Table Games in New York: From Blackjack to Baccarat

New York's long history with gambling and casinos goes back quite far. From their history of underground poker rooms, to their tribal based casinos, it's no secret New Yorkers love to gamble. In recent years, casinos have been legalized within the state of New York in hopes to stimulate the economy, which means New Yorkers will have better access to games they all know and love. While some New Yorkers will undoubtedly flock to the sportsbooks to make bets on their favorite New York teams, a special percentage of gamblers will be most excited about table and card games. These gambles are social, involve strategy and skill, and you can improve your winning odds over time with practice and know how. In this article, we're going to discuss some of New York's favorite table games!

Blackjack

Blackjack is known for its sophistication and elegance. This card game is known worldwide, and has a long history. In fact, its origins go all the way back to the 16th century, and continues to be one of the most popular casino card games around. Blackjack is a game where you have to play against the dealer. Every player is dealt two cards, and the dealer is also given two cards. One card is face down and another is face up. The point value of the players hand must exceed the point value of the dealer's hand, without surpassing 21. If you go over 21, also known as 'bust' the house wins.

Roulette

The roulette wheel was actually invested by a French physicist and mathematician. That's definitely interesting in itself. He was actually trying to create a perpetual motion machine rather than a casino game. While his experiment was a failure, he managed to accidentally create one of the most popular casino games of all time. This game continues to be hugely influential and popular on the New York casino scene. It was invented back in the 1600s, but by the 1800s roulette made its way to the US. Roulette is beloved by many Americans for being easy to use, with numerous ways to play and win.

Baccarat

Baccarat, like other games on our list has a long history. Of course, with baccarat, the origins of the game are less clear. Some believe baccarat was invented in Italy in the 1400s, but it was popularized in France. King Charles VIII was known to be a huge fan of the game, and baccarat became increasingly popular with French astricorats and many others. It wasn't long before baccarat as a game became an international affair, traveling to different parts of the world. Baccarat itself is played when a dealer deals out two cards face up. Two for the player and two for the banker. Whichever hand that totals closer to nine wins. If you bet on the player hand and it ends up being closest to nine, the winnings will double your bet. If you bet on the banker's hand, you'll receive 95% of your wager.

Craps

The history of craps goes back to Roman soldiers. Allegedly, Roman soldiers invented craps using pig knucklebones as dice, and their armor shields as a table. Some believe craps actually evolved from an Arabic dice game. There's also the possibility it was invented in 1125 during the Crusades by Sir William of Tyre, which might make it the oldest gamble on our list. Either way, New York can't get enough of craps. Craps is a casino dice game that involves action and strategy. The concept of the game is simple enough. To play craps you need to roll a number with two dice, and then roll the same number again before a seven is rolled.