Getting Carded at the Casino Trivia Quiz

Answer: Card Game

Made all the more famous because it's the game James Bond encountered in many of Ian Fleming's novels, baccarat has a long history as a game played amongst French noblemen. In the game you can bet on yourself or the dealer, and the goal is to get closer to a total value of nine with the hand you bet on. The dealer has specific rules, only drawing further cards in a certain threshold, and a tie is not a win. In any case, it's a simple game in concept, and that's likely why it's so compelling.

For many years, baccarat was more popular in European and Asian casinos, with Macau being a particularly massive destination for the game.

Answer: Card Game

One of the most-played variants of poker, Texas Hold'em is very much a card game and it relies on a great deal of luck as well as a player's ability to read the others in the game. Each player is dealt two cards and the dealer gives themself three-- a flop-- from which a player can place their bets based on how likely they are (or how close they already are) to a winning hand. A fourth card is drawn (the turn), from which players can up their ante, and then a fifth card (the river) is placed to determine who actually won the hand.

Texas Hold'em is a fairly accessible game as it's quite widespread both at casino tables, in slot machine formats, and for leisure players. Massive tournaments for colossal amounts of money are held around the world, often bringing in juggernaut players known for their ability to read others and avoiding betraying their own motives at the table.

Answer: Card Game

The most popular card game played in casinos worldwide, blackjack is a simple affair in which you receive two cards and need to determine whether or not you draw more to beat the dealer. The catch is that once you hit a total value of over 21 (with face cards being 10 and aces being 1 or 11), you bust.

The game is simple enough that even the regional variants of it don't provide much alternative to these rules. The French game Vingt-et-un is virtually the same as the German Siebzehn und Vier, and both are pretty much just Blackjack when it comes down to it. It's also a game in which players don't face each other; everyone goes head-to-head against the dealer, even if they're at the same table.

Answer: Card Game

War is a simple game played by two people wherein each player receives part of a deck of cards, drawing them against their opponent with the aim to have the higher of the cards. If they do, they claim both and add them to the bottom of their deck. In the event of a tie, the players draw again with the inevitable winner claiming all flipped cards. The game ends when a player runs out their deck.

There are, naturally, variations to this game which add to the complexity when players do face double cards of the same value and need to start a war, but the concept is basic enough that even kids can play it.

Answer: Card Game

An India-made card game, teen patti (or 'three cards') is a game in which players set an ante and are drawn three cards. Player can play blind or loose, but the goal is to end the game with the best set of three cards or, else, the best bluff. It's not unlike poker in that players must bet their way to the end for the final showdown or, else, fold, but the game will almost always end with just two players going head-to-head for the final pot.

Answer: No Cards

A classic casino game, craps is played at a table, often with a number of people surrounding it, but it's not a card game-- it's played with dice. Players place their bets, in chips, on the craps table and then proceed to roll two dice with the aim of getting the right combination of numbers to match their bets. Harder combinations net higher returns due to the lower odds. Additionally, players who aren't the shooter can bet on the outcome from the Pass line or the Don't Pass bar.

It can get complicated, but it is an energetic game at the very least!

Answer: No Cards

Although there is also a card game known as Fantan, traditional Fan-Tan isn't quite the same. All players bet, at random, by placing markers in the corners of the board to determine how many beans (or similar objects) are placed, by the dealer, onto the board. The dealer pulls away beans four at a time, and when there are less than four, that remainder determines which players' bets were correct.

The game is one that originated in Asia, and its success in Chinese casinos (especially in cities like Macau) have led to its popularity elsewhere. You'd be likely to find it in cities with high Chinese populations in North America as well.

Answer: No Cards

Although there is also a Pai Gow format of poker, it's based on this Chinese game that makes use of thirty-two dominoes instead of a deck of cards. There are combinations to be made with the pairings of tiles, and the goal is to create two pairs that beat the dealer's. The banker takes money from all of the losing hands and pays out anyone who may have beat the bank.

It's believed that the game was one of the first dominoes-based games ever created, with the tiles dating back more than a thousand years to the Song Dynasty. Today it's a classic table game in Macau and can be played reliably in Las Vegas.

Answer: No Cards

Keno is played like a lottery. Before a given round, the player must fill out a card to indicate twenty numbers of their choosing from amongst eighty. Once they've been locked in, the numbers are randomly drawn for the group of players and payouts are given for anyone getting a certain amount of numbers correct. Casinos are aware that the odds of getting 0 correct answers is lower than getting one to ten numbers correct, and they'll often pay out significantly for that as well. Getting all twenty would be nearly impossible odds.

Answer: No Cards

Though technically not allowed to be used as gambling machines (like slot machines) in Japan, where they were invented, pachinko machines were devised for gaming and recreation. Functioning similarly to pinball, the player lets loose steel balls into the machine and, with luck and a bit of finesse, players can get the jackpot to win a prize.

It has, historically, created a bit of a loophole wherein prizes can, technically, be sold for actual cash winnings... and in Japan, that's had its connections with organized crime.