Casino Hold’em Poker is based on the very popular Texas Hold’em Poker game. The only difference between the two is that in the former, players play against a dealer, rather than each other.
History of Casino Hold’em Poker
Casino Hold’em Poker came into existence in 2000 and can be played in both online casinos and their brick-and-mortar cousins. Players looking to try their hand in Casino Hold’em Poker will do well to read through this article and get a feel of what the game is all about, as well as what to do to lessen the house advantage and get the wins coming frequently. Here goes:
How to Play this Video Poker Game?
To begin to play, an ante bet is placed and the dealer then deals a couple of cards, first to the player and then to himself/herself. The cards dealt with the player are shown face up, while those of the dealer are face down. Three community cards are then dealt right in the middle of the table and these first three cards are known as the “flop”.
Objective and Gameplay
Gameplay objective for the player is simply to craft the best possible 5-card hand from the two face-up cards dealt, as well as the community cards. The player is next prodded to either ante up or fold. Should the player decide to call, the two remaining community cards are then dealt.
The dealer then shows his/her hand and wins are determined based on who between the player and house has the strongest hand. To qualify, the dealer is required to possess a minimum hand that has a pair of 4s. Should this not be in their possession the ante bet will be paid out.
Should the dealer have a hand that both qualifies and is stronger than those of the player, the house wins and both the player’s ante and call bets are lost. On the other hand, should the dealer qualify, but end up with a hand weaker than those of the player, the player wins and both the ante and call bets are paid out.
Side Bets in Casino Hold’em Poker
At most new mobile casino, a side bet called the ‘Pair Plus” or “AA+ Bonus” is supported and is decided following the flop. The payout for side bets also varies among casinos and can range from 7:1 to 100:1.
Yet another side bet is the progressive jackpot. It functions independently of the results of the main wager and is based on the community cards, as well as the 2-hole cards of the player. The progressive jackpot in Casino Hold’em Poker gets paid in full for all royal flushes but is split if it is won by multiple players. With a straight flush, the winner is able to enjoy 10% of the total pot.
Strategies
By calling at an 82% rate and folding just 18% of hands, the house edge gets minimized to 2.16%. Players should endeavour to call
any pair
any open-ended straight draw
any Ace-high or King-high
any flush draw
with 2 over-cards
A Queen-high, except if the community cards are of a different suit.
Players are heavily encouraged to keep their ante low, as gameplay in the Casino Hold’em Poker requires lots of different wagers and if care is not taken these can speedily exhaust the players’ bank balance.
Lastly, the AA+ side bets feature must be avoided at all costs. While the payouts offered there might be rather tempting, it is actually nothing more than a sharp blade smeared over with honey, as the side bet feature boosts the house edge up to 6.40%.
