Welcome to Casino School

Enforced fun with colleagues. Four words that will strike a chilling fear into the very marrow of every British person. It's no different here at I Choose Birmingham where the four of us have a deep-rooted distrust of one another. Alas, the editor insists we socialise, and, given he's keen on cards and chips, decided we should all visit Genting International Casino for a gaming class at Resorts World. He even put up a reward for anyone who could out-gamble him. Spoiler: This ends exactly the way you want it to.

BLACKJACK

One thing you should know about Laurie Prescott: she doesn't *do* public transport. Fortunately, Resorts World is ten minutes from New Street Station, so she struggled to wiggle out of her first train journey in a staggering nine months. On the way everyone agreed casinos can seem a little confusing for the uninitiated. This is exactly what these classes are designed to dispel. They're tailored for beginners and you're designated a table just for you and your crew. 

"Oh, you mean Pontoon!" says our deputy editor the moment our croupier explains the key to Blackjack is getting as close to 21 as possible. She's sort of right, but you won't find it being called Pontoon around here. The words "twist" or "stick" are replaced in Blackjack with "hit" or "stay" or even just a nod, a tap on the table or a slight movement of the hand. Apparently the game can be played in total silence if you're a right grump, but we're quite quickly making excessive noise and ordering a round of whiskies to the table (a drink is included in the experience). Hang on, are we actually having fun? With workmates? This'll end in a disciplinary.

Side note: We're not actually gambling with cash. The only money we've spent is on the class itself, and we're each given the same amount of chips to bet with, so we can monitor individual success, or lack thereof. Yes, Blackjack is a game in which you only play against 'the house' (the casino). But there's a bottle of Chateau Malecasse 2002 up for grabs for whoever finishes up with the most chips, so everyone is paying attention. Except Ben. He's still wondering where the dice are.

Possibly just as daunting for the beginner, roulette is arguably more fun. Except, it seems, for the editor who (pictured below) was unsuccessfully trying to save face. It's a super simple game when you're shown how. The ball is rolled around the rim of the wheel and it'll land on a number. You can bet on it landing on that number, or on a colour — black or red. All the numbers are displayed in three columns, and you can bet on the ball landing on any number inside a column. Alternatively, you can place a chip so that it straddles two, or even four numbers. That'll mean you're staking your bet on the ball landing on one of those two, or one of those four numbers.

We've probably explained this terribly, and there are interesting twists and quirks to both games (you can't hand the dealer money, we learned, not even jokingly), but the basics are easy to pick up, and the croupiers seem to really enjoy working with customers who have absolutely no idea what the blithering hell is going on.

Once we got to grips with the rules (and the editor is sulking sufficiently), we're given a free £5 bet each to play with on the 'live' tables. Within two hands of Blackjack we've all lost the lot, and we're taking it in turns to do bad impressions of George Clooney from Ocean's Eleven. "The house always wins", we say sagely, but it's jolly good fun finding that out.

Ben asks when the dice come in to play, signalling home time. Laurie insists on a taxi. She ain't getting on no train, fool. 

Learn to play at Genting International Casino from £13.95 each. And be sure to remember what George said — always gamble responsibly.