Texas Hold’em poker at online casinos
Nowadays, Texas Hold’em is considered to be the most common and popular form of poker. It is no exaggeration to say that the world has literally gone crazy for this game. It has captured the hearts of tens of millions of people and many have made poker a profession. At major Hold’em events, multimillion dollar prize pools are up for grabs, and the game is followed by an army of fans dying to be a part of the event one day.
Such popularity would seem to be to the gambling industry’s advantage. But let’s not forget that in this type of poker, players are opponents of each other. The institution can only be an intermediary who is left to make money on the commission charged by the bank. In addition, not all customers enjoy playing against other users.
Accordingly, there was a need to somehow adapt the rules of Texas Hold’em poker to turn it into a typical gambling game where the opponent is a casino. So Casino Hold’em Poker was born.
The history of Texas Hold’em
The new – if it can be considered new – game was invented by Stephen Au-Yeung. Happened this momentous event in the late nineties of the twentieth century. Interestingly, the author considered it as a way to train beginners in Texas Hold’em, but then considered its wider potential.
Already in 2000 the classic version of the game was ready, the rules of which we will consider below. And a couple of years later it was very much used in casinos around the world. In 2007, Casino Hold’em Poker (or Caribbean Hold’em Poker as it is sometimes called) was licensed for use in British establishments.
In recent years, variants of the game designed for online gambling have made their way into the portfolios of most major software producers. So it can be found on almost any popular gambling site.
Classic Hold’em Poker Rules
In its original version, Texas Hold’em poker for casino games had the following rules:
- A deck of 52 cards with no jokers.
- Two types of bets are accepted: basic Ante and additional AA (optional).
- The player and the dealer each get two cards. The client sees only his hand.
- Three open community cards are dealt to the centre of the table.
- The user either discards their cards, losing the bet, or makes a Call bet equal to two Ante, thus confirming their intention to play on.
- The dealer then deals the fourth and fifth Community Cards.
- Seven cards (five common and two personal) make up the five-card combinations of the draw participants.
- Then the dealer checks for a minimum combination (a pair of fours or higher). If not, the player gets an ante (1:1) and the second bet is refunded.
- If the dealer has the game, his cards are compared with the customer’s hand. If the dealer wins, both of the user’s bets lose. If the player wins, his Ante is paid at the odds of the combination received (they are listed in a special table). Call is paid 1:1.
That’s the end of the game.
The optional AA bet is paid regardless of the main draw. A payout is due if the first five cards (two pocket cards and three total cards) form a combination of a pair of aces or higher. The winnings are also calculated by separate odds.
Naturally, online game developers rarely limit their games to the standard Texas Hold’em casino rules and usually augment them with some kind of innovation. The most interesting models from the major companies are discussed below.
Texas Hold’em Poker odds and strategy
Admittedly, developing a consistent strategy for playing Casino Hold’em Poker (as in blackjack or video poker) is difficult. There are seven cards in each hand, so it’s difficult to come up with a handy and easy-to-understand spreadsheet.
A variety of computer programs can help, and they can do this easily. There are similar applications for mobile phones that have an intuitive interface, different modes and numerous settings.
For the purposes of this article, we will limit ourselves to the information that the player who acts on the optimum strategy participates in the round to the end in about 82% of the draws.
The mathematical superiority of the establishment can be reduced to 2% – 2.5%.
Making AA bonus bets is usually not worthwhile, as it gives you a higher casino advantage.
Texas Hold’em at online casinos
Now let’s take a look at what we’re getting from the big names in online casino software. We’ll start with the ones with basic rules or fairly close to them and then move on to the games with original features.
Casino Hold’em – Playtech
The rules of this game are very close to the classic. The player bets an ante and receives two cards. Three communal cards are placed on the table. Then you must either pass or bet two ante. The winner is also determined according to standard principles.
We’re not going to dwell on the bonus bet. It pays for the combinations in the first five cards. You can find out the odds from the table.
Casino Hold’em – NetEnt
This model is also dominated by the traditional rules provisions. You need to bet an ante and, if you wish, a side AA. You will then see two of your cards and three total cards. If you want to play further, bet a Call of two ante.
Then the dealer reveals the cards, checks to see if he has the game and so on. Payouts are calculated on the combination. Bonus bet wins if there are a pair of Aces in the first five cards or if the combination is higher.
