While the size of buildings and the lay of the land can limit the number of games offered by land-based casinos, most of them offer at least the now-staple slots, blackjack, and roulette. If they can also squeeze in a few poker tables, all the better.
Online casinos, however, aren’t constrained by brick and mortar. It’s true that many do start off with relatively conservative collections of games, but they tend to grow in size and variety very quickly.
Five of the Best
Even with an incredible array of games, the top five most popular of them seldom vary from online casino to online casino. It stands as a testament to both the allure of the games, and to players as creatures of habit.
Standing head and shoulders above the rest are online slots, followed by blackjack, roulette, video poker, and baccarat.
Online Slot Games
Just as in land-based casinos, the bulk of most online casinos’ game offerings are different varieties of slots.
The most popular online slots are video slots, which have an average of five reels and any number of paylines, including some games that scrap traditional paylines altogether, such as Microgaming’s 243 Ways to Win slots. In addition, they also have bonus games and special features such as Wilds, Scatters, and free spins.
The next most popular slots are arguably progressive slots. While some may feature three reels, most have five reels, and also offer gameplay that is enhanced by various special features. Their most notable feature, however, are their jackpots that get progressively bigger as the game is played.
Classic online slots are those with three reels, often traditional symbols, and a few paylines. The gameplay is classic slot machine, through and through.
Online Blackjack Games
Also known as 21, blackjack is still the world’s most popular card game. While multi-player editions are available online, the game’s most frequently played between one player and the dealer.
The player places an opening bet, is dealt two cards, and then sets about trying to both beat the total of the dealer’s hand, and get the value of their hand as close to 21 as possible.
Online Roulette Games
Roulette is somewhere around three hundred years old, and, thanks to its unique wheel, is probably one of the most recognisable of casino games, whether online or land-based. When playing it, players bet on where the ball will be found in the wheel, once it stops spinning.
The three most common editions of the king of casino games include the European, French, and American editions, although online casinos are seeing special editions such as Multi-Wheel and Roulette Royale growing in popularity.
Online Baccarat Games
Baccarat is another popular online casino game, which is hardly surprising, given the popularity of not only the basic game, but of variations such as Chemin de Fer and Punto Banco, in land-based casinos.
Similar to blackjack, it’s a card-comparing game played between player and Banker. The player’s goal is to beat the Banker’s hand. The highest possible card total, which makes for a winning hand, is nine.
Online Video Poker Games
Much like in their land-based counterparts, online casinos make a distinction between poker and video poker games. While they do offer online poker games such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, video poker remains a firm favourite.
The secret to the game’s success is that it simplifies poker by incorporating online slot machine-style controls, which players use to keep or to discard cards while trying to build the strongest hand possible.
