If you've been invited to a casino night and you've never played a casino game in your life, don't worry. Most people at a fun casino are in the same boat. The croupiers are used to beginners and will happily explain everything.
But it helps to know the basics before you sit down. Here's a plain English guide to the three games you'll most likely see: roulette, blackjack and Texas Hold'em poker. Remember, it's all fun money, so there's nothing to lose.
First, the chips
At the start of the night you'll be given fun money, usually notes, sometimes with a logo or someone's face on them. Take them to a table and the croupier will swap them for chips.
Different coloured chips can have different values, and at roulette each player sometimes gets their own colour so the croupier knows whose bets are whose. If you're not sure what something's worth, ask. Nobody minds.
Roulette
Roulette is the easiest casino game and the one you'll probably want to try first. The wheel has 37 numbered pockets: 1 to 36, alternating red and black, plus a green zero. You bet on where the ball will land.
Here's how a round goes. You place your chips on the table layout. The croupier spins the wheel one way and the ball the other. Just before the ball slows down, they'll say no more bets. When it lands, the croupier clears away the losing bets and pays the winners. Then you go again.
The simplest bets for beginners are the outside bets, round the edge of the layout:
- Red or black: pays even money, so bet 10 and win 10
- Odd or even: even money
- Low (1 to 18) or high (19 to 36): even money
- A dozen (1 to 12, 13 to 24 or 25 to 36): pays two to one
- A column: also two to one
Roulette inside bets
Once you've got the hang of it, try the inside bets, on the numbers themselves. A single number pays 35 to one. Put your chip on the line between two numbers to cover both, which pays 17 to one. On the corner where four numbers meet covers all four, and pays eight to one.
And the zero? If it comes up, the outside bets all lose. It's what gives the house its edge. Nobody's ever happy to see it, unless they've backed it.
Blackjack
Blackjack, sometimes called 21, is a card game where you play against the dealer, not the other players. The aim is to get a hand closer to 21 than the dealer without going over.
Number cards are worth their number. Jacks, queens and kings are worth 10. An ace is worth 1 or 11, whichever suits you better.
You place a bet in the box in front of you. Everyone, including the dealer, gets two cards. You see both of yours and one of the dealer's. Then you decide:
- Hit: take another card
- Stand: stick with what you've got
- Double down: double your bet and take exactly one more card
- Split: if your two cards match, split them into two separate hands
How blackjack is won
If you go over 21, you're bust and lose your bet straight away. Once all the players have finished, the dealer plays their hand. The dealer has no choice: they must keep drawing until they reach at least 17.
If the dealer busts, everyone still in wins. Otherwise, anyone closer to 21 than the dealer wins, and anyone further away loses. An ace and a ten value card as your first two cards is a blackjack, the best hand, and usually pays a bit extra.
A rough tip for beginners. If you've got 12 to 16 and the dealer is showing a 7 or higher, hitting is usually the better move. If the dealer's showing 2 to 6, standing is often smart, because the dealer has a decent chance of going bust. But honestly, just ask the croupier. They'll help.
Texas Hold'em poker
Poker is the hardest of the three, mainly because you're playing against the other players, not the house. But Texas Hold'em is simple to learn and it's the version you'll almost always see.
Each player gets two cards face down, just for them. Then five shared cards are dealt face up in the middle in three stages: three cards (the flop), then one (the turn), then one more (the river). There's a round of betting before the flop and after each stage.
You make the best five card hand you can from your two cards and the five shared ones. At the end, whoever has the best hand wins the chips in the middle. Or you can win earlier, by betting so confidently that everyone else folds.
Poker hands from best to worst
Worth knowing before you sit down, though the dealer will remind you:
- Royal flush: A, K, Q, J, 10, all the same suit
- Straight flush: five in a row, same suit
- Four of a kind
- Full house: three of a kind plus a pair
- Flush: five of the same suit
- Straight: five in a row, mixed suits
- Three of a kind
- Two pair
- One pair
- High card
A few bits of table etiquette
Fun casinos are relaxed, but a few habits make things easier for everyone. Wait for the croupier to finish paying out before placing your next bet. Don't touch your chips once no more bets has been called at roulette. Keep drinks off the table if you can. And if you're not sure, ask. That's what the croupier is there for.
At the end of the night, the croupiers count up and the top players are often in for a prize from the host. It's fun money only, so it isn't gambling. Our casino night ideas post has more on how the night usually runs, and you can find out more about roulette table hire or poker table hire if you're the one planning.
Roulette table hire
Blackjack table hire
Poker table hire