Popular Casino Card Games

Whether you walk into a casino or check out an online casino, there are several games that can be played ranging from card games or wheel games and gambling on slot machines as well.

Here we shall list some of the most popular casino card games.

Poker

Poker is by and large one of the most popular card games played in a casino.

Now, Poker is a family of various games and there are several types that you can play online, and many places to play. The game type that many players will recognise immediately is the 'players round a table' version, where you're battling against opponents in different types of ring games or tournaments. If you want to learn about this form of poker, I have a section on the site dedicated to it.

But here we're looking at the type of poker you'll find in casino based games, and this means the game types that entail playing against a dealer. There are a whole range of games developed - and played regularly - of this type.

Each one also has variants which it'll pay to be aware of. One of the basics of poker is to pick a game type and focus on it, build your experience, and become an expert. Unless you're very lucky, this is the way to work up from a poker beginner, to studying the intricacies of poker strategy and becoming an advanced player.

So we'll study the variants on each page dedicated to that form of casino poker, but for now here are some introductions to the different game types to whet your appetite.

Pai Gow Poker

Among the casino card games in the poker family, a favorite is Pai Gow Poker. It is also known as double hand poker.

Pai Gow is a favorite card game in China although the poker version had been created in the US. It is played almost similarly to conventional poker with the differences being that the seven card hand is split into a five card hand and a two card poker hand.

It is normally played with six people apart from the dealer but there can be less or more number of people sharing a table. It is played with a single of 52 cards and each player is served with a pile of seven cards. The game is played with 3 cards while the other 4 are never displayed or played.

The five cards hand must be higher than the two cards poker hand. Each round may have a different player acting as the banker while in some cases the dealer may be the representative banker of the house all the time. Almost every other rule is similar to normal poker.

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Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker, or Casino Stud Poker as its sometimes known, is another easy to play table based casino poker game with limited options for making winning plays. In Caribbean Stud you either raise and win back your original bet plus the value of your extra bet, make a draw or push by having an equal hand to the dealer, or lose.

It can be a fun game to play, and is often seen as a good alternative blackjack.

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3 Card Poker

3 Card Casino poker (or Trey card/Tri card as it's also known) is a fast action variation of poker which is favoured by many tournament or cash game poker fans who enjoy playing casino games on the side.

The rules are a lot easier to understand than in other poker games such as Texas Holdem. With 3 Card you get many ways to land low value wins - with the extra possibility of landing bigger wins with side bets. Look out for that 3 of a kind or straight flush!

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Blackjack

Blackjack or Twenty One is also one of the most popular casino card games. It's the game that's played the most.

Blackjack is covered in depth on the dedicated page.

Baccarat

Baccarat is also a well known casino card game. Since it can be played among two players and the game is purely based on chance, it does not require great strategies or extraordinary skills to play. There are three variants of Baccarat, one being the Americanized version of the game that had originated in Europe. Each version is played in different regions across the world.

Read more on Baccarat