Poker is probably the only casino game that requires skills, not just luck. You can read more about this on our Poker page. In this article, we explain the two most-played variants of poker, Casino Hold’em vs Texas Hold’em. The main difference is that Casino Hold’em is played against the dealer, and there is no option to play against other players. We recommend this variant for new players, in order for them to get acquainted with the game and rules before gambling money against other players. On the other hand, Texas Hold’em is probably the most popular variant of the game, which has slightly different rules from the casino hold ’em. Nowadays it is so popular that tournaments all over the world are being held, such as the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour.
In this article, you can read everything you need to know about these two variants and learn some useful tips.
Poker Hands
Before going into details on how to play both of these poker variants that we mentioned, here is a list of the winning poker hands, starting from the best one:
- Royal flush: 10-J-Q-K-A all of the same suit
- Straight flush: Consists of five cards in sequence, all of the same suit (4-5-6-7-8 all in hearts)
- Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same kind (four jacks, four fives)
- Full House: Three of a kind and one pair (three sixes and two kings)
- Flush: Five cards with the same symbol (five hearts)
- Straight: Five cards in a row (5-6-7-8-9)
- Three of a kind: Three cards of the same kind (three sevens, three kings, etc.)
- Two pairs: One pair with two cards of the same kind plus another set of two cards of the same kind
- Pair: Two cards of the same kind (two fives, two jacks, etc.)
- High Card: the highest card not meeting any of the above requirements.
Texas Hold’em Poker
Texas Hold’em poker is a community card poker variant, that became most played all over the world. Online casinos are organizing many tournaments and players started mastering the game in order to compete. If you are new to Texas Hold’em Poker, this text will help you learn the basics.
This version of poker is played against other players and the goal, of course, is to construct the best hand of all.
How to Play Texas Hold’em
Before the cards are dealt, there is one important thing to pay attention to, and that is the “button”. In fact, this button works as a marker of which player has the big blind and which one has the small blind. So, the player directly to the left of the button posts the small blind, and the player to his or her direct left posts the big blind.
The big blind is a term used for the player that needs to make the first bet. It is actually a forced bet, so the player can’t decide whether he wants to place it or not.
On the right, is the player that has the small blind, meaning if that player decides to play that hand, he needs to match the bet to the big blind. This applies to all the players, whoever decides to bet on that hand (before the cards are even dealt), they need to make a bet equal to the big blind. The small blind is half the amount of the big blind. If the player with the small blind decides to fold, he loses the small blind which is also a forced bet. If he decides to play, adds the other half to match the big blind.
Betting Rounds
First, the big and small blind is paid and then each player gets two face-down cards.
The first round of betting starts after each player checked their two cards. Whoever decides to keep playing either has to choose “check” or “raise” the bet. If one player raises the bet, all the players who want to continue should match that player’s bet accordingly. Players who don’t want to continue playing click on the “fold” button.
The second round starts when the dealer flips three community cards, called the flop, and they’re face up. The players examine their possibility of a good hand, and choose between “check”, “raise” or “fold”.
The third round is when the dealer shows the fourth community card, called the “turn”. Another betting round follows after the turn is shown.
Finally, there is the last community card called the “river”, and that is when the last betting round starts. After that round, once all players have clicked the check button, the cards are opened and the winner gets all the chips on the table.
Texas Hold’em Payout
When it comes to payouts when playing Texas Hold’em Poker against other players, it is pretty simple. The winning hand wins the pot. In case two players have identical hands, the pot is divided between those players.
Apart from playing against other players, you can play texas hold’em against the dealer. This variant is called Ultimate Texas Hold’em Poker. The difference is that there are possible side bets that can be made, but the most important is the blind bet. At the beginning of the round, when you place the ante bet, a matching Blind bet is automatically placed by the system. The payout for that bet is according to the strength of your hand, regardless if it beats the dealer’s hand or not. Payouts are as follows:
- Royal flush – 500:1
- Straight flush – 50:1
- Four of a kind – 10:1
- Full house – 3:1
- Flush – 3:2
- Straight – even
- Any other hand is treated as a push (tie)
Best Starting Cards in Texas Hold’em
One of the first and most important things to learn is the starting cards in Texas Hold’em poker, which are good to continue playing and which are not. Deciding whether or not the two cards are good, is the most important thing.
