For years, I wouldn't look at any online casinos. I'd play online bingo. I'd try online poker and more recently, I started playing online backgammon which I'm not so good at, but I would never play regular online casino games. My friends would tell me about winning at online slots, or how they were amazing at Pai Gow or Caribbean Poker, but I'd never try any of those games.
Know why? I'm a social person. I like to socialize. When I play online bingo, there are plenty of people to talk to. Online poker - same thing. Even backgammon sites will let you chat with other players, but when you're playing the slots, there's no one to talk to.
Lately though, a few of my friends have been telling me about some online casinos that let you play table games with a live dealer and multiple players. So I decided to check it out. I set a time with a friend, and we got a private table for my induction into this novelty. And there I was, at a real table, playing Caribbean Poker with my buddy. Guess what? It was great!
I didn't even win, but I had a great time. I think these new live-dealer games are totally amazing. I just really enjoy the interaction, not to mention getting to root for my friends while I play.
It's great to be able to play blackjack, roulette, and craps with my buddies, and I'm already having a much better time with all those table games than I ever could have imagined, but there's still no motivation for me to play slots or video poker or keno. I suppose it would be easy to make Keno a multiplayer game, but that leaves video poker and slots as a separate issue.
So I'm wondering, what will come next? I mean is there room for multiplayer slots? How would it work? Could we compete against other slots players? Could we have chat screens working when we're at the slots? Would it be fun to chat with other players when we're playing slots or would everyone be too focused on their own slot machine?
For me, though, the new trend of live dealers and multiplayer games has opened up a whole new arena of play. I used to enjoy some of the table games at live casinos, and I'm much better at blackjack than I ever was at Texas holdem, so it's already done wonders for my budget!
I actually wonder what makes people interested in single-player games. I mean, it must be really lonely and pretty boring just clicking at a screen without talking to anyone or rooting for your friends. Why would anyone want to play that way? Am I shortsighted? I wonder, am I different from most gamblers or is this a trend that works for pretty much everyone? I hope it's the latter, because I really hope to see more and more online casinos open up chats and multiplayer games in the future!
