Keep the Carnival Going in the Live Casino

Test Your Skills with Casino Poker

Poker is probably the most famous gambling game in the world and you can test your skills against our dealers in a number of Casino Poker games at Spin Rio. The great thing about Casino Poker is that you do not need to worry about other players bluffing you; you just need to beat the dealer. Better yet, many of the games have a mathematical strategy that you can use that will reduce the house edge and improve your chances of winning.

Casino Hold’em

Casino Hold’em is based upon the game of Texas Hold’em. There is actually a mathematically optimal strategy for the games, but as each decision will be based upon the combination of seven cards, it is very complicated. However, you can still reduce the house edge by following a few basic rules.

The optimal strategy shows that it is best to call on approximately 82% of hands and fold the rest of the time. Instead of learning the entire strategy, you can follow some basic rules that will take you very close to it.

You should Call in the following situations:

• If you are holding a pair
• If you have an open-ended straight draw (i.e. you are missing one card from either end of a straight).
• You have an ace-high or king-high
• You have a Flush draw (i.e. you need just one of the last two community cards to complete a Flush).
• You have 2 over-cards (i.e. you have cards that are higher ranking than the cards in the flop).
• You have a jack-high or queen-high, unless the flop cards are all a matching suit and they do not match your high card.

You should Fold in the following situations:

• When you have low unpaired cards (no cards worth more than 10 and no cards that match the community cards, unless you have a flush draw or a straight draw).
• When the flop cards are a pair, but your cards are not a matching suit.

Another basic rule is that it is a good idea to place a relatively small Ante bet. This is because you will be calling most of the time, which means placing a second bet that is double the size of the ante.

Three Card Poker

Three Card Poker is one of the most popular versions of Casino Poker as it is extremely easy to learn. Better yet, the game has a mathematically optimal strategy that is also very easy to memorise, there are just a few rules to learn that will tell you if your hand is worth playing.

All you really need to know if that you should place the ‘play’ bet if your hand contains queen, 6, 4, or better. If the hand is weaker, then you should fold.

Essentially, it means that you should be betting on any pair or better and if you don’t have a pair, then you should bet if your high card is an Ace or a King, regardless of what the other two cards are. If your high card is a queen, then you need to remember the following four rules:

• Make the ‘play’ bet if your second highest card is 7 or higher, regardless of the third card.
• Make the ‘play’ bet if your second highest card is a 6 only when your third card is a 4 or 5.
• Fold if the second highest card is a 6 and the third card is a 2 or 3.
• Fold if the second highest card is a 5 or lower, no matter what the third card is.

If you don’t follow the above rules then Three Card Poker has a house edge of approximately 3.7%, which is not very high. However, you can reduce it to around 2% with these rules, which is a massive improvement.

Simplify Life with Baccarat

There has always been a bit of mystique surrounding Baccarat. Primarily because for many years it was a game reserved for high rollers and the gambling elite. However, today all players can enjoy Baccarat and if you are yet to play, you will soon discover that it is actually a very simple game that takes no time to learn.

Equally simple is the optimal Baccarat strategy. By following it, you will reduce the house edge and give yourself the best chances of winning, and it will take you about 2 seconds to learn. All you have to do is bet on the Banker only.

The Banker bet has a theoretical house edge of 1.06%. The Player bet has a theoretical house edge of 1.24% and the Tie bet has a much higher house edge of 14.36%. Therefore, it should be clear why you should always bet on the Banker.

If you want further proof, then consider the following. In an eight-deck game of Baccarat, the Banker losses 44.65% of hands, wins 45.87% and ties 9.51% while the player loses 45.87%, wins 44.63% and ties 9.51% of hands. If we disregard ties, the Banker hand wins 50.69% of hands and loses 49.32% and these numbers are reversed for the Player hand.

It should now be clear why it is better to bet on the Banker hand. In fact, this is why in regular Baccarat there is a 5% commission on winning Banker bets. Nonetheless, even considering the commission, the Banker still has a 1.17% advantage, so it will still be best to place the Banker bet.

Baccarat Betting Systems

Even if you always place the Banker bet, you could still hit a losing streak and run out of money. To help and mitigate this, it is a good idea to use a betting system. This will help you manage your bankroll and should ensure that you can keep playing for longer.

There are three main types of betting systems, flat, negative progression and positive progression. Flat betting systems are the simplest; you just need to place the same bet on every hand. This means that you should divide your bankroll by the number of hands that you want to play and stick to that bet. This way, even if you lose, you should still be able to enjoy a full playing session.

Negative progression systems require you to decrease your bet after you win and increase it after you lose, while positive progression systems require you to increase your bet after a win and decrease it after a loss.

You can choose from many different betting systems. The most famous and the easiest to learn is the Martingale. The system just states that you double your bet after a loss and then return to the original bet size when you win.

It truly is a simple system to learn, but there is a disadvantage you have to be aware of. Baccarat tables will have a maximum bet amount and if you hit a losing streak then you may hit it very quickly. For example, if you start with a €1 bet and lose 14 rounds, then you need to bet €8192. If you can afford to do this and the table allows it, then you can be sure of making your money back. However, most people cannot and it is something you have to watch out for.

An alternative to the Martingale, which is just as simple, is the Paroli system. It is basically the reverse of the Martingale, you need to double your bet after a win and then keep the bet the same when you lose. The system gives you the chance to make the most of winning streaks and limits the risks involved in a losing streak. However, you should be aware that just one loss after a winning streak is enough to wipe out all of your profits.

Party with Our Gameshow Hosts

At Spin Rio, we are all about the carnival and party atmosphere, and our gameshows are the perfect choice for anyone looking to join in. Gameshows are designed to be very simple so that you do not need to worry about learning complicated rules or strategies. However, the games still offer the chance to win big and they are a huge amount of fun.

While gameshows may not have strategies in the same way that Blackjack, Baccarat, Poker, etc., do, it doesn’t mean that there is nothing you can do to try to improve your success. For example, in the game Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt you are trying to find where different coloured jewels are hidden in a wall. When playing you could adopt a low risk, medium risk or high risk strategy.

If you choose the low risk then you would be picking the most frequent stones and select numerous positions on the wall. This means that you will have more winning rounds, but the payouts will be small. A high risk strategy would be picking the stones with the biggest payouts and at least ten wall positions. You will not win as often, but when you do win, the payout will be far bigger. The medium risk strategy is of course between the two.

You can adopt a similar style of play for games such as Monopoly Live and Crazy Time. It can also be adopted for the popular games Dream Catcher and Deal or No Deal.  However, regardless of which gameshow you want to play, and there are many more (e.g. Mega Ball and Lightning Dice), the trick will be to manage your bankroll carefully and make sure that you are betting sustainable amounts.

The live gameshows really have an atmosphere like no other game you will have tried, so if you are looking to have fun and you are sick of reading about mathematical strategies, they are sure to be the perfect games for you.

Explore Our Other Games for More Unique Experiences

There are many more games for you to try in the Live Casino and each one offers a slightly different experience and atmosphere. For example, Blackjack players have many different tables that they can play at, and we even have a Blackjack Party table where the fun never stops. Roulette players can choose from all the standard forms of the game or try something a bit more lively with games such as Nightclub Roulette and Viva Las Vegas Roulette.

You will also find games that you may not have heard of before, such as Sic Bo, the Asian dice game, Dragon Tiger, an Asian game similar to Baccarat, 32 Cards Live, which is an Indian-inspired game, and Teen Patti, which is another Indian game that is based upon three-card brag.