The casino industry of the 21st century is like Alibaba’s cave full of wonders, but it is popular retro games that keep attracting crowds. They provide a much-needed sense of stability in the fast-paced world we live in.

Blackjack, poker, baccarat and other old game systems are as coveted today as they were the first time they hit casinos. Today, online gambling sites give us instant access to old games of all sorts, often in many attractive variants one can’t get in land-based venues.

Join us on our quest for knowledge and find the best game to play in a casino!

Blackjack
Blackjack is for many, the best game to play in a casino. It is also one of the very few popular retro games that combines skill with chance. In its essence, blackjack is a love child of many European card games, including vint-et-un, pontoon and ochko.

This genre is among true casino classics, and like any such game, it features simple and intuitive play:

  • In the style of popular retro games, blackjack is played with decks of cards without Jokers. The number of decks may vary
  • The main goal is to have a hand value as close as possible to 21, without going over
  • 10s, Jacks, Queens and Kings count as 10, Aces can be either 1 or 10, and other cards count as their face value
  • The player stakes the money against the house, and not against other gamblers at the table (or in the same online title)

And why is blackjack classified among popular retro games? Players get a great chance at beating the house, thanks to the odds of 42.22%!                        

Slot Machines
Slots are the most popular retro games any casino can offer. Players love them because of the huge slot wins combined with beloved visuals such as cherries, bells, and lemons. Also, they were the first genre that brought gambling to wider audiences, inviting communities that were often neglected at card tables, such as the elderly, women and new gamblers.

Today, slots are more than three reels with one payline. They max out on the nostalgia and replace the old game systems with advanced mechanics that can reward players with 50 free spins or more, as long as they trigger the bonus feature.

Besides, they feature an abundance of themes, formats and special perks:

  • Players can enjoy slots with 3, 5, 7 or even more reels
  • Prizes are no longer dependent on paylines, as new slots introduce cluster and scatter pays, as well as Megaways systems with fluctuating ways to win
  • Some online slot machines are parts of bigger sagas
  • Progressive jackpot and global progressive jackpot titles bring a prospect of life-changing wins                         

Baccarat
It is no secret that popular retro games can be quite complex. Just look at blackjack and poker, which require both skill and some luck! Fortunately, on the other end of the spectrum are baccarat online games. Baccarat is a card game that could be originating in France or Italy, depending on whom you ask. It developed from chien de fer and punto banco, which have, with time, evolved into variants of baccarat.

Baccarat is fairly simple and boils down to making the right decision:

  • The main goal is to have a hand value as close as possible to 9
  • The player can choose between betting on one of three positions: Player, Banker, and Tie
  • Cards from 2 to 9 are worth their face value, 1s, Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth zero, and Aces are worth 1 point
  • Typically, baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers
  • Betting on different positions brings different house edges. The Banker position has an edge of 1.06%, the Player’s position has an edge of 1.36%, and the Tie position has an edge of 14.4%

Poker
Poker is perhaps the most famous of all popular retro games. After all, it was featured in many movies, songs, and novels. Sometimes it feels as if anyone knows how to play it.

Still, poker is more than just one game. Most historians agree it originated from the American South, while some think it is the ancestor of the Persian game As-Nas. Either way, in the 21st century, most gamblers play poker online and don’t think much of its history.

Online poker, like all other genres of popular retro games, has many variants including:

  • Deuces
  • Jacks or Better
  • Joker Poker
  • Bonus Poker
  • Double Bonus Poker
  • Caribbean
  • Pineapple Poker

Poker tournaments feature the following games:

  • Texas Hold’Em
  • Omaha
  • Stud
  • Pot Limit
  • No Limit           

Craps
The only dice game in the realm of popular retro games is craps. The entire process sums up to trying to predict the next roll of the dice. The shooter will use a tumbler or some sort of contraption to roll the dice, and whoever managed to guess it right — wins!

Craps is not only one of the most popular games but also one of the oldest games in general. Even though in this day and age, we play online craps, historians believe the game was invented by Roman soldiers, and was spread throughout Europe in medieval times.

So, how does this retro play happen? Here’s the guide:

  • Any rollout in the game of craps can be a natural, craps, or point
  • Natural means the roll is either 7 or 11
  • Craps means the roll is 2, 3, or 12. You get a chance for a re-roll
  • Points happen when the roll is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The shooter must roll again and get the same number
  • The Pass the Line bet predicts the shooter will get a 7 or 11
  • In the Don’t Pass the Line bet, the gambler believes the shooter will get a 2, 3, or 12
  • Come bets are winning when a natural is rolled out
  • Don’t Come bets are winning with Craps numbers rolled out
  • Big 6 and Big 8 mean the player bets the shooter will roll a 6 or 8 before 7

Surprisingly complex, old-fashioned casino games are making a comeback. Make sure to play them and expand your winning potential!