Slots Play Casinos has a strategy guide for blackjack. Still, online casinos offer many other games! So here we will try to explain the best strategy in a few of the “other” games offered by online casinos.
Pai Gow Poker
This is a poker variation that “forces” gamers to think outside of the box. The gamer and the dealer each get 7 cards. You have to make one hand with 2 cards and one hand with 5 cards. If your two hands beat the dealer’s two hands, you win.
Pai Gow Poker also has a joker which can be used as an ace or to complete a straight or a flush. In other words, the joker cannot be used as a king to form a pair of kings and so on.
Here is the kicker: the five-card hand has to be better than the two-card hand. This means that if you have two pair, you will likely divide them so that each hand has one pair. You might not divide two pair if you have an ace for an ace-high, two-card hand.
This simple example demonstrates the amazing complexity of Pai Gow Poker.
Always keep in mind that the dealer cannot have a pair as the two-card hand if he doesn’t have a better pair for the five-card hand. That’s why an ace high two-card hand is so strong.
One other important rule is that the house wins all ties.
Caribbean Poker
There are three variations of Caribbean Poker: Stud, Draw, and Hold’em. The main action in Caribbean Poker is the decision by the gamer whether to stay in a hand or fold. Gamers make this decision after the cards have been dealt.
If the player folds, he or she loses the ante bet. If the gamer stays in the hand, they have to make a second bet that is twice the ante bet. This second bet would cause many gamers to fold because of its size except for one very important rule: in each variation, the dealer has to “qualify” with a minimum hand in order to win both bets.
So, here is how the game can go in each variation:
- The gamer folds. He or she loses the ante bet.
- The gamer calls, makes the second bet, and the dealer does not qualify. The player wins the ante bet and the call bet is a push.
- The player calls, makes the second bet, and the dealer does qualify. If the dealer’s hand is better, he wins both bets. If the gamer’s hand is better, she wins both bets.
Now, here is a major twist in Caribbean Poker: if the gamer calls and makes the second bet and the dealer does not qualify, the gamer wins the ante bet even if his hand is worse than the dealer’s hand!
What is the Difference between Caribbean Stud, Caribbean Draw, and Caribbean Hold’em?
The dealer needs different hands to qualify in the different Caribbean Poker variations. In stud, the dealer needs at least an ace-king combination. In draw, the dealer needs at least a pair of 8’s. In hold’em, the dealer needs at least a pair of fours.
Caribbean Stud has the highest house edge at about 5%. Draw has the lowest house edge at about 3%. Hold’em comes in the middle at about 4%.
In each variation, the player has to call with a bet double the ante in order to stay in the hand.
The best statisticians working in the casino gaming milieu have not yet fully arrived at a strategy for the Caribbean Poker variations. They do agree, however, that the gamer should call on every hand in Caribbean Draw and will call at least 80% of the time in the other two variations.
Tri-card Poker
This game has similarities to Caribbean Poker. The dealer has to qualify in order to win both of the gamer’s bets. As we would expect, the players and the dealer get three cards. In this game, all of the dealer’s cards are also face-down. The player has to decide whether to stay in the hand or fold.
If the player calls, he or she makes a second bet equal to the ante.
Statisticians claim to have found the best strategy for Tri-card Poker: stay in any hand that is at least a queen, 6, and 4 and fold all weaker hands. The dealer needs at least a queen-high hand to qualify. So, folding hands weaker than queen-high seems to make sense. It is the 6 and 4 that has us skeptical.
Double Exposure Blackjack
In this exciting blackjack variation, the player gets to see both of the dealer’s cards! This changes strategy in a big way! It is obvious that Double Exposure Blackjack would have rules that benefit the house, given that the double exposure benefits the player so much.
- In Double Exposure the payout for a blackjack is 1-1.
- There is no insurance. This one is fine since we all know that insurance is a bad bet.
- Ties go to the house! The exception is when the house and the player both have a blackjack. This rule change affects strategy most of all.
What is the Best Strategy in Double Exposure?
You will have to understand that there will be many hands where you hit even with the clear possibility that you will bust. If the dealer has 17 points and you have 16, you hit. If the dealer has 20 points and you have 19, you hit!
In regular blackjack, players are told to never split 10-point cards. In Double Exposure, gamers should split 10-point cards if the dealer has a hard 13-16 point count. If the dealer has 17 points or higher, never split this holding. You will win if the dealer has 17-19 points. If the dealer has 20 points, you should hit!
If your point total is the same as the dealer’s from 17 points and onward, you have to hit!
The house edge in Double Exposure is about 0.67%. it is bigger than in regular blackjack but it is still very small compared to many other games. Blackjack players love the rule change and the game play in Double Exposure. Even though they bust most of the time, hitting with 20 points is a hoot!
Instant Play Gives Gamers Much More Than Double Exposure
With Instant Play, gamers can sample many games from many different game providers. You can easily go from casino to casino and try games that your favorite game provider doesn’t carry!
Slots Play Casinos makes it as easy as possible for gamers to stay as close to even with the house. We explain how to play different games using the best strategy for optimal wins. We also reiterate that gamers can play in free play mode as long as they want to at online casinos.
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