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Last Updated: November 11, 2018

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Nucleus Gaming Software & 21 Online Casinos Reviewed

Introduction


Nucleus Gaming is a casino game developer that broke onto the scene with an assortment of interesting looking 3D games. The games are relatively straightforward in terms of feature set, but the presentation is the real game changer. The intuitive 3D look and feel to the games is fantastic, making Nucleus’ titles look like something you’d find from Betsoft.

The games from Nucleus are a full of different themes, running from simplistic (Fruit Serenity) to cute (Kitty Cutie) to action-packed (Blades of the Abyss). No matter the game you play, you can rest assured that Nucleus has done a good job of making their library of games interesting to punters.

In addition to slots, there are table games and video poker games also designed by Nucleus. While these lack some of the “wow factor” that the slots have, they are still worthy of your time.

Nucleus Gaming Casinos

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Table Games

The table games have the same look and rules as those of Betsoft. The main difference seems to be that Betsoft tables have green felt and Nucleus uses a light brown.

Baccarat


Baccarat
 

Nucleus offers a simple baccarat game with the three main bets — Player, Banker, and Tie.

21 Burn Blackjack


21 Burn Blackjack
 

21 Burn Blackjack is a blackjack variant where the player can burn his second card. However, the player has to make a very negative side bet, equal to half his original wager, on the replacement card to do so. All things considered, I get a house edge of 0.54%.

For more information, please see my page on 21 Burn Blackjack.

Blackjack


Blackjack Single Deck

Super 7 Blackjack

The following table shows the Blackjack games available in alphabetical order.

Nucleus Gaming Blackjack Alphabetic OrderExpand

Game BJ Pays Soft 17 Double After Split Double Splits Number Re split aces Draw to split aces Peek Surr-ender Return Total Decks Live Game
Single Deck 1.5 Hit Yes 10 or 11 1 No No Yes No 99.62% 1 No
Super 7 1.5 Stand Yes Any 2 1 No No Yes No 99.54% 6 No


Here is the same list in returns range, choose your game wisely.

Nucleus Gaming Blackjack Return OrderExpand

Game BJ Pays Soft 17 Double After Split Double Splits Number Re split aces Draw to split aces Peek Surr-ender Return Total Decks Live Game
Single Deck 1.5 Hit Yes 10 or 11 1 No No Yes No 99.62% 1 No
Super 7 1.5 Stand Yes Any 2 1 No No Yes No 99.54% 6 No


Casino War


Top Card Trumps
 

Nucleus refers to Casino War as Top Card Trumps. They use six decks and follow the stingy "no bonus" rule for a tie after a tie. This results in a house edge of 2.88%.

Craps


Craps
 

Nucleus is one of the few providers to offer a craps game, which are not easy to make. They offer 3x odds, always based on the bet amount. Buy and Lay bets charge a 5% commission, nicely payable on wins only. The commission is based on the bet amount on Buy bets and on the win on Lay bets. The also offer the standard odds on place and place to lose bets.

Wins are rounded down to the nearest $0.25. The smallest chip you can bet is $1.

The following table compares the buy and place bets. As you can see, the house edge is lower on the buy bets for every number except the 6 and 8.

Buy and Place Bets

Point Buy
Pays
Place
Pays
Buy
House
Edge
Place
House
Edge
4 or 10 1.950000 1.800000 0.016667 0.066667
5 or 9 1.450000 1.400000 0.020000 0.040000
6 or 8 1.150000 1.166667 0.022727 0.015152

The following table compares the lay and place to lose bets. Much like the buy and place bets, the house edge is lower on the lay bets for every number except the 6 and 8.

Lay and Place to Lose Bets

Point Buy
Pays
Place
Pays
Buy
House
Edge
Place
House
Edge
4 or 10 0.475000 0.454545 0.016667 0.030303
5 or 9 0.633333 0.625000 0.020000 0.025000
6 or 8 0.791667 0.800000 0.022727 0.018182

Here are the increments you should make place, buy, don't place, and lay bets, to avoid getting rounded down.

