Casino Card Games: Fortune Lies in the Cards

Two of the most well-known casino card games are Blackjack and Poker. The appeal of these games perhaps comes from the fact that unlike other casino games such as Roulette or Slots, these card games can be played anywhere, such as the comfort of one's home. Also, these are games of chance that require much more than chance for one to win.

Tracing its roots to an old French card game known as "Vingt-un" or "21," Blackjack is commonly played using a deck of 52 cards, although modern games sometimes employ two or more packs. The number of each card is their corresponding value; Court cards are valued at 10, while Aces would have a value of either 1 or 11 as per circumstance. Suits do not have any value.

Playing against the dealer or banker, the object of blackjack is to draw cards until one builds up a set of cards whose values add up to a total of 21 points (or at least close to it), thus winning more money than the banker. If a player exceeds 21 points, they are busted and they lose the pot. Though many consider blackjack easy to play, making use of playing strategies such as card counting can give one a bigger edge over the game.

Poker is normally played with a typical 52-card deck, but some variants of the game make use of even less number of cards and others still are played with additional "wild cards," such as Jokers. A poker deck is made up of four suits; the spades, the hearts, the diamonds, and the clubs; each of which consist of 13 cards ranked from lowest to highest.

Normally, the cards are ranked with 2 being the lowest, followed by cards numbered 3 to 10, then Jack, Queen and King, and finally the Ace being the highest-ranked card. But there are some variants of the game where, depending on the circumstance, the Ace can be ranked either highest or lowest. A player wins the pot by forming a poker hand stronger than the opposing players. The game of poker offers its player greater variety through its many variants such as Caribbean Stud Poker, 7-Card Stud and Texas Hold 'em.

Casino card games such as blackjack and poker are among the most challenging and fascinating of all gambling games. These games do not rely entirely on luck; it also takes a great deal of expertise and sharpness of will on the player's part in order to win. There is so much satisfaction in engaging and beating such mentally-stimulating games, and the rewards that come with it can be incredible.