Rules of the Game: How to Play Monaco’s Most Popular Casino Games

It might have been a while since your last trip to Monaco, or perhaps you’re planning your very first visit! Whatever the case, it’s always a good idea to brush up on all the rules and knowledge of the top casino games before heading off. After all, a trip to Monaco is incomplete without visiting Monte Carlo!

With some of the top casinos located in Monaco, it’s a must-see destination designed with 19th century Europe in mind. Why not take part in the live games yourself and enjoy it with your friends? Dress up in style for a night of fun at the Casino De Monte Carlo and enjoy both American games as well as traditional European roulette. Keep reading below for all the know-how you need to prepare to play the most popular casino games!

Which Casinos to Visit?

Before you start reading the rules for some of the most popular casino games to get up to speed, it’s worth having a look at the two top casinos that are a must to visit when in Monaco so you can plan your trip ahead of time.

Casino de Monte Carlo

Constructed in 1863, the Casino de Monte Carlo is worth a visit, even if it’s only to look at it! Designed by Charles Garnier (who also designed the Paris opera house), it’s undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and luxurious casinos in the world, and being a set in some of the James Bond films, it’s well worth a visit! The Casino de Monte Carlo offers more traditional casino games like European and English roulette, Chemin de Fer, Punto Banco, and more.

Sun Casino

If American-style casino games like Poker, Craps, Slot games, or Blackjack are more your thing, then the Sun Casino is the place for you! Think Atlantic City or Las Vegas… but in Europe! Although poker wasn’t too big in European-style casino games, it’s certainly taken off now with more visitors coming to Monte Carlo from across the world. So you can be sure that there will be a game for you!

1. European Roulette

One of the main reasons that European Roulette is one of the top casino games is its greater chance of winning because the house advantage is 2.63%. The European roulette wheel has 37 divisions with numbers from 1 to 36, as well as 0.

Typically, anywhere from 1 to 8 players will play at a time, and once the dealer/croupier calls out for bets to be placed, the ball is placed on the roulette wheel and spun. When the ball has two revolutions to go, the croupier will announce that no more bets will be accepted. The croupier will call out the winning number once the ball has stopped and dropped into any of the 37 slots. Bets that are lost are yielded to the house, and all winning bets are paid out to the players.

2. Slot Machines

If you haven’t had very much experience with casino games, then slot machines might be an excellent place to warm up and work your way up to other casino games. It’s pretty simple; all you need to do is pay, pull the handle or push a button to spin, and wait to see what shows up on your screen!

Depending on the theme of the game, different things could show up, but with traditional slot machines, the symbols consist of double bars, bars, and cherries. A single cherry on the line could give you 2 credits back, whereas a mixture of the 3 symbols could give you 10 credits. 3 single bars are worth 30 credits, and 3 double bars are worth 60.

Sometimes, you might even trigger a bonus event with special symbols! You could get mystery bonuses, free spins, or pick a prize! Once you want to collect your credit, all you need to do is hit the ‘cash out’ button, which should be displayed somewhere on the screen or the machine, and it’ll print a ticket that you can exchange for cash.

3. Punto Banco

Similar to Blackjack, in Punto Banco, players bet against the dealer. Punto means ‘player’ and Banco means ‘bank,’ so it describes the two sides of the game pretty well. The end goal of the game is to reach 9 or be the closest to reaching 9 before the other side does. And you must also not lose out entirely or go over 9 either.

The setting for Punto Banco consists of seats for 12 or 14 players, 2 dealers, and a banker. The game is then played with either 6 or 8 decks of cards which the dealer is responsible for shuffling before each round.

Once all the bets have been placed, the first player draws 4 cards and then gives them to the dealer. All the cards are placed face down on the table, one for the player, then banker, and then repeated with the other 2 cards. If the value of the player’s cards is anywhere between 0 and 5, then they must draw a third card. If the value is 6 or 7, then the player stands. If the hand is an 8 or a 9, the player wins.