  • Place: $5 on 4, 5, 9, and 10, $6 on 6 and 8.
  • Buy: $5 on all points.
  • Don't place: $11 on 4 and 10, $8 on 5 and 9, $5 on 6 and 8
  • Lay: $10 on 4 and 10, $15 on 5 and 9, $6 on 6 and 8.

The field has the liberal rules of paying 3 to 1 on the 12.

Beware the Big 6 and 8 bets, that pay even money only.

Draw Hi-Lo


Draw Hi Lo
 

This is a simple game of card prediction. As far as I know, it is available only to Betsoft and Nucleus. Rather than explain it all here, please see my page Draw Hi Lo for more information. The bottom line is a house edge of 3.93%.

Caribbean Stud Poker


Caribbean Poker
 

Standard Caribbean Stud Poker rules are followed, except a royal flush pays 200 instead of 100. This lowers the house edge from the usual 5.22% by 0.01% to 5.21%.

Pai Gow Poker


Pai Gow Poker
 

Standard pai gow poker rules are followed. I always like it when online casinos have a house way button, or at least sort the cards, but Nucleus does neither. At least it is impossible to foul your hand.

The dealer is always the banker. Assuming the player follows a house way strategy, the house edge is 2.72%.

Three Card Poker


Triple Edge Poker
 

Nucleus refers to their Three Card Poker game as Triple Edge Poker. The Ante Bonus follows the 1-4-5 pay table for a house edge of 3.37% on the Ante bet. The Pairplus pay table goes 1-4-6-30-40 for a house edge of 2.32%.

Pontoon


Pontoon
 

Pontoon was created by Real Time Gaming and in the usual tradition of keeping up with the competition, it has been adopted by other competitors, including Nucleus. This is not to be confused with Australian pontoon, which is the same thing as Spanish 21 in the US.

Nucleus follows the usual rules of allowing drawing to split aces and the dealer hitting a soft 17. Eight decks are used. This results in a house edge of 0.38%. The Sweet 16 side bet has a house edge of 2.52%.

For more information, please see my page on Pontoon (RTG version).

Red Dog


Red Dog
 

The usual red dog rules are followed. Eight decks are used for a house edge of 2.75%.

Roulette


Common Draw Roulette

Zoom Roulette

American Roulette

Nucleus offers three versions of roulette, two single-zero and one double-zero. I recommend playing the single-zero wheels only.

Slots


Ruby Jade

Blades of the Abyss

High Noon

Mermaid's Treasure

Moguls

Moon Bitten

Savanna Safari

Sleight of Hand

There's Gold Yonder

Vegas Road Trip

Sands of Egypt

Nucleus slots are very nicely done in all ways -- graphics, sound, and game play. Most games convey a good sense of humor and are fun to play.

Spanish 21


Pirate 21
 

Nucleus calls their Spanish 21 game (or what is called Pontoon in Australia) "Pirate 21 Blackjack."

The rules are the same as what you would find in the U.S. In particular, they use six decks, hit a soft 17, and do not allow re-doubling. This results in a house edge of 0.76%.

They also offer the Match the Dealer side bet, with the usual pays of 4 and 9, resulting in a house edge of 3.06%.

Three Card Rummy


Three Card Rummy
 

Three Card Rummy has a similar structure to Three Card Poker, but the hand scoring is much different. It is hard to describe briefly, so please see my page on Vegas Three Card Poker for more information.

Video Poker


Pyramid Poker

Split Way Royale

All American

Bonus Deuces

Deuces and Joker Poker

Double Bonus (multi-play)

Double Joker

Five Draw Poker

Jacks or Better (multi-play)

Joker Poker (multi-play)

Joker Poker

Double Up Feature

The following table shows the Video Poker games available in alphabetical order.

