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Online Casino Games
Online casino games are at the centrepiece of every gambling site in Ireland. Novices, casual players, high rollers and other categories of players visit IE online casinos to play video slots, try to hit a progressive jackpot, run a few rounds in Aviator, beat a dealer in live blackjack or entertain themselves in any other way. There are so many types of online casino games that even a new player who has no idea of his likes and dislikes will undoubtedly find his cup of tea in an online casino platform. Apart from the evident difference in types, games differ in many other aspects, such as average bet sizes, winnings, return to player, popularity, volatility, and so on. New online casinos in Ireland usually include many online casino games in their lobbies—not only popular ones. In this comprehensive review, let’s dive into the world of online casino games.
Video slots
This is the prevalent type of game everywhere. About 90 to 95 per cent of all games fall under this category. A typical video slot is based on a reel concept: Its active field represents three or more virtual columns with symbols on them. Once a player makes a bet and clicks Spin, the columns (reels) are set in motion and spin for a few seconds. If you have a winning combination after the reels stop, you get a payout. Payouts are determined based on the paytable attached to each game.
Low-paying symbols will award you a couple of cents, while rare high-paying combos with five symbols across a payline will add thousands of euros to your balance. Video slots differ in the number of reels and paylines, availability of bonus features, theme, volatility, and many other aspects. For example, there are so-called Megayways slots with 100,000+ winning ways. On the other hand, classic slots in Irish online casinos have only three reels and retro symbols. Read more. . .
Online blackjack
This is a table game played with up to eight card decks without a Joker card. Online casino players get dealt two cards, and they must make a decision on what to do next: keep the two cards and pass the turn to the virtual dealer, take one more card, take two cards, split the hand into two new hands, and so on. Every decision must be made with one reason in mind: complete the hand close to 21 points (or exactly 21 points, which is the best outcome). Some blackjack games have side bets, which are placed in addition to main bets, and this is where the really big payouts are. If you are lucky enough, you can grab 100x your wager or even greater!
Blackjack Surrender, Pontoon, Double Exposure Blackjack, and European Blackjack are just a couple of well-known variations you might play. In fact, their number goes into 30 types. Interestingly, compared to video slots that feature a fixed player return (RTP), this value is flexible in blackjack because it depends on the decisions made by the player. If they follow what is known as a basic strategy, they are likely to maximise the game’s RTP to the highest degree. Some online casino blackjack games show an impressive 99.5% return.
Do you know the odds of getting 21 in the first deal?
About 5%. Besides, you have about 23% chance of getting dealt a good hand scoring 17–20.
Online roulette
Though only three classic types of online roulette exist (European, French, American), players can find many slight variations of this game in IE online casinos for real money. An online roulette wheel has 37 or 38 segments, of which one or two take the player’s bet to the casino’s coffers. Online roulette is not craps—the latter is difficult for a novice. In online roulette, the rules are intuitive and comprehensible, allowing one to start betting and winning real money after a few test rounds (with fun credits).
Some roulette games expand the classic rules and bets by adding something new and exciting, e.g. bonus multipliers. In these games, the software picks a number and multiplier randomly, and if you bet on this number, you will reap a big win. By the way, the multiplier feature is mainly found in live roulette games, e.g. Lightning Roulette by Evolution. As for online roulette, its normal RTP is always 97.3% for the EuR version. Read more. . .
Crash games
These are quite recent developments in the online casino niche. Crash games differ dramatically from all classic games, and the key distinction is their gameplay based on multipliers. In layman’s terms, a typical crash game represents a flying object—a WWII plane in Aviator, a rocket in Rocketon or a hamster in Save the Hamster. That object starts flying, and a 1x multiplier attached to it starts increasing, too. It grows until it suddenly stops, at which moment the object crashes or flies away, thus ending that round. Those players who were lucky to cash out before that happens obtain a win equal to their initial bet multiplied by that ultimate multiplier.
There are about 50 popular crash games in Irish online casinos for real money, with the most popular being Aviator, Aviatrix, JetX, and a few others. On the other hand, some crash games do not follow the curve mechanics, e.g. a group of games known as Mines, developed by Spribe, Hacksaw, Turbo Games, etc. You should remember the same-name game in Windows OS—and the modern Mines is actually the same but with sleek animations.
Online baccarat
This originally Asian game has a strong following among Irish players. The game is interesting in that the two betting choices (Player and Banker) have almost equal hit probabilities and payouts, much like red and black in roulette. But compared to roulette, baccarat comes with a higher RTP of a bit lower than 99%. This is a game of chance where a player makes only one decision: Picking a bet side (Player, Banker, Tie)—that’s it. When the bet is placed, there is no way one can affect or change the pre-determined outcome of the game.
Online baccarat has what is known as a roadmap—a special way of displaying round outcomes using circles, lines, and other shapes. Online baccarat has few variations, but almost every baccarat table has three or more side bets (Dragon Bonus, Perfect Pair, etc.) for even higher winning potentials.
Casino game RTP explained
Everyone comes across the ‘RTP’ terms sooner or later when playing online casino games. This value is measured in percentage. RTP (abbrev. for Return To Player) is a quantitative property of a game, showing how much a player gets back in the long run. For illustration, suppose you bet €100 in a slot with a 96.5% RTP. This figure translates into a potential payout of €96.5 over an extended period of gameplay.
This value is purely approximate because you will hardly get the exact amount back in accordance with the RTP. Betting €100, you can win €200 or lose all your bankroll. The RTP is calculated by providers, taking into account millions of game rounds (spins, dice throws, etc.), so actual outcomes will certainly vary widely.
Game | RTP |
Video slots | 88–98% |
Online roulette | 94.8–98.65% |
Online blackjack | 98–99.9% |
Online baccarat | 98–99% |
Video poker | 96–100.5% |
Crash games | 96–98% |
Casino games: Bottom line
Online casino games can be easy (video slots) and complicated (online craps). They can be of high and low variance. With casino games, you can win millions of euros (progressive jackpots) or have small profits (blackjack). Whatever kind of player you are, online casinos in Ireland will always treat you to something delicious and spicy. Some games have a few variations, e.g. roulette, while others come in all shapes and sizes, e.g. video slots. Online casinos open their virtual doors to all bankrolls—even with €10 in your pocket, you can have a great time with almost every non-high-roller game.
FAQ
The best online casinos have thousands of games powered by 100+ providers.
Online casinos in Ireland offer video slots (classic, modern, Megaways, etc.), many types of blackjack and roulette, craps, crash games, keno, lotteries, and live games, among others.
Progressive slots are. Some of them pay out over a million euros. Talking about normal, non-progressive slots, you can win thousands of euros there. Blackjack and roulette pay out less, but they provide better winning chances.
European roulette is more advantageous in terms of return, as it features a 2.7% house edge, compared to American roulette, which is twice as much. However, some French roulette versions are even better than EuR.
Yes. If they come from reputable providers, they are fair, because they are based on random number generators. Some games are even Provably Fair.
Yes, playing for real money requires that you sign up, log in, and make a deposit to the online casino of your choice.
