Table Games
Table games are those that pit players against the house. These games are hugely popular at both physical and online casinos, and include the following games: blackjack, baccarat, roulette, craps and sic bo – below we break down each of these.
Blackjack
Part of a collection of games known as Twenty-One, the aim of blackjack is to attain a hand as close to 21 as possible, without exceeding 21 and going ‘bust’. There are multi-deck variants of blackjack available to play, up to a total of eight decks – the more decks in play, the higher the casino’s house edge, reflecting the increased unlikelihood of hitting a ‘blackjack’ when there are more cards in play.
Baccarat
A similar table game to blackjack, baccarat involves attaining the closest hand to nine, with cards ten through to king worth zero. There are three variations of baccarat, all of which have a relatively low house edge. The variations alter the rules on the decisions players can make about their own hands; in the popular American variation, for example, each player’s move is forced by the cards they’ve been dealt.
Roulette
Place your bets on the roulette wheel before the ball starts spinning and hope your number comes up! Roulette wheels are divided into red and black numbered pockets, with an additional green zero pocket that ensures the house edge – when the ball lands in the green zone, all bets are lost. Roulette variants will increase the house edge by widening the portion of the wheel that belongs to the house – the American version, for example, has a double-zero pocket alongside the 0.
Craps
Craps is a game typically played with two dice, with players wagering on the outcome of a roll or a series of rolls. There are countless variations of craps which modify the meaning of bets, the number of dice in play, and the casino’s house edge.
Sic Bo
Translating as ‘precious dice’, sic bo is a table game of Chinese origin that involves three dice. Gameplay bets are made on the outcome of all three dice, with each bet either winning or losing. Depending on the bet, the sic bo house edge ranges from 2.8% to 19%, while the Hoo Hee How variation – which involves symbols on the dice rather than numbers – has a house edge of 7.9%.
