Stepping into a casino as a rank newcomer can be a daunting prospect. It’s one thing to set your sights on an online casino as a first-timer, but it’s something else entirely to stroll nervously onto a packed casino floor.
Thankfully, get past these initial nerves and you’ll soon realise casinos are a bit like Disneyland for adults. They can be the most enjoyable and entertaining places imaginable, packed not only with amazing games but the opportunity to pocket a prize or two.
Still, you need to negotiate that initial learning curve to build the confidence you need to really start enjoying yourself. Something that rests predominantly on choosing the right kinds of casino games in the first place.
But which casino games are the best choice for newcomers? Assuming you have literally no experience with any casino games whatsoever, where should you park yourself while getting to grips with the basics?
1 – Slot Machines
For obvious reasons, slots are just about the best place for newcomers to head. Chances are, you’ll have come face-to-face with at least a handful of old-fashioned slots at the seaside as a kid. It’s rare to find someone who hasn’t ever had a go on a slot machine, making them at least slightly familiar territory for most.
In addition to the familiarity aspect of it, slot gaming also requires absolutely no skill whatsoever. There is not a single thing you can do when playing an online slot to influence the outcome – nothing. You simply throw in your money, hit the button and see what happens. Another reason why it’s a great choice for newcomers, as it’s not up to you to determine the outcome.
Slots aren’t the best casino games when it comes to pocketing prizes – they’re actually the casino’s biggest money-spinners. But when it comes to pure enjoyment, they’re all about back-to-basics fun – perfect for newcomers.
2 – Blackjack
If looking to cut your teeth at a casino table for the first time, consider heading over to the blackjack table. Of course, ensuring you choose a low-stakes table – one that’s fairly quiet at the time.
Like slots, blackjack is great for beginners due to the fact that it is exceptionally simple. In addition, it’s a game where you’re not actually playing against anyone else but the dealer. Even then, the dealer genuinely wants you to win, as they know where their tips come from.
There’s nothing involved in blackjack other than deciding whether or not you want to risk another card. You can’t predict what happens next, you can’t influence the outcome and you can’t really make any major mistakes in terms of gameplay.
Blackjack can be supremely enjoyable, in that it delivers the thrill of casino table gaming without any real knowledge or skill required. You’ll pick up your own preferred strategy as you go, but strategy really isn’t necessary to enjoy blackjack.
3 – Roulette
If anything, roulette is even simpler than blackjack. It also has one of the lowest house edges of any casino game, if you stick with the most straightforward near-50/50 bets. When you bet on black or red, for example, the outcome is as close as it gets to a flick of a coin. Shy of the fractional house edge, you’ve almost got a 50/50 chance of winning – more than can be said with most other wagers elsewhere.
Getting to grips with all the various complex wagers and strategies isn’t necessary. If anything, doing so could lead you to think there’s some way of influencing the outcome. There isn’t – nor is there a viable betting strategy of any kind that guarantees profits with roulette.
Not that any of this is a bad thing, as it makes for a simple and accessible game that anyone can enjoy. You simply rock up to the table, place your bets accordingly and wait for the ball to settle. Though before doing so, ensure you are playing European roulette (if available) rather than the American variant.
The latter has a far steeper house edge, so is best avoided if the former is on offer.
4 – Baccarat
Contrary to popular belief, Baccarat can also be a surprisingly simple game. There is something of an elite enigma to it and an air of exclusivity, but is actually just about as easy as it gets.
This is because in a similar sense to roulette, there isn’t really anything for the player to do. All you do is place your bets accordingly, after which the dealer takes care of everything else. It’s a case of seeing whether or not the two cards you are dealt get you closer to nine than the banker’s cards. If so, you win.
The simplicity of Baccarat is no less than astonishing – particularly for a game associated with high-rollers and high-stakes tables behind velvet ropes. Indeed, the amount of money that can change hands at a Baccarat table is simply remarkable.
Not that you have to bet the farm – you can take a seat at a Baccarat table with a relatively modest bankroll and still have a fantastic time.
5 – Craps
Last up, craps has the potential to be a fairly complex casino game. There are hundreds of different ways of betting on the outcome, leading some to believe it’s a tough game to get to grips with.
In reality, there are only two bets newcomers to craps need to know about – pass line and don’t pass line. Make your way to the craps table and you’ll usually find that the vast majority of people are indeed focusing exclusively on these two simple bets.
This is because not only are they the bets with the lowest house edge, but they’re also the only bets most people playing craps really understand. You can get into the complexities of the game if you like at a later date, but it really isn’t necessary.
The key to an enjoyable casino experience as a newcomer lies in keeping things simple, so that’s exactly what you should be doing – irrespective of which games you choose to play.
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