Popular Games of Chance in New Zealand
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Games of chances are a popular pastime for many people in New Zealand. With the advancement of technology, the gaming industry has evolved to offer a wide range of casino games that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home or on-the-go through online and mobile platforms.
From classic table games to modern slots and innovative live dealer games, the options are endless. Many of these games are available through online casino operators available to New Zealanders. In this article, we will explore some of the most popular casino games in New Zealand and provide insights into the rules, strategies, and tips to help you maximize your chances of winning.
Slot Games
Ever since slots turned Rawiri Pou into a millionaire in 2016, they’ve become the most popular games of luck in the country. This shouldn’t come as a surprise though. Slots are straightforward games.
You select a game and choose a betting amount. Next, you hit play and the game spins its reels. If winning symbols appear on the reels, you win money. How much you win and how often you win depends on several factors.
First, slots come in several types:
- Classic slots
- Video Slots
- Progressive slots
- Megaways slots
Select video slots if you want to have the best experience. Video slots have beautiful graphics, high payouts and rewarding features like wilds, scatters and multipliers.
Play progressive slots if you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a casino millionaire. These games have relatively low payouts. But their jackpots pay up to $20 million. Megaways slots have engines that modify their reels to increase the number of ways you can win.
Roulette
Roulette is yet another casino game of pure chance. It’s centered on a colored wheel with numbers ranging from zero to 36. This creates numerous betting opportunities. And guess what?
All you need is luck. Let’s say you pick a straight-number bet. It’s a bet that the small ball thrown on the wheel will stop spinning on a specific number. If you’re correct, you win 35x your stake. Winning a straight number bet is a little bit hard though.
Most people prefer to bet on outcomes with higher odds. For example, you have 48% odds to win a black/red bet. You have a 33% chance to win a dozen bet. On the downside, you win 1:1 for black/red bets and 2:1 for dozen bets.
With that said, roulette comes in many variants: European, American, French, Lightning and Mini-roulette to name a few. Select European or French roulette for the best odds.
Video Poker
Video poker is one of the best-paying games of chance. Jacks or Better, the most popular video poker game, has a 99.5% RTP. Deuces Wild has a 100% RTP while Super Aces has a 99.94% RTP.
For comparison, slots have an average Return to Player (RTP) of 95% to 97%. European roulette has a 97.3% RTP while Keno has a much lower payout of 75% to 90%.
In other words, video poker is a game worth playing. It’s simple to play: you bet one to five coins per game. Next, the game selects five random poker cards on the screen.
You could receive a pair and three random cards. In this case, you can keep their pair and discard the other three cards. The machine will reveal three more cards. If they form a true poker hand, you win.
The highest amount of money you can win from a video poker game is 500x your stake. But this happens only if you stake five coins and produce a royal flush.
Blackjack
Some say blackjack is a game of skill. And they’re partially right. However, luck also plays an important role in determining whether you win or lose money in this game.
In blackjack, you receive two random cards facing up. If you’re lucky, you can receive an ace (11) and a 10. These two cards form a hand of 21, which is a winning hand.
You can’t be lucky always, though. You may receive a two and a five. In this case, you’re allowed to hit another card. The game also lets you peek at one of the dealer’s cards. This way, you can know when to double down, surrender, hit or stand.
Rules aside, you can increase your odds of winning by using blackjack strategies. The MIT group that won over $6 million in Las Vegas playing blackjack in the 1990s used card counting as their strategy.
Card counting is extremely difficult for online blackjack. That’s why most experts recommend basic blackjack—a legal system you can use in any casino.
Poker
Similar to blackjack, your skills can determine how often you win poker games. However, it’s difficult to win regularly without any luck on your side. You need luck to be dealt strong cards.
Let’s say you receive a pair of aces in the pre-flop stage. This hand could win you a game. Yet, there are times you may receive cards that can’t even form a decent high card hand.
That being said, skills matter more than luck in poker. You may receive a weak hand and still win if you’re experienced and skilled. So, focus on improving your skills by reading blogs, watching tutorials and practising the game regularly.
Craps
Craps need no introduction. It’s the online version of dice. But beware; it has unique rules in the casino industry. When you bet on craps in the first round, you win if the outcome is a 7 or 11.
Otherwise, you lose if 2, 3 or 12 appear. If any other number appears, you play the game once more. This type of bet is known as a pass bet. The alternative is a don’t pass bet: you win if two or three appear and lose if 7 or 11 is the outcome.
Another common bet in craps is a field bet. Here, you win if numbers other than 2, 3, 7 or 11 appear. Think of 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10.
