Start with the menu, not the marketing name
A casino floor and an online casino lobby are organised the same way underneath: by the mechanism that decides the outcome. The names on the signs are marketing, but the categories are mechanical. Once you know the categories, any new game you see can be placed in one of them within a few seconds, even if the title is unfamiliar.
Casino games fall into a small number of families. Each family has a different decision structure, a different pace, and a different relationship between the player's choices and the result. The names used for individual games are usually either the name of the underlying mechanism, a themed reskin of that mechanism, or a proprietary title the operator invented for a game that is, mechanically, something you already know.
The four working categories
Most casino games sit in one of four groups. The groups are defined by what determines the outcome and whether the player makes decisions after the wager is placed.
| Category | What decides the outcome | Player decisions after wagering | Common examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Table games | Cards, dice, a wheel, or a combination | Often yes, within fixed rules | Blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat |
| Machine games | A random number generator mapped to reels or symbols | Usually none beyond stake and lines | Slots, video poker, electronic table games |
| Random number draws | A generated number or set of numbers | None after the ticket or bet is placed | Keno, bingo, lottery-style games |
| Specialty and social games | Varies; often a fixed wheel or card spread | Limited or none | Scratch cards, arcade-style games, home casino night games |
The line between these categories is not always clean. A video blackjack machine is a table game's rules running on a machine game's random number generator. A live dealer table streamed to a phone is a table game with a human dealer and physical cards, settled through an online account. The category tells you where the randomness comes from and how much control you have, not what the game is worth playing.
Table games: the named classics
Table games are the oldest layer of the casino and the easiest to name because the names describe the equipment or the goal. Blackjack is a comparing card game where the objective is a hand total closer to 21 than the dealer's without exceeding it. Roulette is named for the wheel, and the two main wheel types differ mechanically: European wheels have 37 pockets with a single zero, while American wheels have 38 with a single and double zero. The extra pocket increases the house edge on the American layout.
Craps is a dice game built around the pass line and the come-out roll, and it is the clearest example of a table where different bet types on the same layout carry materially different house edges. Baccarat is a comparing card game between the player and banker hands where totals are taken modulo 10. Banker, player and tie bets carry different house edges, with the tie bet the highest.
When a game is called a variant, the variant name usually tells you which rule changed. A blackjack variant might change the deck count, the dealer's standing rule, or the doubling and splitting rules. Published basic-strategy charts derive from the specific rule set in use, so the variant name is not decoration; it is the rule set.
Machine games: slots and their many names
Slots carry the widest range of names because the name is usually a theme, not a mechanism. The mechanism underneath is a random number generator mapped to reels, symbols, and paylines. The terms that matter are structural, not thematic.
A payline is a pattern across reels that produces a paying combination. Fixed-payline games require betting all lines. Ways-to-win formats pay on adjacent-symbol combinations instead of fixed lines, which changes how a winning combination is defined but not the underlying randomness. Return to Player is a theoretical percentage of total wagered money a game returns to players over a very large number of spins or hands, and it is a long-run statistical average, not a per-session guarantee. Volatility describes how payouts are distributed over time: high volatility means rarer but larger payouts, low volatility means more frequent but smaller ones, and volatility does not change a game's RTP.
Jackpot types are another naming layer. Fixed jackpots pay a set amount. Progressive jackpots grow from a share of qualifying wagers and reset after a win. Progressive contributions are typically taken out of the game's return, and some progressives require a maximum-stake bet to qualify. A slot called by a movie title, a mythology theme, or a fruit name is still one of these structures underneath.
Random number draws and specialty games
Keno and bingo are the clearest random number draw games. The player selects numbers or receives a card, numbers are drawn, and the result is a match count. There is no decision after the draw begins. The names used for these games are usually the draw format itself, which makes them easier to identify than themed slots.
Specialty games is a catch-all term operators use for everything that does not fit the table or machine categories cleanly. Scratch cards, arcade-style games, and fixed-wheel games sit here. The category name is an operator convenience, not a mechanical description, so the only reliable way to know what a specialty game does is to open its rules or information panel.