The best cards you can get as starting cards in poker:
Pairs: Ace-Ace, King-King, Queen-Queen, Jack-Jack, Ten-Ten
Strong cards of the same suit: Ace-King, Ace-Queen, King-Queen, Ace-Jack, King-Jack, Queen-Jack, Jack-Ten
Strong cards that are not of the same suit: Ace-King, Ace-Queen, King-Queen
These cards are very important and new players can often lose if they do not know this thing. Given that your two cards are the only thing that can bring you profit, we think it is very important that you know this.
Another factor that decides the amount of your bet is your position. If you are first, you should always give up unless you have good cards. If you are near the end you have the opportunity to evaluate your opponents and you can decide how much to bet.
Medium pairs are good to start with, but if after opening the flop you have nothing, it is best to give up.
Casino Hold’em Poker
Casino Hold’em poker is a game that you play against the dealer, with no other players on your table. The goal of the game is to have a better hand than the dealer in order to win the bet.
How to Play Casino Hold’em
The game starts with an “Ante” bet, which is a bet you place in order to start the game. Once the Ante bet is set, press the deal button to deal the cards. You get two cards, face-up, the dealer gets two cards face-down and there are three community cards, all face up. This is the moment when you decide whether to proceed with the bet. You will have two options.
The first option is to fold, therefore, you will lose the Ante bet and the game is over. On the other hand, you have the second option is “to call”. Choosing this option, you double the ante bet and wait for the next two cards to be dealt. Once all five community cards are on the table, the dealer’s cards are turned over and the winner is the one with the better hand.
Additional bet
Casino Hold’em allows you to win more, the game has an additional bet option. When placing the Ante bet, you can place an additional bet on the field marked with AA. The amount of the bet is separate from your Ante bet, it can be more or less, it is up to you.
AA bet counts your two cards and the flop, the first three cards that are dealt. Thus, it is not related to the other cards that are dealt or to the outcome of the game. This means that you might lose the game, but you might win the AA bet if you had a good hand in the first five cards (the flop and your two cards). Or, you might win the game, but lose the AA bet if your winning hand included one or both of the other two cards dealt.
Casino Hold’em Payout
In Casino Hold’em poker the dealer qualifies only with a hand than pair of 4s. If the dealer has a lower hand than this, the dealer does not qualify at all and the player wins. In this case, the Call bet is returned and the Ante bet is paid as per the table below.
If the dealer qualifies, but the player has a better hand than the dealer then the player wins and the Call bet is paid 1:1 and the Ante bet is paid as per the table below.
| Winning hand | Ante payoff |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 20:1 |
| Four Of a Kind | 10:1 |
| Full House | 3:1 |
| Flush | 2:1 |
| Straight Or Weaker | 1:1 |
Now, in cases where the player loses, i.e the dealer qualifies but has a better hand than the player’, the player loses all the bets. If it is a tie, if both their hands are equal, then all bets are returned to the player.
The table below shows the payoffs of the additional hand. As mentioned, this bet has nothing to do with the outcome of the game, nor whether the dealer qualifies or not.
| Winning hand | AA payoff |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| Four Of a Kind | 40:1 |
| Full House | 30:1 |
| Flush | 20:1 |
| Pair of Aces to Straight | 7:1 |
Starting cards in Casino Hold’em
If you have a good hand
If you have a good hand with your two cards and three on the table, always choose “call”. For example, if you bet 50 euros to start the game, you automatically pay another 100 euros, which means a total of 150 euros. You are now allowed to see the last two cards after which you and the dealer will roll your best hands. If you have a straight or weaker hand, you will get a double bet back. The hands stronger than a straight, are rewarded with a jackpot.
If you have a bad hand
As opposed to the good hand, if after the first three cards on the table you have a bad hand, it is always wisest to withdraw and lose the first bet. For example, if you don’t have a pair in your hand or an option for a straight or flush, it might be a good idea to stop instead of raising. You can just hope that the dealer has even worse cards. To beat the dealer, you need to have at least a couple of fours.
