Good starter game suggestions

Heading to LV in a couple of weeks. I strictly play blackjack. Wife will be going this trip for our anniversary. She's never been. Any suggestions on an easy game for her to learn that would be fun for a beginner? I've never played craps, roulette or anything else other than BJ and poker. Thanks.

 

Well, slot machines seem like the easiest to learn (insert money, press button). But if you're thinking about table games, I would suggest roulette. It's fairly easy to understand. I'ts a social game. And it's fun

 

Appreciate the reply. What part of Tennessee? I'm just north of Clarksville. And as a Louisville fan, congrats on the W yesterday.

 

Roulette is very simple and sociable...but for a card game, I would suggest 3-card poker.
It's what my buddies & I call 'brainless', yet it can be quite social and very fun (when you're getting decent hands).
Easy game to learn... play a $5 table (which really means she'll be betting $15 a hand). Tell her to stay in on Q-6 high or better. Tell her to be sure to play any straight and any flush, as newbies tend to miss those from time to time...especially the ones with smaller cards, like a 4-3-5, or the 4-9-2 of clubs.
Remind her to tip her cocktail waitress $1 per delivered drink. If you're at a CET property, there will be a 6-card bonus play @ $5 as well. I would tell her to skip that bet.
Some other casinos have the 'mini-royal' progressive bonus bet, which is only $1 - it pays on any straight or better, and wins the progressive with the AKQ of spades. I would play this one.

 

I'd vote for Pai Gow. Slow and social game.
Nothing you do affects the other players and it has a reasonable house advantage.
Simple to learn on WoO and if you don't want to bother just turn your hand over and say "house way". The dealer will then play the hand the best way.

 

Another vote here for roulette. Very simple to learn and very fun to play. My first table game was roulette. It paved the way for me to eventually play craps, the most intimidating game for newbies, imho!

 

Pai Gow because the dealer will play your hand for you until you learn the game

 

What she might enjoy depends mostly on your wife's personality. Craps is very sociable and very easy if you stick to simply taking odds and avoid all the sucker bets. She might enjoy BJ with you, possibly at a lower level and with your guidance. Lots of women who want better odds and more of a stake in the outcome play video poker rather than slots, but it's too late for your wife to learn that game.

 

if you want an easy game to understand,

casino war. its simple. you don't worry about "poker" hands or decision making but its got poor odds.

 

Why is it too late to learn VP? I feel like I'm missing something. Probably obvious, lol

 

I found baccarat to be great for social (I play with family when they come) because there isn't really anything to learn, but people can come up with all kinds of superstitions of why things do or don't work for them. Plus, you can sit out a hand or two without feeling obligated to play (dealer deals regardless). Just ignore dragons or whatever else extras they have until she is comfortable with the process of betting on player/banker.

 

I appreciate all the replies. Will probably go with craps or roulette. She's not much of a card player. Is extremely sociable though.

 

At this point it's all academic to this thread, because she is "not much of a card player". However, I will answer UKFanatic's question about learning VP strategy:

At one end of the video poker continuum is the casual player looking for a diversion that does not cost too much. At the other is the skilled player who expects to make a profit. This man's wife is likely to be found at the "casual player" end. She is unlikely to have either the time or the motivation to take a crash course in video poker strategy. I estimate (this is strictly ball park) that it would take an average person 20 hours of practice to achieve bare minimum competence at 9/6 Jacks or Better. That level (ball park, again) would make the hold in a full pay game about equal to that of craps. To achieve 99%+ accuracy, which is the level at which "advantage" VP players play, would take much longer. One could use a cheat sheet, of course, but the game is no fun if one has to stop and look at a piece of paper every few hands.

If the casino does not offer full pay, then video poker is not a viable option no matter how skilled the player may be.

Hoptowncard, you probably know this, but it bears stating that craps, played properly, has a much lower house advantage than roulette, a game in which strategy makes no difference. The hold is not the only consideration, of course.

 

Aware that roulette has a HA over 5%. Haven't looked that much into craps.

 

Depends where you play. My favorite Roulette table is at the Mirage, just outside the Baccarat lounge. They have European rules with single zero, which significantly reduces the house advantage. That table is great. You get your serious gamblers trying to reduce the house edge, and also get people stumbling to their hotels rooms who only know how to put $100 on black and scream.

 

If you play the pass line, the house holds 1.4% on that wager. If you take odds on the point, it's EVEN MONEY. So combined, you are giving the house less than 1 percent. The people who make craps so profitable for the house are the ones who make the oddball wagers, such as hard eight, etc. Pass line and take odds. Bet as much on odds as they'll let you. Nothing else, ever. And pay no attention to those who claim to be able to set dice.

BigDubbs makes a good point. Roulette has about a 5% hold with two zeroes and about half that with one zero. Don't recall the exact numbers. They'd be on Wizardofodds. You find very few single zero roulette wheels in Vegas for the same reason that you find fewer and fewer 3:2 blackjack games. Most gamblers are willing to play a bad game.

Another way the house makes its money on table games is to keep up the pace of the game. That is one thing roulette has over blackjack. You usually make fewer wagers per hour at roulette, depending on factors such as the number of players at a table, etc. However, you still probably lose more total money per hour at roulette than you would at the other two games.

 

I used to be an exclusive BJ player as well and now I almost never play it. I stick mostly to craps and then break it up with some 3-Card Poker. I would take the time to learn craps - it is a much easier game to learn than people think when they look at the board, which can be confusing with all the bets you can make. Most casinos will have a daily "learn craps" session in the morning, but once you get the gist of the come out roll (7,11 win, 2,3,12 lose, everything else is the 'point') it's easy to play. You'll then pick up on all the nuances and the terminology as you continue to play.

Easiest way to play is to just put your money on the PASS line (find a $5 table) then back it up with something. If the dealer takes your chips, you lost, if they give you chips, you won!

 

I wouldn't play the Pairs Plus, so it would be a $10 game if you played the hand and a $5 game if you don't have Q-6

 

Craps would be a good choice also as described, BUT/AND
If you are just wanting to warm up and don't care about making tons just play the pass line with no odds.

It isn't a good long term plan, but it gets you in the game with only a $5 risk.

Then when she feels she has her feet wet...back it up with odds. (I would however disagree about playing full odds. If one doesn't have a large enough bank roll and is playing 3x odds - they are in for $20 and a few 7 outs = broke.

 

I do not recommend ever playing any game unless one can play it to best advantage. Find a level of comfort and back every wager to the full or play a different game.