Casino Hold’em – GamesOS
Here, everything is as described above. First, an ante is bet, and two pocket cards and three total cards are dealt. If the player bets another two ante, the dealer will deal the remaining two cards and proceed as usual.
Bonus bets are also paid when certain poker combinations (from two aces to a royal flush) are present in the first five cards.
Casino Hold’em – SoftSwiss
This is a basic-type game with regular rules. You bet an ante, you see five cards, you decide whether to keep the hand and increase the amount at stake, or fold. If you play on, the dealer deals two more common cards and, if he has a minimum hand, compares your hands.
There are no bonus payouts, side bets or jackpots in this model. On the plus side there are realistic graphics and an interface that is understandable in any language.
Casino Hold’em – GameScale
The standard rules of classic casino hold’em poker, a stylish design, user-friendly interface and realistic animation – this is how we can describe this development of the well-known company.
This model does not have any original features, so we recommend it to those who are interested in the traditional varieties of the game.
Poker 3 Heads Up – Betsoft
This model is a must for every Texas Hold’em player looking to play against a casino. It’s 3D poker. Opposite of you at the table is a fairly realistic-looking opponent against whom you’ll be playing one-on-one. He’s playing on behalf of the house.
Moreover, the rules of the game are as close as possible to the traditional Texas Hold’em. The gameplay consists of several stages with the ability to raise bets or make a check. There are no bonus bets here. All in all, be sure to test out Heads Up from Betsoft.
TXS Hold’em Professional Series – NetEnt
The rules of this development of the famous brand is slightly different from the classic casino hold’em, but they are quite well imitated the original Hold’em Poker, because it is implemented a system of raising the bets on the different stages.
The client bets an ante and receives two cards. If he stays in the game and bets Bet, the dealer deals three total cards, after which you must decide whether to raise the stake or just check (no raise). The same decisions need to be made on the fourth and fifth card on the board. Bonus bets are not available here.
Texas Hold’em Bonus – Nextgen
Developers from NextGen have also released a model in which they tried to recreate the atmosphere of traditional Texas Hold’em. Here the cards come out in a few stages, as it is accepted in a regular poker, and after each of them there is a kind of round of bidding (you have to decide whether to raise or not to raise the bet).
The game has an interesting layout, a user-friendly control panel and other nice features. There is a bonus bet, which pays for non-standard combinations (read about them in the review).
3 Card Hold’em – Felt
Another model with several rounds, after each of which you can increase the bet. We will not describe all the steps in detail, as they are clear to everyone who knows the rules of Texas poker.
It should be noted that there are two types of bonus bets. One pays for pair and one-straight cards in the player’s pocket combination and the other pays for poker combinations in the first five cards dealt by the dealer.
Triple Pocket Hold’em – Microgaming
This is a very unusual variation of the game. Its main feature is that the dealer plays two hands at once. The customer must defeat both of the dealer’s boxes in order to win. As compensation for such an “unfair” clause in the rules, the player gets to give his cards to the dealer twice. In other words, he can either use the pocket cards himself or have the dealer play them.
There is no betting round here. Additional bets are not necessary to confirm the intention to continue in the draw. Payouts are settled at odds between 1:1 and 50:1 depending on the combination.
Multi-hand Hold’em High – Microgaming
As the name implies, you can play this model on one or more hands. In this case, the decisions on each box are made separately, and the cards on them are opened sequentially.
Interestingly, the customer can continue the game by betting an ante, or doubling it with a raise. An optional side bet is also available, where payouts are awarded for certain combinations of two pocket cards (one suit, ace and king of the same suit or spades ace and king).
Hold’em Showdown – Playtech
This model is one of the first online versions of casino hold’em poker. The dealer deals two cards to himself and four boxes to his supposed opponents, and the player must choose one of these four pairs and bet on either the client or the dealer to win.
Five common cards are then revealed, combinations are formed and the winning side is determined. If the user guesses who wins, they get the payout.
Progressive Texas Hold’em Bonus – Felt
In addition to the Texas Hold’em model discussed above, Felt’s portfolio includes a cumulative jackpot game. It also involves gameplay, in which you have to make decisions about how much to bet after each round. There are bonus bets as well, paying for poker combinations in the first five cards.
The progressive jackpot is played on a separate fixed size bet. The jackpot goes to whoever gets a royal flush in five cards. There are separate payouts for tris combinations.
