Golden Casino Review

Golden Casino is one of the most popular online casinos in the world and is one of the few that still accepts players from the United States.  The site sports the same color scheme and feel as
Golden Casino Lobby  its cousin, Golden Palace, but is based on a different software package, Odds On Technologies.  The casino can be downloaded quickly and from our experience, it was amazingly easy to fund an account with a credit card.  There are over seventy-five slot machine games, a variety of video poker offerings, twelve table game types and a number of specialty games. 

Blackjack – Golden Casino blackjack has four variations, all that are played in single-player mode. The single player mode also gives you the choice of 1 thru 5 betting hands. Playing five hands in practice mode is a great way to work on your blackjack basic strategy.

Golden Casino blackjack gives you the option of European rules using 4 decks or Las Vegas Strip rules using 6 decks.

European Rules (4 decks)

• After each round, used cards are returned to the deck and the deck is shuffled.
• The player may double down on 9, 10 or 11.
• The player may double after splitting.
• The player may not split a split hand.
• The dealer will not check for Blackjack in any case.
• If the player doubles and the dealer's first card is of value 11 (ACE), and the dealer gets Blackjack, the player loses both his bets. If the dealer’s first card is of value 10, and the dealer gets Blackjack, the player gets the Double bet back.

Las Vegas Strip Rules (6 decks)

• After each round, used cards are returned to the deck and the deck is shuffled.
• The player may double down on any two cards.
• The player may double after splitting.
• The player may split a split hand except for aces.
  
• The dealer will check (peek) for Blackjack in any case.

Perfect Pairs – Golden Casino also offers Perfect Pairs, a side bet that played along with the Las Vegas Strip rules.  The rules are simple.  Place your money in the side bet area of the table and win if your first two cards a pair.  A mixed pair pays 5 to 1, a colored pair 10 to 1, and a perfect pair (exact same card) 30 to 1.  The game uses an 8 deck shoe and the side bet has a corresponding house edge of 3.37%, not a good deal in our opinion.

Blackjack Progressive – Golden Casino also has a blackjack table with a progressive jackpot based on the cards you are dealt. If you like jackpot games, give it a shot, but remember the progressive has to be over $190,000 to make it even close to being a good bet.

Golden Casino's craps tables have a $1 minimum bet and a $500 table limit.  The player can only take up to 1 times odds on the pass and come bets. This is also the case for don't pass and don't come. The combined house edge is 0.85%, not the best you'll find on the net.

The casino offers American Roulette and European Roulette. The difference between them consists of two zeros for American Roulette and one zero for European Roulette. Both versions include a history of numbers hit and a close-up of the wheel. The graphics and sounds are good. Of course, I recommend European Roulette because the house edge is half the size of American Roulette.  The game at Golden Casino is not cheap however, as the minimum bet is $1.00.

The baccarat table offers the standard rules, rake and odds for the game. The look and feel of the table is excellent and the player controls are intuitive.

This game is Golden Casino's version of Let it Ride. The game has a house edge of about 3.5%.  There is also a side bet which has an edge of 9.4%, certainly not the worst for this type of bet, but still something you'll want to avoid.

The dealer is always the banker, resulting in a house edge of 2.8%. There is a house way button but if the player clicks it the hand will immediately be scored, not giving the player the option to accept or reject the house way.

This version of Three Card Poker follows full-pay rules making it one of the better deals on the Internet for this game.  The house edge is 2.3% on the Pair Plus bet and 3.4% on the Ante bet.

Golden Casino's 10 High Hold'em is a house-banked version of Texas Hold'em where the player competes heads up with the dealer. The betting includes an ante bet, a call bet, and a option side bet that pays of hands that can be made out of the player's initial two cards and the three card flop. The game is fun and not terribly expensive, about a 2% house edge. The side bet is so-so, with a house edge of 6.4%.

Golden Casino offers a good selection of slot machines with over 75 classic and video slots, including five progressive slots. Unlike other online gambling software packages, the slots and video poker don't need to be "fed" bills in order to start playing. All slots and games at Golden Casino deduct and add to your cash balance making the coin conversions for you. This makes session bankroll management a bit more difficult, but is a great convenience when switching between machines.

The classic slots include 2, 3, and 5 coin-in games, some with multiple lines. The video slots include 3, 5, 8, and 9 coin-in games and often come with wild, scatter and bonus features. Fun slots include American Icon, Cupid's Arrow, Evel Knievel, Safari Hunt and Dennis Rodman

Golden Casino offers a lot of variety in its video poker products. The single hand versions include 10s or Better, Jacks or Better, Aces & Faces, Deuces Wild, Joker Poker and Deuces and Joker. These games can also be played in configurations of up to 4 hands at a time.  If you want a big multi-hand game (50 hands) then your only choice will be Deuces Wild.

In addition to the casino table games and slots, Golden Casino also has a good number of specialty games that may appeal to you including Poker Dice (house edge 8.2%), Poker Slots (house edge 6.6%), Bingo Bucks, Dazzling Dice and Keno.

It has been my experience that after you deposit money isn't the best time to learn about the bonus rules. There are cases where you just want to play and leave with your money, but bonuses make that difficult, particularly if they are tied to a certain amount of play on selected games. Golden Casino offers generous bonuses, but there are limits on which games you can play to meet the wagering requirements. Play at all forms of Blackjack, all forms of Progressive Blackjack, Video Poker, Hold 'Em, all forms of Craps, Tri-Card Poker, all forms of Roulette, Let Them Ride, all forms of Baccarat, War, Red Dog, Pai-Gow Poker, Mulligan Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker game is restricted until you have met the wagering requirements I highly recommend you read the bonus rules under terms and conditions and are comfortable with them before depositing. 

The casino also offers the option of not collecting bonuses so that you can deposit, play and withdraw without any restrictions. If this is the route you choose, just send them an e-mail or call them after you have first set up your account. Bonuses are mixed blessing, particularly for people with an impatient temprament.

Golden Casino offers two different options for depositing money, credit cards or Solid Debit Card.  I chose using a credit card to set up my account. Once the money has been credited to your account, you are ready to go.

Editor's Note: Golden Casino is one of the best casinos online that uses Odds On software. To play for free or for real money, click here.