About Casino Holdem
Casino Holdem is a twist of the Texas Holdem game that we all love so much. Texas Holdem casino game was invented around the year 2000 in the US. Despite its young age, this poker game is loved by millions of casino aficionados. Indeed, it has no lack of benefits. It’s super fun and easy to play. Plus, Texas Holdem at a casino boasts a player-friendly house edge.
Texas Holdem at a casino is played with one deck of 52 cards. The deck is shuffled after each game. The strongest card is Ace, while the weakest one is 2. In some poker variations, however, Ace may assume the lowest value.
When playing online Casino Texas Holdem, your goal is to beat the dealer’s hand. In other words, you need to make the best hand out of two cards that have been dealt to you and five community (shared) cards. The term “community cards” will be explained below.
Keep in mind that in casino Hold’em, you’re playing against the casino represented by the dealer, and not against other poker players. In addition to an entertaining gameplay and easy rules, Texas Holdem at a casino boasts a low house edge which makes it an attractive game for both newbies and professional poker lovers.
How to play Casino Holdem
Now that we’ve covered some basic information on the game, let’s get to the technicalities of Texas Holdem casino rules and see how to play Casino Holdem step by step. How to play Texas Holdem at a casino? If you already know how to play classic poker or Texas Holdem at a casino, you won’t have the slightest trouble mastering Casino Hold’em. Casino Holdem has minor differences when it comes to the rules, so don’t worry. Plus, this poker variation can be approached even by people who have never played poker in their entire life! Take a look at the sequence of steps below, it’s really easy!
- The game starts with the player making an Ante bet. After this, the dealer starts dealing cards. The dealer deals two cards (these are called “hole cards”) to the player and two cards to themselves. Keep in mind that the dealer’s cards are dealt face down, while the player gets their cards face up.
- As the next step, the dealer deals three more cards which are placed in the center of the table. In poker terms, these three cards are nicknamed community cards, or the “flop”.
- Now you need to estimate your hand and make a decision. You have several options. If you choose to Flop, i.e. surrender your hand, the casino will take your Ante bet. Alternatively, you may choose to Call/Raise, i.e. continue the casino game by placing an additional wager x2 your Ante bet. This additional wager goes under the name of Call bet.
- If you choose to call, the dealer will have to deal two more community cards. This is where you have to make the best hand possible with two of your own cards and five community cards.
- After turning up their two cards, the dealer determines who has the better hand, the player or the dealer.
- Now here is one more thing. It needs to be determined whether the dealer’s hand qualifies. To qualify, the dealer's hand must have a pair of 4s or higher.
- What happens if the dealer’s hand fails to qualify? You win! You only get paid for your Ante bet, while your Call bet is returned to you.
- If the dealer’s hand qualifies and beats your hand, you lose both your Ante bet and your Call bet. If, however, the dealer’s hand qualifies but is beaten by your hand, you’ll get payouts for both your bets. Ante bet pays according to the paytable, while Call bet is paid 1 to 1.
The Ante bet pays as follows:
- Royal Flush brings you a 100 to 1 payout.
- Straight Flush pays 20 to 1.
- Four of a Kind is worth a 10 to 1 payout.
- Full House generates a nice 3 to 1 payout.
- For a Flush, you get paid 2 to 1.
- For a Straight (or a lower hand), you get paid 1 to 1.
Strategy for Casino Holdem
By using the optimal strategy for Texas Holdem poker at a casino, you can significantly improve your winning chances. The strategy takes down the house edge to a comfortable 2.16%. Using the optimal poker strategy that guarantees success in 82% of cases. This means you’ll have to fold only 18% of your hands. This mainly happens when the player has a very weak hand with an almost nonexistent chance of getting a Straight or a Flush.
Here are some of the rules for using the optimal strategy:
- Call any Pair.
- Call any Flush draw.
- If you have an Ace-high or King-high, you should also call.
- If you have low unpaired cards, be sure to fold.
Side bets
Casino Holdem wouldn’t be Casino Hold’em without side bets. Let’s focus on the AA+ side bet, aka Pair Plus. It’s based on the value of the hand that the player flopped. The AA+ side bet comes with a 2.97% house edge. But why does this bet have such a peculiar name? Well, it’s because the player’s goal is to form a hand containing a Pair of Aces or higher.
Here is how the AA+ side bet pays out:
- If you have a Pair of Aces or Two Pair, you get paid 7 to 1.
- If you have a Three of a Kind, you get paid 8 to 1.
- If you have a Straight, you get paid 10 to 1.
- If you have a Flush, you get paid 20 to 1.
- Full House generates a 30 to 1 win.
- Four of a Kind generates a 40 to 1 win.
- With a Straight Flush under your belt, you get a 50 to 1 payout.
- Finally, a Royal Flush pays 100 to 1.
Progressive Jackpot bet
What players love about Texas Holdem at a casino is a Progressive Jackpot bet. This wager is made based on two hole cards and five community cards. To land a jackpot, you need to have a Royal Flush. A Straight Flush will bring you 10% of the jackpot pool which is also a good outcome (better than nothing!). More importantly, a jackpot win is not determined by whether or not the player folded their hand.
Let’s take a look at how much money you can count on:
- If you’re lucky to have a Royal Flush, you’ll get paid a 100% progessive jackpot.
- If you have a Straight Flush, you get 10% of the progressive jackpot.
- Four of a Kind generates a $500 win.
- For a Full House, you get a $100 addition to your bankroll.
- For a Flush, you get $75.
Our verdict
If you’re an ardent poker fan, you can’t possibly miss Casino Holdem. It’s a dynamic variation of Texas Holdem with an exciting twist of its own. The game hasn’t gotten far from its prototype. It only features an additional bet and slightly different payouts. As for the rest, Casino Hold’em is played exactly like Texas Holdem. Just like blackjack, Casino Holdem requires a great deal of training before you start to achieve good results and make money off your poker skills. Don’t focus too much on the result and try to enjoy your poker journey instead! Keep in mind that along with the regular online version you can also play live Casino Hold’em!