What Happens in Vegas? Trivia Quiz

A casino game is one in which patrons to a casino will gamble either cash or chips on a random outcome or even a combination of outcomes. These games can be either table or mechanical in nature. Slot machines are a good example of the latter.

Table games are games of chance played against the casino, on a table that is attended to by one or more live croupiers. The house rules for these games may vary from casino to casino and they may involve cards, dice or wheels.

Step into, just about, any Las Vegas casino and it is highly likely that you will find a blackjack game, or one of its variants, in progress... not only is blackjack the most popular gambling game here it is the most popular in most casinos around the globe.

The game has descended from a family of casino banking games known as "twenty-one". Your aim in the game is to build a value total on the cards you receive (and draw) that is greater than that of the dealer's, however, your total mustn't exceed twenty-one. To do so, means to "bust" and you will have lost your bet. Face (or picture) cards, such as the king, queen or jack count as ten. With the ace, you have the option of calling it, as either a one or an eleven. Obviously, you would not choose the latter if it will mean that you will bust.

You will be dealt (I am ignoring other players and the dealer here) two cards. If you score twenty-one with the two cards, which is called a blackjack or a natural, you have been dealt the strongest possible hand and, as such, you cannot lose. Provided the dealer doesn't score a blackjack as well, you will win that bet. Once you have received your two cards you have a number of options. First up, you can ask for another card by tapping your finger on the table. This is called a "hit". You can call for as many hits as you wish, so long as you don't bust. Remember, the aim is to get as close to twenty one as possible. Second, you may be happy with what you have been dealt, in which case you inform the dealer that you wish to "stand". The signal for this is a horizontal wave of the hand. You are able to "double-up". This means that you double your bet and you indicate this by placing the same number of chips next to your original bet and then signaling for one extra card by pointing with one finger. Finally, you may "split" your cards. You can only do this if the two cards that you have been dealt have the same value. Caution, check the house rules, some casinos may not allow a splitting of (say) a ten and a king, even though they are the same value, insisting that they are also the same pedigree... two kings or two queens, for example. When you "split", you are then playing two hands. In this scenario, you will need to place an additional bet on the table for the second hand.

This is another extremely popular game in Las Vegas. Whilst there are some casinos that don't offer this option, you would be hard pressed to find them in this city.

Developed as a simplified version of the European game "Hazard", whose origins are not clear, though there is some claim that it dates back to the times of the Crusades, craps is a game that involves dice with patrons betting against the casino's bank on the outcome of two rolled die. Essentially, the game flows as follows:

1. You (the shooter) places a bet to win and you roll two six-sided dice. This is called a "come-out" roll.
2. Should you roll a seven or an eleven, which is called a "natural", congratulations, you've had a win and the game is ended.
3. However, roll a two, three or a twelve, called a "crap", commiserations, you lose and the game is over
4. Should you roll any other combination, apart from the above, you gain what is called a "shooter's point". Once this point is set, you keep on rolling until one of two things occurs; (a) your next roll matches the point and you have a win or (b) you roll a seven and, once again, you lose.

Pai gow poker, played using cards, is one of the top five table games in Las Vegas. This should not be confused with the Chinese game pai gow, which is played with domino tiles. As both games can be found in Las Vegas casinos, here's a brief run-down of both games.

Chinese pai gow is played with 32 dominos that are shuffled and arranged into eight stacks of four tiles, all facedown. This is called the "woodpile". Players then place their bets and receive a pile of four tiles that they must arrange into two pairs. The lower valued pair is called the front hand and the other the rear hand. If your two hands beat the dealer's two hands, you win and your bet is repaid on a 1:1 basis. Should both hands lose, so do you. However, if you have one winning hand and one losing hand, you have what is called a "push" and you get your money back.

Pai gow poker was created by Sam Torosian, owner of the Bell Card Club in 1985, by adapting the above game to cards. Played with a deck of 52 cards and one joker, the game is played amongst six players and the dealer. You are dealt seven cards, from which you create a five-card and a two-card poker hand. The five-card hand must be a greater hand than the two-card hand. In a similar way to the tile game described above, your two hands need to beat the dealer's two hands to win the bet.

Poker emerged from a German game of bluff called "pochen" in the sixteenth century, which was grabbed by the French and turned into their own game of "poque". That game found its way to New Orleans where, by 1830, it was refined and given the name poker. The ability to (possibly) improve your hand by discarding unwanted cards and drawing replacements was introduced during the American Civil War. There are now numerous variants of this game, some which will appear in this quiz, but, you need to be very skillful and manage to recruit Lady Luck on a regular basis if you wish to be successful at the game.

The value of poker hands will be dependent upon the strength of the cards in your hand. For example, a pair of nines has greater value than a pair of fives, however, a hand with three twos will be stronger than either of those options. The value of your hand will determine, to a degree, as to how aggressively you will bet. Your outlay will commence with a starting contribution called the ante. During the course of the round there will be betting intervals. An interval will commence when a player throws one or more chips into the middle. Commencing from that player's left, each player must either "call" (which means placing the same number of chips into the pot) or "raise" (putting in more chips than the original bet). There is a third option, to "drop" or "fold", which means that you do not place any further chips into the pot, you surrender your hand and you have lost your initial bet (ante).

The betting interval ends when all players have either dropped out or added the same amount to the pot. Then, after the final betting interval, comes the "showdown" where the hands are revealed and the best hand takes the pot. There may be a scenario where none of the other players on the table are prepared to "call" another player's bet. In this case, the betting player takes the pot and does not have to reveal his/her cards. This has the potential to introduce an element of bluff and, a position where, the best hand may not necessarily take the pot.

