Best casino games for beginners: Why your first game matters more than your first bonus

The legal online casino industry has become one of the more popular forms of entertainment in the United States, one that has drawn all walks of life to experience. For first-time players who have not crossed paths with these platforms, however, they might not know where even to begin. Fortunately, there are a few clear-cut best casino games for beginners to help them enjoy the landscape as much as anyone.

First off, let's start with one of the more overlooked aspects of finding the right online casino. Many users shop around for the most ideal and attractive welcome bonus, which is always wise. Really, though, customers should do a little more homework and find the online casino games for real money that fit their needs more.

After all, if you think you've found the casino welcome offer that's best, there's no guarantee that the platform offers games that you love most.

That's where the homework comes in: Users should play demo versions of titles, if possible, to learn all the mechanics and rules of the game and ensure that they like the title. Then, players can take advantage of free spins casino offers or even no deposit bonus codes.

For more reasons than one, real money online slots are usually the first suggestion when asked what the best online casino games for beginners.

There's no strategy, really. There are no pressing decisions needed to be made. And these games offer the lowest barrier to entry, with many titles requiring a minimum bet of $0.01.

Once players select a slot they prefer, the game will open with a quick walkthrough of what happens if certain symbols are matched. Beyond that, players can click on an icon – typically a question mark, three dots or a lower-case "i" – and see the paytable breakdown for each symbol combination.

Even better, there are many slots that have some of the higher return-to-player (RTP) ratings around and are low volatility. That means these games typically have more frequent payouts, though in smaller amounts.

At its core, online roulette is arguably one of the easiest casino games to learn as a beginner. Place bets on a numbered and colored table and hope the ball falls into the corresponding pocket of a spinning wheel.

Playing roulette online does come with a 5.26% house edge, which is slightly higher than more alluring bets in craps and baccarat. But there are still a few wagers that can help beginners learn how to play the game while also, potentially, staying in the black.

Even-money roulette bets are just how they sound: If your bet wins, you double it – a 1:1 payout. There are three types of even-money wagers, including black or red (what color will the pill land on), even or odd (based on the resulting number) and high or low (1-18 for low, 19-36 for high).

When players open an online roulette game, they will see a table of numbers and colors as well as a few side bets next to the numbers. That is where users will clearly see these even-money bet types. Simply click on one of those wagers, select the bet amount and wait to see where the ball lands.

Like roulette, baccarat can sometimes confound players before they even give it a chance. Really, though, both are arguably some of the easiest casino games to win because they are simple to understand after just a few minutes – or even if beginners stick to one of two bets.

In baccarat, the goal is as straightforward as they come: Which hand, between the Player and the Banker, will have the largest hand; perhaps, even, if a tie occurs, but that's not a bet to focus on for beginners.

By betting on the Banker or Player, not only do users face even-money payouts of 1-1 (minus a 5% commission on winning Banker bets), but they also have some of the lowest house edge percentages – 1.06% and 1.24% – among table games.

After selecting an online baccarat game to play, users will see betting positions on which to place their wagers. Choose Banker or Player, then simply follow on-screen instructions. Note that Aces are worth 1, 10s and face cards are worth 0, and all other cards keep their face value. If a hand totals more than 9, the first digit is dropped and that's the total. So a hand of 13 would become 3. As a result, 9 is the best hand available.

Most legal online casinos have a selection of live dealer titles, with dealers streaming live from dedicated studios and interacting with players through a chat room. One of the more popular types of live dealer games of late is live game shows.

The likes of Crazy Times, Dream Catcher and Monopoly Live, among others, require no skill and combine the excitement of online casino gaming with the thrill of watching a game show on TV.

Hosts streaming live from dedicated studios create all the atmosphere needed, all the while entertaining and interacting with players. All you have to do is place a bet – for example, wagering on a section of the wheel in Crazy Time – and await the result. It's common for live dealer game shows to also have bonus rounds.

It certainly sounds like a lot is going on, but the host is there to help explain gameplay as it's happening.

As a new player of legal casino games online, it's common to explore all the different types and variations of titles available, not to mention the countless side bets and bonus games.

But as a beginner, in terms of wanting to become comfortable with games and perhaps even win a bit more, there are a few types to avoid.

Blackjack, for example, has long been the most popular table game around. But there is plenty of strategy that is also involved, essentially creating too many decisions for a novice player.

The other more popular casino game type is, of course, slots. Not all slots are best for beginners, only those with higher volatility ratings, which users can find by opening slots and reviewing paytables, RTP ratings and volatility levels. The higher the volatility, the more likely players are to have more losses, as these games pay out less frequently than lower-volatility titles.

High volatility slots, while they have a chance to have more meaningful payouts, can quickly drain bankrolls because of those dry spells.

Every licensed online casino offers a welcome bonus for first-time customers, whether it be free spins after depositing and playing $5 or deposit match and lossback credits with a $10 deposit casino. With those bonuses also come playthrough requirements that players need to satisfy before the casino credits become available for withdrawal.

Fortunately, this list of beginner-friendly games is a fun and simple way to reach those wagering requirements. That said, more often than not, slots are the most common – if not only – option for new users. 

After all, all legal online casinos allowing eligible slots for playthrough requirements allow those titles to contribute at a 100% rate. That means a customer who receives a $10 bonus with a 15x wagering requirement could theoretically play a $1 spin 150 times to release the credits for withdrawal.

Some operators, like betPARX Casino, do allow users to play select table games as part of satisfying the playthrough requirement, though they do so at a reduced rate. Roulette, for example, contributes at a 20% rate – meaning if a player makes an even-money bet of $1, only $0.20 of that could contribute toward the wagering requirement.

It's all about doing a little bit of homework and finding the right game for beginners to better enjoy the legal online gambling experience. Who knows? Perhaps they will even stumble across their own easiest casino game to win.

Bettors must be 21 years or older and otherwise eligible to register and place wagers at online casinos. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please seek assistance from trained professionals such as the Problem Gambling Help Network. 

Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET.

Grant Lucas