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Casino card games

The common casino card games are blackjack, baccarat, Three Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, Pai Gow Poker, casino war, High Card Flush, Mississippi Stud and video poker. In almost all of them you play against the dealer or a fixed pay table, not against other players. Here are the rules of each in short, the decisions you make, and the house edge with correct play.

The list at a glance

House edges are from Wizard of Odds with the standard rules for each game and correct strategy. A bigger number means the game costs more per bet over time. All games ranked by house edge.

Blackjack

You and the dealer each get two cards. Number cards count their number, face cards count 10, and an ace counts 1 or 11. Get closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. You can hit, stand, double down, split pairs and, at some tables, surrender. The dealer has no choices: draw to 16 and stand on 17, though some tables have the dealer hit a soft 17. An ace and a ten-value card on the first two cards is a blackjack and pays 3 to 2. With basic strategy and a 3 to 2 payout the house edge is about 0.3% to 0.7%, depending on the rules. A 6 to 5 payout adds about 1.4%. Blackjack rules · How to play blackjack · Play free blackjack.

Baccarat

Two hands are dealt, Player and Banker, and you bet on which one ends closer to 9. Cards 2 to 9 count their number, tens and face cards count 0, aces count 1, and only the last digit of the total counts, so 7 plus 8 is 5. A third card is drawn by fixed rules, so you make no decisions after the bet. Banker pays 1 to 1 less a 5% commission, Player pays 1 to 1, and Tie usually pays 8 to 1. With eight decks the house edge is 1.06% on Banker, 1.24% on Player and 14.36% on Tie.

Three Card Poker

You bet an Ante, get three cards, then play by matching the Ante or fold. The dealer needs queen high to qualify. A separate Pair Plus bet pays on your own hand. Play queen-6-4 or better. That gives a house edge of 3.37% of the Ante, or 2.01% of all money bet, and Pair Plus on the 1-4-6-30-40 table has 2.32%. How to play 3 card poker · Strategy · Play free 3 card poker.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em

You bet an Ante and an equal Blind, with an optional Trips bet. You and the dealer each get two cards and share five community cards. You can raise 3x or 4x the Ante before the flop, 2x after the flop, or 1x after the river. If you haven't raised by then, you bet 1x or fold. The dealer needs a pair to qualify; if not, the Ante pushes. The Blind pays extra on a straight or better. The house edge is 2.19% of the Ante, or 0.53% of all money bet.

Let It Ride

You place three equal bets and get three cards. Two community cards complete a five-card hand. After seeing your three cards you can pull back the first bet, and after the first community card you can pull back the second. The third bet always stays. A pair of 10s or better pays, from 1 to 1 up to 1,000 to 1 for a royal flush. There is no dealer hand to beat. House edge: 3.51%.

Caribbean Stud

You bet an Ante and get five cards. The dealer gets five, one face up. Fold, or raise a bet of twice the Ante. The dealer qualifies with ace-king or better. If the dealer does not qualify, the Ante pays 1 to 1 and the raise pushes. If the dealer qualifies and you win, the raise is paid by a table that runs from 1 to 1 for a pair to 100 to 1 for a royal flush. Raise with a pair or better and fold hands below ace-king. House edge: 5.22% of the Ante.

Pai Gow Poker

The deck has 53 cards: the 52 plus a joker that counts as an ace or fills a straight or flush. You get seven cards and split them into a five-card hand and a two-card hand, and the five-card hand must rank higher. Win both against the dealer and you win, less a 5% commission. Win one and it is a push, which happens on about 40% of hands. Lose both and you lose. Exact ties go to the dealer. Setting your hands the house way gives a house edge of 2.72%.

Casino war

You and the dealer each get one card, and the higher card wins 1 to 1. On a tie you can surrender half your bet or go to war by adding a bet equal to the first. The dealer burns three cards and deals one more to each. If your card ties or beats the dealer's, the raise wins 1 to 1 and the first bet pushes. With six decks and going to war every time, the house edge is 2.88%. Surrendering instead raises it to 3.70%.

High Card Flush

You and the dealer each get seven cards, and only your longest flush counts. After the Ante you fold or raise: 1x the Ante with a two-, three- or four-card flush, 2x with five cards and 3x with six or seven. The dealer needs a three-card flush, 9 high, to qualify. Raise with a three-card flush of jack-9-6 or better, or any longer flush. House edge: 2.64% of the Ante.

Mississippi Stud

You bet an Ante, get two cards, and three community cards are turned one at a time. Before each one, you fold or bet 1x to 3x the Ante. The final five-card hand is paid by a table: a pair of 6s to 10s pushes, jacks or better pays 1 to 1, and a royal flush pays 500 to 1. There is no dealer hand. House edge with the standard table: 4.91% of the Ante.

Video poker

Video poker is a machine, but it deals from a 52-card deck. You get five cards, hold any of them, and draw once. The final hand is paid by the pay table on the glass. With perfect play, 9/6 Jacks or Better returns 99.54%, full-pay Deuces Wild 100.76% and 9/6 Double Double Bonus 98.98%. Many machines carry lower tables. How to play video poker · Video poker odds · Play free video poker.

Where to start

Blackjack and Three Card Poker have the simplest decisions to learn and are on almost every casino floor. Learn one decision chart, then play hands with play money until the calls are automatic. For roulette, craps and the other games on the felt, see casino table games.

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More casino guides: Casino table games · Casino games with the best odds · Casino chip values and colors · Casino terms and lingo · Casino etiquette · Most popular casino games