One of the most popular games in Las Vegas casinos and, the idea behind the wager on it, is simple. The roulette wheel contains 36 numbers plus the number zero. (Note: some wheels in the USA will also have a double zero on the wheel). The dealer will send a small white ball spinning around the wheel and you place your bet on the number that you think the ball will land on.

The odds on winning that sort of wager are low, so most casinos will provide you with alternate options. You can also bet on the ball landing on a number between 1 and 18 or 19 and 36. You can bet on it landing on an even number, an odd number, a red or a black slot... among others. Whilst these may improve your odds of winning, the overall odds are still in favour of the house.

Some people believe that the French mathematician and inventor, Blaise Pascal, invented the game of roulette. That's a myth. In 1655 Pascal was trying to invent a perpetual motion machine, one that will continue to keep on moving without drawing energy from outside sources. He failed in this but what he did come up with was a wheel that became the basis of the roulette wheel. Roulette was a popular game in France and it made its way to the United States in the early 1800s. Whilst the addition of the zero in 1842 (and the double zero later) sounds like a cool addition to the wheel... think again, it improved the odds for the house significantly.

Texas hold em is, possibly, the most popular variant of the game of poker. Little is known of its origin but, its birthplace is recognized in the Texas legislature as Robstown in (obviously) Texas. It was introduced to the Las Vegas casinos in 1963.

Each player is dealt two cards face down. These are known as your "hole" cards. Then five "community" cards are dealt into the centre of the table in three deals. The first of those deals is made up of three cards. These three are called a "flop". After a round of betting, another card, "the turn", is dealt. This is the prelude to another round of betting before the final card, called "the river", is revealed. Your mission, at this point, is to try and create your best poker hand (of five cards) using your two and any of three of the five community cards. The best hand wins the pot.

Let it ride is another poker variant, this one being invented by John Breeding, founder of the operation known as Shuffle Master. Players are required to form the best poker hand that they can using three cards that are dealt to them along with two community cards. Initially, the two community cards are dealt face down.

The interesting feature of this game is that the player is given two opportunities to withdraw exactly one third of their initial bet. To ensure that their initial bet is divisible by three they are required to place chips of equal value onto three spots in front of them. Should they choose to withdraw part of their bet, then they will do so in the orders of spot one and spot two. Spot three remains on the table and this will remain at risk. The first chance you get to withdraw one third of your wager is when you take a sneak peak at the cards that you have been dealt but, before the first community card has been revealed. The second opportunity is after the reveal of that first community card, but before the second is revealed. There are three withdrawal options for the player; (a) he can withdraw at both reveals (b) withdraw at one reveal or (c) not withdraw at all. The latter is called "letting it ride".

David Webb, who'd established a business called Prime Table Games, created three card poker in 1994 as a means to speed up poker play, thus allowing it to have a similar time frame as other table games on the casino floor.

The game is between yourself and the dealer. You start by placing your wager into the ante. Then you are dealt three cards. At this point you have two options; fold and lose your wager or you can continue. You indicate your continuance by placing the same bet again into the ante. From this point, it's a case of whether your hand or the dealer's hand is the better but... the dealer's hand must be queen high or better for the dealer to remain in the game. If the dealer doesn't remain in the game, then you simply get your investment back. If the dealer remains in play, then there are three possible results (a) your hand is better and you win with your ante and the wager, each being returned on a 1:1 basis (b) you lose... and it's "too bad, so sad" for you or (c) there's a tie, then there's no action on either your ante or your wager.

This quiz won't go into the origins or the etymology of baccarat as there are a number of varying stories to both of these aspects. The game, itself, is played between the player and a banker, with the higher score being declared the winner. The three most popular variants of the game are punto banco, baccarat chemin de fer, and baccarat banque. Their rules are fairly similar with the biggest variant being that, with the former (punto banco), whether or not a player is dealt a third card is determined by the value of the first two cards they have been dealt. With the other two variants, the player can choose if they wish to receive another card.

The value of the cards is determined as follows:
Ace is worth one point. The pip cards from two to nine are worth the number of pips that they have. For example, the five card is worth five points, the seven, seven points. The ten and all of the face cards are worth zero. Now that you know the value, how is the score determined? Players and the banker are each dealt two cards, and the score is determined using "modulus 10". In other words, the ten is discarded. For example, let's say you have been dealt a two and a five. Your score totals seven points. That score will remain as seven. The banker is dealt a seven and an eight. This adds up to fifteen, but, the ten is discarded meaning that his score is only five. Using this method, the highest possible score that two cards can add up to is nine. Your aim, therefore, is to get as close to a score of nine as possible.

In punto banco, as mentioned above, the score that your first two cards reach will determine whether or not you are dealt another card - you don't get a choice. The determination of this is as follows:
- If you or the Banker receive an 8 or a 9 then both of your hands stand.
- If your hand has a value of 6 or 7 then your hand stands.
- If your hand has a value of 5 of less another card is dealt to you.
- If your hand stands the Banker's hand will draw another card if it has a value of 5 or less.

Whilst this game is popular in Asia and has been glamourized in the movies, in particular by the "James Bond" franchise, the game is not overly popular amongst the casinos of the downtown Vegas strip and this is due to the amount of space, on the floor, that the game occupies. That said, baccarat tables are the second largest in number on the Las Vegas strip. The main reason for this is that some of the larger players have entire pits and VIP areas dedicated to the game.