Online Card Games For Money

If you’re the type of player that dedicates a good amount of time to studying odds and probabilities, then you probably already know that a lot card games for real money inside casinos are a rip off. We’re not just talking about online, mind you, because some casino card games can actually favor the house up to 50% in some situations. Since we hate to see anyone get swindled when they play online card games for real money, here are three tables that you should definitely avoid.

Before we can get to the good stuff, however, we feel that is important that you heed a little bit of a warning from everyone here at MyPokerBasics. We have played every single casino game imaginable, and some of our staff has made tons of money while doing it. Others have lost a small fortune while sitting right there at the same table with the big winners, and most of the time we can trace this pattern to one of two things.

First, if the dealer gets on a good run and you lose several bets in a row, the worst thing you can do is increase your bets to compensate for it. Instead, stand up and walk away, even if it’s only to go use the bathroom or to buy a drink. Heck, just walking a lap around the casino and looking at cute women would work…just don’t ever sit there and bet while you’re emotional. Those few minutes away from the table could change your entire run for the rest of the afternoon, so never bet when you’re not clear-headed.

Second, never ever play any casino game before you know the rules inside and out. Card games for real money are designed to favor the house if you play perfectly, which is something that you couldn’t hope to achieve if you’ve never heard of the game before. Before placing any casino bets (either online or in person), check out our strategy section and familiarize yourself with the basic rules, payouts, and strategies. Doing it any other way is financial suicide.

With that out of the way, now we can finally get down to the worst three card games for real money.

1) Casino War

Remember that kid’s game where you split up the deck 50/50 and take turns flipping cards to see who has the higher one? Well, it’s become a casino game over the last few years and somehow it is very popular. The dealer flips a card for you, another for him, and if your card is bigger, you get paid. If the dealer’s card is larger, you lose. What could be easier, right? That’s a dead 50/50 chance of winning.

Well, here’s where the problem comes in at. If you remember your childhood card battles correctly, when both players have the exact same hand then they go to war. The dealer will burn three cards and then deal an additional card for you and the house. This requires an additional bet on your part but it only pays you on your original bet if you win, meaning that you’re suddenly giving the house 2:1 odds every time you tie. Another option is to surrender and simply hand away your original wager, but that doesn’t make any sense either.

It gets even worse though, because some casinos offer a War jackpot when you’re playing this card game for real money. This bonus pool will often convince novice players to always go to war and grant the casino 2:1 odds, meaning that this simple 50/50 game just got a whole lot easier.

If you must play War, even after our warning, then check out the War tables over at Casino Titan. They have the most favorable odds around for this card game format.

2) Caribbean Stud

Caribbean Stud is one of the worst card games for real money because once again, you’re betting twice to win once. The kicker here is that even if you beat the dealer, he only has to pay the full amount of your bet if his hand beats A/K or better…meaning that you have to root for the dealer as well as yourself. Strategy experts say to always make the additional bet on any pair and to fold anything below A/K but darn it, half the time your queen high hand beats what the dealer has anyway.

If you must bet on Caribbean Stud Poker, the best odds we’ve found around the net is at Rome Casino. Their side bet only has a slight house edge and it can often make up for winning the hand but not being paid on your raise bet; which to us is still completely insane. Honestly, we’d much rather see you playing 3 Card Poker at Rome Casino instead…the odds are much more favorable.

3) Red Dog

Honestly, you’ll find several card games for real money with odds a heck of a lot worse, but we don’t care for Red Dog for the same reason we do not like War. The base odds are only less than 3% in favor of the house (with 8 decks, less and those odds go way up), but that’s not including all of the ties or difficult hands where you bet poorly. By the way, the casino 7Red has the most favorable odds around for this title, so if you’re going to play it anywhere…go there.

If you’ve never played Red Dog before, here’s the rundown. You ante, and then the dealer flips two cards initially. The object of Red Dog is for the third card to be flipped to fall in-between the first two cards numerically. After the two cards are flipped, you’ll have a chance to stand (not bet) or ride (bet another wager), and then the third card is revealed. The problem with this game is that the deck can hit streaks where you’ll see a lot of 6/8 or similar hands roll out…it’s almost like just handing your money to the casino and then leaving.

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