Poker
Poker

Fun Alternatives To Poker

Poker is one of the world’s most popular casino games for good reason. It’s an exciting game of skill and chance with many different permutations, endlessly adaptable, and the bar to entry is low – all you need is a few friends and a pack of ordinary playing cards. The basic rules are relatively simple, but playing at a high level can be fiendishly complicated, with the use of strategy, psychology, mathematics, and memory all contributing. You can play for fun or real money, with high-stakes games offering the potential for small fortunes to be won or lost.

And yet, it has to be said that poker isn’t for everyone. Some people just don’t get it or find the rules too complicated to understand. When there’s so much you have to remember and look out for; it can take the fun out of playing. While poker fans find that bluff, strategy, and calculation make the game so engaging, others find that aspect makes it impossible for them to relax and enjoy themselves.

Even if you do like playing poker from time to time, there are no rules that say you have to play it exclusively. Perhaps you’ve hit a losing streak, or the game has begun to seem tired and stale, and you fancy a change. If that’s the case, here are a few alternatives to the poker room that just might float your boat.

Other casino games

The poker table is just a small part of the average casino. Why not explore the other tables for a change? Visiting NJ online casinos is a great way to try out a wide range of different casino games, including slots, roulette, baccarat, and blackjack while playing for real money. Enjoy welcome bonuses while exploring the options, and hopefully, you’ll find the game that’s right for you.

While roulette, baccarat, and of course slots are purely games of chance, blackjack is many a poker player’s second games, as it still requires strategy and mathematical thinking, though not the art of the bluff. A mention should also be made of video poker, which feels like poker but is more like slots, as you play on your own and are dealt random hands by a computer algorithm. 

Bridge

There are also many other card games besides poker and roulette. Some are much simpler than poker, while others are just as complex but work differently and may appeal to those for whom poker just doesn’t click. The bridge is one such example. This hugely popular card game has an image that it is a sedate pastime for senior citizens, but in fact, it’s just as exciting as, say, Texas Hold ‘em.

The full rules are lengthy and complicated, but essentially Bridge is played by two teams of two, with 13 cards dealt to each player. In each ‘trick’, every player must throw down a card matching the suit initially thrown in, with the highest value card winning. However, players must also participate in an auction where they estimate how many tricks they can take in a given hand.

Euchre

Euchre is similar to Bridge but less complicated. It’s played with a 24-card deck consisting of only the face cards, plus aces, tens, and nines. Each player is dealt five cards. They alternate calling which suit they’d like to trump, and then throw in one card, with Jack in the designated suit being the highest scoring card. Next up is the Jack in the opposite, same-colored suit, then aces, queens, kings, tens, and nines in that order. Like Bridge, there are four players making up two teams.

Acey Deucy and 99

This fast-paced game is very popular at parties and is easy to play. Two cards are dealt face-up, and every player puts an ante in the middle of the table. They then take turns betting whether the next card will fall between the two cards dealt or not. There’s also Ninety-Nine, in which each player lays down one of three cards in turn. The object is to avoid being the player who makes the total in the middle go over 99. Although seemingly simple, there are a number of strategies that can be used, and different cards can behave in different ways. For instance, kings reverse the game, tens can add or subtract to the total, and so on. 

There’s a whole world of great games besides poker. Some use cards and some don’t, but the lesson learnt is that there’s no need to give up on casino or table games just because poker isn’t your thing. Try some other options: you might be surprised at how much you enjoy it.