likely lose money. They are essentially "Machines" for taking gamblers money.
Although Video Poker is also a "Machine Game", because of the way the game is played, a dilligent player can find an advantage. This is due to the fact that different video poker games have different rates of pay for their pay tables. Smart video poker players look for machines with higher payouts and by playing them properly, the player gains a very slight advantage. We wont go into detail here on the actual strategies used to play video poker other than to acknowledge that the game does have better payout possibilities than Slots.
This wraps up our discussion of the various terms used to describe the different types of games found in both land based casinos and online casinos. Hopefully, this will eliminate some of the confusion that is created by the fact that everyone one seems to have a pet term for just about every gambling game. So the next time someone asks you if you prefer "Table Games" or Ticket Games", you will be able to answer them without having to ask them what exactly they might be talking about. Please feel free to post comments and share with us any pet terms or interesting names for gambling games you have heard so we can share them with all our readers here at http://www.thebestcasinoguide.com/. As always, remember to gamble for fun and within your limits. May all your bets be winners.
