Everyone knows and loves the classic National Casino games and catalogue! The fascinating spin of the roulette wheel, or the slap of the blackjack cards. These are the giants, the household names… But venture away from the main gaming floor, and you’ll find a hidden world. A world of strange dice, unique wheels, and gambling traditions that span centuries and continents. These are the more obscure games, and they are utterly fascinating. Let’s take a tour.
Beyond the Roulette Wheel: European Curiosities
While American and European Roulette are global staples, Europe holds secrets for those willing to look. These games offer a fresh twist on familiar concepts, often with a richer, more localized history.
First, let’s talk about Rouleno, as you won’t find this in Las Vegas. It’s a speciality, often tucked away in Italian casinos or at specific gaming events. At first glance, it looks like roulette. There’s a wheel. There’s a betting layout. But that’s where the similarities end, as the Rouleno wheel is divided into just ten segments, numbered 0 through 9. The match uses a small ball, much like its famous cousin, but the betting is completely different.
People don’t bet on a single number, and instead, they bet on the sum of the numbers revealed by two consecutive spins. This simple change creates a completely different mathematical and strategic landscape. The thrill is in the tense anticipation between the first spin and the second.
In the casinos in Germany, we find Poker Dice, which, as the name implies, is poker played with dice rather than cards. The card symbols of each of the five special dice are 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Players are allowed a maximum of three rolls, similar to Yahtzee.
They attempt to create the best hand they can have. You may take a pair, three of a kind or a more rare five-of-a-kind Ace Yahtzee. It is a masterpiece of the combination of chance and lack of choice, a fast-flowing round that compresses the spirit of poker into a few falling cubes.
The Asian Dice Dynasty
If Europe has its curiosities, Asia has a full-blown dynasty of dice games, many of which are now making their way to the West. Their complexity and communal energy are a world away from the solitary focus of a slot machine.
The king of these is undoubtedly Sic Bo. Its name means “precious dice” in Chinese, and it is a whirlwind of sight, sound, and chance. Played with three dice tumbled in a small, enclosed shaking chamber, Sic Bo is a match of pure prediction. The betting table is a complex mosaic of options. You can bet on a specific triple. You can bet on the total sum of the three dice.
You can bet that a specific number will appear on at least one die, or two, or all three. While the possibilities are vast and can seem overwhelming at first, the core of the game is simple: predict the outcome of the dice. The dealer slams the chamber down, the dice settle, and the revelation is a moment of shared excitement for everyone at the table.