Nucleus Gaming Video Poker Alphabetic Order

Game Power Poker Multi-Play Pay Table Return Live Game
All American (multi-play) No - 1-1-3-8-8-8-30-200-800 98.49% No
All American (progressive) Yes - 1-1-3-8-8-8-25-100-? ? No
Bonus No - 1-1-3-4-4-8-18-25-40-80-200-400-1000 98.15% No
Bonus Deluxe (multi-play) Yes Yes 1-1-3-4-5-10-80-50-800 99.70% No
Bonus Deuces No - 1-1-3-4-4-8-18-25-40-80-200-400-1000 98.15% No
Bonus Poker No - 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800 99.17% No
Bonus Poker (multi-play) Yes - 1-1-3-5-8-10-25-40-80-50-800 94.18% No
Deuces Wild Yes - 1-2-3-4-4-9-15-25-200-800 98.91% No
Deuces Wild (multi-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-4-8-15-25-200-800 98.45% No
Deuces and Joker Poker Yes - 1-2-3-3-3-6-9-12-25-800-2000 99.07% No
Double Bonus (multi-play) Yes - 1-1-3-4-5-8-50-80-160-50-800 94.19% No
Double Jackpot (multi-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-5-8-20-40-80-50-800 98.35% No
Double Joker Poker Yes - 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-50-100-800 98.90% No
Five Draw Poker (jacks or better 5-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-6-9-20-40-800 98.25% No
Jacks or Better Yes - 1-2-3-4-6-9-20-40-800 98.25% No
Jacks or Better (multi-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-6-9-20-40-800 98.25% No
Joker Poker Yes - 1-1-2-3-5-7-17-50-100-200-800 98.09% No
Joker Poker (multi-play) Yes Yes 1-1-2-3-5-7-17-50-100-200-800 98.09% No
Pyramid Poker -- Bonus Poker No - See Pyramid Poker page 83.62% No
Split Way Royale No - 1-2-3-4-5-6-40-50-800-800 99.80% No
Tens or Better Yes - 1-2-3-4-5-6-25-50-800 99.14% No

Here is the same list in returns range, choose your game wisely.

Nucleus Gaming Video Poker Return Order

Game Power Poker Multi-Play Pay Table Return Live Game
All American (progressive) Yes - 1-1-3-8-8-8-25-100-? ? No
Split Way Royale No - 1-2-3-4-5-6-40-50-800-800 99.80% No
Bonus Deluxe (multi-play) Yes Yes 1-1-3-4-5-10-80-50-800 99.70% No
Bonus Poker No - 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-40-80-50-800 99.17% No
Tens or Better Yes - 1-2-3-4-5-6-25-50-800 99.14% No
Deuces and Joker Poker Yes - 1-2-3-3-3-6-9-12-25-800-2000 99.07% No
Deuces Wild Yes - 1-2-3-4-4-9-15-25-200-800 98.91% No
Double Joker Poker Yes - 1-2-3-4-5-8-25-50-100-800 98.90% No
All American (multi-play) No - 1-1-3-8-8-8-30-200-800 98.49% No
Deuces Wild (multi-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-4-8-15-25-200-800 98.45% No
Double Jackpot (multi-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-5-8-20-40-80-50-800 98.35% No
Jacks or Better Yes - 1-2-3-4-6-9-20-40-800 98.25% No
Jacks or Better (multi-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-6-9-20-40-800 98.25% No
Five Draw Poker (jacks or better 5-play) Yes - 1-2-3-4-6-9-20-40-800 98.25% No
Bonus Deuces No - 1-1-3-4-4-8-18-25-40-80-200-400-1000 98.15% No
Bonus No - 1-1-3-4-4-8-18-25-40-80-200-400-1000 98.15% No
Joker Poker Yes - 1-1-2-3-5-7-17-50-100-200-800 98.09% No
Joker Poker (multi-play) Yes Yes 1-1-2-3-5-7-17-50-100-200-800 98.09% No
Double Bonus (multi-play) Yes - 1-1-3-4-5-8-50-80-160-50-800 94.19% No
Bonus Poker (multi-play) Yes - 1-1-3-5-8-10-25-40-80-50-800 94.18% No
Pyramid Poker -- Bonus Poker No - See Pyramid Poker page 83.62% No

External Links

Visit Nucleus Gaming's Official Website

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