There are many different types of poker games. Casino Hold ’em is one of the top games among Poker fans. It is based on Texas Hold ’em Poker. However, the key difference is that you are competing as an individual against the dealer and not against each other.
Casino Hold ’em is played with a 52-card deck. The game revolves around making your hand with a combination of community cards and player cards and to beat the dealer’s hand.
Before moving into how to play a Casino Hold ’em game, let’s look at some of the necessary poker hands terminologies:
Basic Poker Hands
Royal Flush – It comprises a Ten, Jack, King, Queen, and the Ace of the same suit. It is considered the best hand in Poker.
Straight Flush – Considered the second-best hand in Poker, straight flush comprises 5 cards of the same suit in a numerical manner.
Four of a Kind – When you have 4 cards of the same rank or value, the remaining card is called a kicker. If 2 players have matching Four of a Kind, the highest-ranked kicker breaks the tie.
Full House –When 3 cards are of a kind, and the remaining pair of cards are of different matching values, it is referred to as a Full House.
Flush –When you have 5 cards of the same suit in hand and not necessarily in numerical order, we refer to it as a flush.
Straight – Having 5 cards in a sequential order irrespective of the suit is referred to as straight.
Three of a Kind – When you have 3 cards of the same rank or value in hand with the other 2 cards unrelated, it is called three of a Kind.
Two Pair – It is one of the weaker hands in Poker and occurs when you have two matching cards in terms of value or rank and 3 side cards.
Pair –Holding 3 side cards and 2 cards of matching value or rank are termed as a pair. Higher is the rank of the matching card; better is the pair.
High Card – If neither player has anything, the highest card wins and is termed as the high card. It happens when a hand does not have any matching pair, numerical sequences, or suits.
Steps to play Casino Hold’em
1) As the first step, you have to place an Ante bet to begin a hand.
2) The dealer deals two cards to you and two cards to themselves. The dealer’s cards will be facing down, while yours won’t. They deal 3 community cards facing up in the center of the table up next and are collectively called the ‘flop.’
3) At this point, you should get a fair idea about the potential of your hand. The primary objective is to have the best 5-card hand out of the 2 hole cards (that are dealt to you) and 5 community cards.
4) Before proceeding any further, you will have to decide whether to fold and surrender the hand, lose your ante bet, or call and place an additional wager valued at twice your ante amount to continue.
5) The dealer deals 2 additional community cards after you decide to call. The fourth card is termed the turn and the fifth the river. Now, you have 5 community cards and 2 hole cards to make the best hand.
6) Lastly, after flipping their 2 cards, they determine who has the strongest hand, the player or the house.
- For the dealer to qualify, a minimum hand of two 4s is required. If they do not, the ante bet will be paid following the payout table while the Call bet will be pushed if they do not have the same.
- If the dealer’s hand qualifies and is stronger than your hand, the house wins. You lose both your ante and call bets.
- If the dealer’s hand qualifies but turns out to be weaker than your hand, you win the game. Your ante bet will be paid out based on the payout table, and the call bet will be paid in the ratio 1:1.
Conclusion:
As a player, it is essential to understand that Casino Hold ’em is different from other Poker games. A player has a very limited area to apply their strategy. However, it is also enjoyable and challenging at the same time. And no wonder, Casino Hold ’em has likely become the most popular card game in the casino world.
