News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 4, 2022: There are certain things you can only experience in Latin America. Take Bolivia’s Uyuni Salt Flats as an example. They are a photographer’s dream, more so during the pink flamingo migration season.
Then there’s the Angel Falls in Venezuela, the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Cordillera Huayhuash mountains in Peru. Tourism aside, Latin America also engages in modern ways of having fun, say playing online casino games.
What are the most popular online casino games in Latin America?
- Slot Machines
Slot machines dominate popularity in nearly every part of the world. The story isn’t different in Latin America. In countries where gambling is legal, casinos make up to 80% of their money through slots.
Wait a minute. Why would you play games that make casinos so much money? For starters, slots aren’t just generous to casinos. They also payout impressively, especially top RTP machines.
The average online slot pays out 90% to 90% of wagered money. This gives players a fair chance to win. When you add in-game features like wilds, scatters, multipliers and free spins, slots become pretty appealing.
Now, picking the right slots to play needs time. You need to look at the payout/RTP. Then check the developer—top-rated providers created quality games. Look at the graphics, in-game features and popularity with gamblers.
- Poker
Poker is arguably the most popular card game in Latin America. People play the game at home, in the streets, and casinos. At one point, poker was so popular in the region that PokerStars sponsored a seasonal tournament dubbed the Latin Poker Tour.
The competition ran between 2008 and 2016. Usually, games were held in different cities in Latin America but competitors came from all parts of the world. Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica and Chile held the highest number of games throughout the competition’s existence.
With that in mind, poker didn’t lose popularity after the famous tournament ended. In fact, Caribbean countries still license and host top US poker sites. People in Latin America also host and run local poker competitions to date.
In the usual spirit, Texas Hold’em is the most played poker game in the region. Players love it because you can use skills to defeat someone with a better hand. Other popular poker variants in the region include:
- Caribbean Stud Poker
- Omaha
- 5-Card Draw
- 7-Card Stud
- HORSE
Blackjack
Blackjack is a special game. Unlike poker, you play blackjack against a casino. Of course, casinos have employees known as dealers who play on their behalf. Defeat a dealer in a game, and you’re taking money away from the house.
Winning in blackjack means producing a hand of 21. You also win if your hand is close to 21 and better than the dealer’s hand. A hand beyond 21 is called a bust—a loss.
Similar to poker, blackjack has a handful of variants. They share the same core objective—defeating the dealer in a hand of 21. However, they differ in rules. Some remove 10-value cards. Others allow you to switch cards:
- Blackjack Switch
- Spanish 21
- Atlantic City Blackjack
- Vegas Strip Blackjack
- Perfect Pairs
- European Blackjack
Roulette
Is there a table game easier to play than roulette? All you need is to decide what to predict. You can pick a straight number—predict where the marker on the wheel stops (0-36).
You could also predict the color (black/red), odd/even, corner bets, three numbers and dozen bets. In other words, there are plenty of bet types in roulette, each with varying odds and payouts.
To be clear, roulette also comes in several versions. European roulette is the most popular variant. It’s known for its single zero pocket and 36 slots numbered 1-36. American roulette is the next popular variant. It has one more pocket occupied by two zeroes.
Other popular roulette types played in Latin America include lightning roulette, mini roulette and French roulette. Of these variants, French roulette is the most desired game. It has a house edge of 1.35%, much lower than European roulette’s 2.7% house advantage.
Baccarat
Baccarat isn’t as popular as poker in Latin America. But it’s popular with celebrities and high rollers. It’s also a game you’re guaranteed to find at your favorite online casino. On the surface, baccarat looks like blackjack.
The goal is to produce a hand close to or equal to nine. Also, there’s a player’s hand and a banker’s hand. While there are similarities, the games are entirely different.
In baccarat, the banker isn’t the equivalent of a dealer. It’s just one of two hands played in the game. When it comes to betting, you can back the player, the banker or a tie.
To expound more on baccarat, you can only use cards valued between 1 and 9. Ten-value cards, including jacks, kings and queens hold no value in the game. Aces have a value of one. Furthermore, a hand above nine, say 13, becomes three.
Video Poker
Contrary to popular belief, video poker isn’t a variation of standard poker. Instead, it’s what you get when you merge poker with slots. On the one hand, it uses RNG software and video screens akin to slot machines.
On the other end, it features poker hands and the goal is to produce the strongest poker hand. First, you need to place a bet of between one and five credits or their multiples.
The amount of money won depends on the credits you wagered and the hand you produced. Let’s say you bet one credit and produce a royal flush—the best hand in poker. You get paid 250x your stake.
By comparison, a wager of five credit earns you 4000x your bet if you produce a royal flush. A two of a kind, straight or full house produces slightly less money, though.
Latin America loves casino games. Slots are the games of choice for most people. However, a significant number of gamblers prefer to play poker, which attracts some of the best professionals in the word. If you prefer to bet against the house, blackjack or roulette are great alternatives.
