5 Casino Card Games Worth Learning Before Your Next Trip

Walking through a casino can be intimidating. You’re surrounded by ringing, dinging slot machines, other gamblers milling about, and a deliberate absence of clocks. It’s reasonable to feel out of your depth simply walking the floor, let alone sitting down at a blackjack or poker table. 

The silver lining here is that many casino card games aren’t nearly as difficult as they seem. In fact, a handful of card games are excellent for beginning or intermediate players who want to try something other than the more famous blackjack and poker options. I’ve tried dozens of them, and these are five of my favorites. 

Five New Card Games To Try

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned card player, casinos have something for you. 

Mississippi Stud

Mississippi Stud applies the poker format to a game played against a pay table rather than the dealer or other seated players. You start by placing an ante bet, which lets you see your hand of two cards. You then decide to fold, call your own bet, or raise up to 3x for each of the remaining three cards. Pairs of 6s to 10s push, while higher pairs pay out 1 to 1. Better poker hands have progressively higher payouts. The gradual nature of the game and the mathematics behind it mean you’ll fold a lot, but wins can be big. 

Best for: Players who enjoy poker’s structure but don’t want to deal with bluffing and table dynamics. 

Let It Ride

Let It Ride and Mississippi Stud are basically opposites. In Let It Ride, you get three cards for your hand while two community cards are left unrevealed on the table. Before each community card is revealed, you can pull back one of your three equal bets, or, as the name implies, let it ride. Pairs of 10s or higher will pay out. 

Best For: Deliberate players who enjoy having input on their bets but don’t want the stress of other players impacting their game. 

Baccarat

Baccarat might summon an image of chandeliers and tuxedo-clad dealers, adding to its intimidating mystique. In reality, it’s one of the simpler card games you can play on a casino floor. 

In the vast majority of baccarat games, there are only three betting options: Player, Banker, or Tie. The dealer, and, by extension, the cards, do all the work from there. Cards are dealt to either “side” (Player and Banker), and card values are added up. Tens and face cards count as zeroes. Double-digit totals take only the second digit (for example, 17 would count as a total of 7). The hand closest to 9 wins. 

There are intricacies I haven’t covered here, but the glory of baccarat is that you don’t have to know them. The dealer knows when to deal new cards and when to end the hand. One note for beginners: avoid the tie bet! It has a much higher house edge than Player or Banker. 

Best for: Players who want to try a card game without the pressure of making any decisions beyond placing a bet. 

Three Card Poker

This one might blow your mind. In Three Card Poker, you get three cards. The dealer? They also get three cards. Right?!

Once you see your hand, you decide whether to play or fold. Your hand then goes head-to-head with the dealer’s. The catch? The dealer must have at least Queen high to qualify. It’s simple and straightforward, with side bets often available to spice things up if you wish (though beware the high house edge on such bets). 

Best For: Action-oriented players who want some strategy blended with fast-paced play. 

Casino War

If you know the classic card game “War,” then you already know how the casino version works. You flip one card. The dealer flips one card. The higher card wins. If you tie, a “war” begins. You can decide to surrender half your bet or double down and go to war. In a war, each side burns three cards and flips a fourth. 

The only real decision points in Casino War are how much to bet and, in the event of a war, whether to participate or double down. It’s speedy, card-flipping fun without the mental and mathematical burden of other games. 

Best For: Complete beginners who want an easy and straightforward game.

Finding Your Table: What To Look For

As you search for your new favorite table game, it helps to keep a few other things in mind. 

• Minimum bets: Make sure these align with your budget. You don’t want to sit down at a $20 minimum table and lose your bankroll too quickly if that’s out of budget. 
• Dealers who teach: Slower tables, particularly during off-peak hours, often have dealers who are happy to walk you through the basics. Don’t be afraid to say you’re new and ask for help. 
• Payout tables: Look for pay tables on games that have them and note any differences from the norm. 
• Table positioning: From the player's side, games are almost always played from left to right. Sitting further over can give you time to watch as a hand plays out before you have to make a decision.