5 easiest casino games for beginners to play
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With over 1,500 games at the best online casinos, you have a lot of choices.
Some casino games are easy to learn and play; others have more complicated rules but offer better chances of winning. Sometimes, those games are one and the same, and you can have the best of both worlds.
Below, we break down the easiest casino games to play and the easiest casino games to win.
If you can click buttons, you can play real money online slots. In fact, most slots are so easy to play they’re almost mind-numbing.
Sure, many modern video slots have intricate themes, diverse symbols, and additional bonus games. But you can easily learn about them by clicking on the slot’s info tab or paytable.
Slots are the number one game category for beginners for the following reasons.
- You can play for pennies.
- Return to player rates range from 95%-99%.
- Bonus round, payline, and paytable info are easily found.
- The rules are simple; click the spin button and get paid according to how the symbols line up.
- The only strategy involved is how much to bet.
If you can click buttons and understand poker’s basic hand rankings, you can play video poker. Most video poker games are easy to play because they involve just the simple decision of which cards to hold to give yourself the best chance to win.
The poker you might play against other players in casino poker rooms involves intricate rules and complicated strategies, but video poker is hardly that. Instead, it is Five-Card Draw Poker, where the only real similarity is in the hand rankings. And you can learn all about those simply by clicking on the game’s info tab.
Video poker is great for beginners for the following reasons.
- You can play for pennies.
- Return to player rates range from 95%-100.76%.
- Rules and hand-ranking info are easily found.
- The rules are simple: click to draw five cards, hold the cards that give you the best chance to make a winning hand, click to draw again, and you get paid according to the value of the hand you make in traditional poker hand rankings.
- The only strategy involved is how much to bet and which cards to hold to give yourself the best chance of making a winning hand.
If you can understand the bets available on the layout, you can play roulette. In fact, roulette is easy to play because your only decision is which bet to make.
The dealer does the rest. They spin the wheel, roll the ball, tell you what pocket the ball landed in, and pay all winners. You can follow more complicated betting strategies and try to track the wheel to see if patterns develop, but that’s not a requirement.
Roulette is a solid choice for an easy game and great for beginners for the following reasons.
- You can play for a range of stakes, even pennies.
- Return to player rates range from 95-97%.
- Basic rules and bet explanations are easily found.
- The basic rules are simple: You decide what to bet on. You can place bets on a single number, small and large combinations of numbers, odd/even, red/black, and more.
- There’s some strategy involved in how much to bet and how to spread multiple bets around the layout effectively. However, developing your own strategy or following others online is easy.
If you can click buttons and understand the point values assigned to the cards, you can play baccarat. In fact, baccarat is a really simple game because your only decision is to bet on one of two hands. You can also bet on a tie, but the house edge on that wager makes it a bad call.
Baccarat is an excellent choice for an easy game and perfect for beginners. Here’s why.
- You can play for a range of stakes.
- The RTP is 98.94% on banker bets, 98.76% on player bets, and 85.6% on ties.
- There’s no strategy involved.
- The rules are easily found.
- The basic rules are simple:You bet on the player or the banker. Two cards are dealt to each spot and revealed. The cards have a point value, either the face value, zero with the 10, jack, queen, and king, or one with the ace. The hand closest to nine is the winner, with the banker or player taking additional cards or standing based on house rules.
If you can click buttons, understand blackjack’s basic rules and card values, and follow an optimal strategy, you can play online blackjack.
Most blackjack variants are easy to play because they only involve a decision on when to stand, hit, double down, or split. Plus, the logical decision to make in every scenario is available on printable cheat sheets online.
Blackjack is an easy game and great for beginners for the following reasons.
- You can play for a range of stakes, even pennies.
- Return for player rates can be upwards of 99.5%.
- Rules are easily found.
- The basic rules are simple: Draw two cards, determine the value of your hand based on the value printed on the card with face cards worth 10, determine the possible value of the dealer’s hand based on seeing one of the two dealer cards, attempt to get close to 21 as possible without going over and beat the dealer’s hand. Of course, that involves deciding whether to stand and take your current hand up against the dealer, hit and take more cards to improve your hand, double down by doubling your bet and taking one additional card, or split by doubling your bet and turning pairs into two separate hands.
- There’s some strategy involved in how much to bet and when to stand, hit, double down, or split, but you can follow an optimal strategy on printable cheat sheets online.
Live dealer versions of popular casino games are well within your ability to grasp (and enjoy) if you understand the basic rules.
These are the same blackjack, baccarat, and roulette games described above. The difference is you watch a simulcast of the action online and bet using the clickable betting interface.
We think live dealer roulette, baccarat, and blackjack are good choices for beginners. Here’s why.
- You can play for as little as $1 to $5.
- Return-to-player rates are the same as those described above.
- Basic rules are simple, easily found, and described above.
- There’s some strategy involved, but it’s all described above.
Look at the list of the easiest casino games to play above, and you’ll see return-to-player (RTP) rates listed for each one.
These percentages tell you a little about what you can expect to win or lose playing the games. In general, the higher the RTP number, the higher the percentage of money put into the game that will be returned as wins over time.
That doesn’t mean you’ll get that exact percentage back, but the game will eventually pay it out.
House edge is the flipside of the return to player rate coin, telling you the percentage of money put into the game that casinos will earn over time. To keep the house edge low, you must learn and apply some simple strategy techniques for certain games.
Do that, and you’ll ensure the odds are less stacked against you when you play.
Getting back to the return-to-player rates listed above, you can see most are in the 95% to 99% range. That means there’s a 1% to 5% house edge.
It also means many of the easiest casino games to play can be the easiest casino games to win. For more on “how to win” at casino games, check out the following pages:
- Casino games with best odds
- Biggest blackjack mistakes
- Worst bets in Roulette
The casino games listed here are all easy to play, but you must remember you’re putting real money at risk when you play. That means you should only play for fun and always gamble responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, set limits, and stick to these limits.
Gambling can quickly become problematic, so you also need to recognize the signs of problem gambling. If financial, relationship, employment, or health issues result from your gambling, you may have a gambling problem. Help and resources are available through the following organizations.
If you or a loved one has questions or needs to talk to a professional about gambling, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit 1800gambler.net
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