Casino Hold’em Poker

Casino Hold’em is very much like Texas Hold’em poker except that the player plays against the house and can make a side bet.

This means that there are no blinds as in Texas Hold’em. Instead each player puts up an ante and if he or she wants to make a side bet, that is referred to as the AA-bonus. Casino Hold’em is played with a standard deck of 52 cards.

The Casino Hold’em AA-bonus bet is completely separate from the ante. A player wins the AA-bonus bet if his hand has a pair of aces or something higher after the two hole cards and the initial three community cards (The Flop) are dealt. To collect any AA-bonus a player has to finish the first round without folding.

Here is how a hand of Casino Hold’em would proceed. Each player places an ante bet and, if so desired, the AA-bonus bet. Each player including the dealer is dealt two cards. Then the dealer adds three community cards face-up in the middle of the table. Just as in Texas Hold’em the first three community cards are called “The Flop.”

Each player has to bet or fold. To stay in the game a player must place a “call” bet, which is two times the ante. Any player who chooses to fold gives up his ante as well as his AA-bonus bet, if he made one.

If a player calls and stays in the game, the AA-bonus winnings are paid out at this time. If the player doesn’t have an AA-bonus qualifying hand made from his two hole cards and the three community cards, he loses the AA-bonus bet.

Next, the dealer deals two more community cards. In Texas Hold’em these would be the cards known as “The Turn,” and “The River.” The dealer shows his or her own hand.

In order to “qualify” to beat any of the players the dealer has to have at least a pair of fours. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the player keeps both his ante and call bets and his ante wins according to the ante winning payout table.

If the dealer does qualify, one of three things will happen:
If the dealer and the player tie, the game is a “push” meaning no money changes hands and the player gets back his ante and his call bet.
If the dealer’s hand is better, the player loses all his bets.
If the player’s hand is better, he keeps the ante and the call bet. He also wins the ante according to the ante winning payout table. The call will pay 1 to 1.

Standard poker hand rankings apply. A typical Casino Hold’em payout table goes as follows:

Payouts:
Royal flush 100:1
Straight flush 20:1
Four of a kind 10:1
Full house 3:1
Flush 2:1
Straight or lower 1:1

A typical Casino Hold’em AA-bonus payout table is as follows:

Payouts:
Flush or higher 25:1
Pair of Aces through Straight 7:1

Casino Hold’em poker is a slightly faster paced game than Texas Hold’em and it has gained a lot of popularity on the heels of the success of Texas Hold’em poker.