How a crypto-settled casino changes the names, not the games
A casino that settles in cryptocurrency uses the same game categories and the same underlying mechanisms as a fiat casino. The games are not called something different. What changes is the settlement layer: the account is funded and withdrawn through on-chain transfers rather than card or bank rails.
On-chain transfers are irreversible once confirmed, require the correct network to be selected, and settle according to network confirmation times and fees rather than the operator's banking hours. Some crypto-based games also use a provably fair scheme, where a hashed server seed is published before play and revealed afterwards, letting a player verify that the outcome was not altered after their bet. Provably fair verifies individual round integrity; it is not a licence, an audit, or a guarantee of solvency.
The names on a crypto casino menu are the same names you would see on a fiat casino menu. The difference is in the cashier, not the game list.
Sportsbook and casino inside one account
Many operators run a sportsbook and a casino product behind a single login. The two products usually share one wallet but keep separate game histories, separate bonus balances, and separate terms. A sportsbook bet is a wager on an event outcome with odds quoted at the time of placement. A casino game is a wager on a random outcome generated by the game itself. The account plumbing is shared; the products are not interchangeable.
When a promotion or bonus is offered, the terms state which product it applies to. A sportsbook free bet and a casino free spins grant are different instruments with different wagering structures. The wagering requirement is a multiplier stating how much must be wagered before bonus-related funds can be withdrawn. As an example, a 30x requirement on a 50-unit bonus means 1,500 units must be wagered, and game weighting can change how much each wager counts.
Finding a game or the cashier in an app
Casino apps and websites are laid out around the same categories as a physical floor, plus an account layer. The game lobby is usually split into table games, slots, live dealer, and specialty sections. A search bar sits at the top of most lobbies, and typing a game name or a mechanism, such as blackjack or roulette, filters the list.
The cashier is a separate area from the game lobby. It is usually reached from an account icon, a wallet icon, or a menu labelled deposit or withdraw. The cashier shows the available payment methods, the minimum and maximum amounts for each, and the status of any pending transaction. KYC, or Know Your Customer, is identity verification an operator performs, typically requiring a government ID and proof of address, and it is often triggered before withdrawals. Requirements differ by operator and jurisdiction.
If a game category or cashier option is not visible, the account menu is the place to look. Operators place product-specific links inside the main menu, and the terms page for any promotion states which games count toward it.
Running a home casino night with no real stakes
A home casino night uses the same game names and the same rules as a casino floor, but the settlement is social. Players buy in with chips that have no cash value, or with a fixed entry fee that buys a set chip stack and no payout. The objective is the game itself, not a return.
The cleanest structure is to pick two or three table games with simple decision structures, deal them from a standard deck or spin a wheel, and keep the chip values fixed for the evening. If you want a slot-style element, a random number draw or a simple wheel can stand in for a machine game without any electronic equipment. The names stay the same: blackjack, roulette, craps, baccarat, keno. What changes is that no chip can be exchanged for money at the end of the night, which keeps the event a social game rather than an unlicensed gambling operation. The same rule applies to office parties and charity events: fixed buy-in, no cash-out, and the game names are the only thing borrowed from the casino.
FAQ
What is the difference between a slot and a table game?
A slot outcome is generated by a random number generator mapped to reels and symbols, and the player makes no decisions after the spin begins beyond stake and line selection. A table game uses cards, dice, or a wheel, and many table games allow decisions after the wager, such as hitting or standing in blackjack. The categories describe where the randomness comes from and how much control the player has.
Are live dealer games a separate category?
Live dealer games are table games with a human dealer and physical equipment, streamed to a device and settled through an online account. The game names and rules are the same as their floor-based counterparts. The category is table games; the delivery method is streaming.
Do crypto casinos have different game names?
No. A crypto-settled casino uses the same game categories and names as a fiat casino. The difference is in the settlement layer: deposits and withdrawals move on-chain, and some games offer provably fair verification of individual round integrity. The game menu reads the same way.
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