General Gambling Articles
Asian Stud uses one standard pack of 52 cards with one joker. Each card is given a value. Aces to tens have the value of their denominations; jacks, queens and kings are valued at ten points and the joker at one point. The objective of the game is to split a five-card hand into two sets.
In Baccarat the deal is played between a designated ‘dealer’ and a designated ‘player’. The players bet on who will win the deal – the ‘dealer’ or the ‘player’. If the players predict the winner correctly they are paid out 1:1. Otherwise they forfeit their wager. Ties result in the bets being withdrawn.
In blackjack the players play against the dealer and not against each other. The objective of blackjack is to get a hand value that is closer to twenty-one than the hand value of the dealer, but without going bust. The hand value is obtained by adding the value of each card in the hand. Cards from two to ten have the value of their denomination. Jack, queen and king have a value of ten. The ace is a special card that can take a value of one or eleven depending on the situation.
Chinese poker is popular in Southeast Asia under different local names. In the United States it is known as Chinese Poker. Chinese Poker is usually played among four players, each competing with the others. In a variation of the game, three players play against the house. A standard deck of 52 cards is used. At the start of the game 13 cards are singly dealt to each player after the deck is shuffled and cut.
The objective of Caribbean Stud Poker is to have a higher ranking hand than the dealer. The players place their initial bets, known as ante, in the specified area. Once all the ante bets are placed, the dealer deals five cards face down to each player. He also deals five cards to himself, but four are dealt face down and one is dealt face up. Hence the players have the advantage of knowing one of the dealer’s cards before they make their move. The players then see their hand and decide whether they want to play or fold. Folding entails forfeiting the ante.
Chuck a luck, also known as bird cage, is a variant of sic bo that is often played in an informal environment. It has a unique dice randomization system. Three dice are kept in an hourglass shaped wire cage that is rotated around its center. When the cage comes to rest with the dice at the bottom, the numbers on the top face of the dice are the numbers called. The cage is welded so that the dice cannot be taken out or replaced. Normally the cage is kept on the dealer’s right, which makes it easier for him to rotate the cage.
The players are not allowed to rotate the cage. Once the bets are paid out and the lost bets taken by the house, the dealer announces that players can place fresh bets. Till the dealer calls “No more bets”, the players can withdraw or change their bets. Once “No more bets” is called the bets stand as placed. There is usually no seating arrangement for the players, who stand and play. This leads to a quick turnover of players.
Craps is a gambling game played by any number of players, using two dice on a special craps table. The table has a layout in which different areas are marked for the various possible bets and is manned by four attendants. The betting takes place against the house on the outcomes of the rolled dice, though side bets among players are not unknown.
Faro is a casino card game played between a number of players and a banker. The name is believed to be a corruption of the word ‘Pharaoh”. Central to the game is the Faro board. This board has the images of cards of all 13 denominations usually in spades. Bets are placed on the board. If a player wants to bet on a ten he will place his chips on the ten of spades on the board.
Keno is a bingo like game. It is played on a ticket that has the numbers 1 to 80 printed on it. The players select up to 20 numbers, which they mark on the ticket. Some casinos limit the maximum numbers marked to 15 or even 10. The players also indicate the amount that they are betting. 20 numbers are randomly drawn by the casino. The players are paid out depending on how many of the marked numbers coincide with the 20 numbers called by the casino.
Let it ride is a new and simple casino game in which the players neither compete against the dealer nor against each other. The game commences with each player placing three equal bets in the designated area in front of his seating space at the semi-circular table. In a sense this game is poker in reverse because the players first bet the maximum they want and then withdraw the bet in stages as the game progresses. The card dealing machine deals out three cards at a time, which are transferred face down to the players. Finally three cards are dealt face down to the dealer. The dealer discards one of his cards and along with this card the remaining cards in the machine are transferred to the discard tray.
