Casino Holdem Live
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Poker is one of the most popular games on a global scale and the revival the poker industry has undergone attracted new players who are looking for profitability, excitement, and innovation.
The increasing demand for the latter made the poker game available in digital format. However, the opponents of online games claim that nothing compares to the feeling of being in a real brick and mortar casino. According to them, poker is a game intended for being played in a real casino but the availability of live dealer casino Hold'em made them reconsider their standpoint on the matter.
In general, players who engage in live dealer casino poker have the opportunity to choose between two game variations. The first one is the standard Texas Hold'em where nine players compete against each other. The other variation is known as Ultimate Texas Hold'em where the player is supposed to defeat the dealer.
Before making a decision as to where you can create an account, you have to pay attention to the software the casino uses, the operating licenses it holds, the feedbacks given by customers, etc.
Admittedly, playing Hold'em with a live dealer is a great experience but you have to make the right choice as to where you can create an account. Most reputable casinos that offer Texas Hold'em also provide their players with attractive bonuses.
Although software developers are trying to make the live casino Hold'em identical to the traditional casino game, there are some differences.
First of all, during your game session at a live dealer casino, you will find that Texas Hold'em has higher minimum limits. In other words, players should be prepared to adjust their wager in accordance with the requirements of the chosen casino. Experienced players say that such a tendency for slightly increased limits is normal given the cost of maintaining a live dealer casino.
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Live Dealer Hold'em Basics
Playing live dealer Hold'em requires you to understand the game basics so you can ensure the profitable and successful completion of your game session. Having a good strategy as well as being able to make decisions quickly is also beneficial.
During Hold'em gameplay, the dealer plays an important part in the process. In order to get started, you have to place an Ante bet and you will be dealt two pocket cards turned face up. The dealer also receives two cards dealt face down. A third card is given to players and each one of them has to decide whether to call or to fold. The latter option means that they lose their bets. Call requires them to place another bet that is at least two times bigger than the Ante bet they set at the beginning. Then, players are dealt two more cards each.
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The player loses the round if the dealer's hand is better. However, if the dealer and the player hands qualify, the ante bet is played in accordance with the paytable. In case the player beats the dealer's hand and qualifies, they re-gain the call bet. There is one thing that is definitely worthy of mentioning though.
The player will not receive odds on the Ante bet unless they win the hand. Let's take an example from a real casino game.
Presumably, you have a Full House and the Dealer has 4 of a kind. In this case, you are not eligible for receiving neither the odds nor the bonuses the casino offers. As you have already presumed, your aim is not to defeat the other players but the dealer and get a better poker hand. In order to “qualify”, your hand must be a pair of 4's or better.
Conclusion
In order to become really good at live dealer casino Hold'em you have to dedicate some time to learning the rules and most importantly to practice the game. Don't forget that you can also take advantage of the exclusive bonuses casinos offer.
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Introduction
Casino Hold 'Em is a poker variation, similar to Texas Hold 'Em, that is played in Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Holland, Latvia, Estonia, Ireland, Morocco, Malta, Ukraine, Panama, and Romania. It is also available to play online at casinos using Net Gaming, Real Time Gaming, Playtech, Gamesys, and Galewind Software.
The game also goes by the name Casino Hold 'Em Open. Under this name, the rules are the same except the player hole cards are dealt face up. In normal Casino Hold 'Em they are dealt face down.
Live Casino Hold'em
Rules
The rules are as follows.
- Play begins with each player making an Ante wager. There is also an optional Progressive Jackpot side bet.
- The dealer gives the player and himself two hole cards and three community cards face up on the table.
- Each player must decide to either fold or call. If the player folds, then he gives up his cards and his Ante bet. If the player calls, then the Call bet must be equal to two times the Ante bet.
- The dealer will then deal two more community cards, for a total of five. The dealer will then turn over his own two cards.
- Both hands shall be scored according the highest poker value of the two hole cards and five community cards.
- The dealer must have a pair of fours or better to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify then the Ante will pay according to the Ante pay table below and the Call bet will push.
- If the dealer qualifies and beats the player, then the player will lose both the Ante and Call.
- If the dealer qualifies and the player beats the dealer then the Ante will pay according to the Ante pay table below and the Call bet will pay 1 to 1.
- If the dealer qualifies and the player ties the dealer then both Ante and Call bets will push.
- The Progressive Jackpot side bet pays based on the player's final seven card hand only, even if the player folded or loses to the dealer. More on this bet at the bottom of the page.
Ante Pay Table
Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 | Table 4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 20 | 25 | 100 | 100 |
Straight flush | 20 | 25 | 20 | 49 |
4 of a kind | 10 | 12 | 10 | 17 |
Full house | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Flush | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
All other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Caribbean Hold 'Em Warning
Be warned that Realtime Gaming has an imitation of this game called Caribbean Hold 'Em. However, they pay 1 to 1 on the Ante if the dealer doesn't qualify, as opposed to the full Ante Bonus pay table. Nowhere is this rule change disclosed in their game rules, I might add.
Analysis
The following table shows the number of combination, probability, and contribution to the return of all possible outcomes under ante pay table 3, which I'm told is the most frequently used. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.16%.
Return Table — Pay Table 3Expand
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Player wins with royal flush | 102 | 736259040 | 0.000026 | 0.002700 |
Player has royal flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 100 | 119892960 | 0.000004 | 0.000431 |
Player wins with straight flush | 22 | 6001122284 | 0.000216 | 0.004747 |
Player has straight flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 20 | 1089672828 | 0.000039 | 0.000784 |
Player wins with four of a kind | 12 | 41419896552 | 0.001489 | 0.01787 |
Player has four of a kind, dealer doesn't qualify | 10 | 909499320 | 0.000033 | 0.000327 |
Player wins with full house | 5 | 589505037660 | 0.021195 | 0.105973 |
Player wins with flush | 4 | 505131419580 | 0.018161 | 0.072645 |
Player wins with straight or less | 3 | 6426670016572 | 0.23106 | 0.693181 |
Player has full house, dealer doesn't qualify | 3 | 24601676832 | 0.000885 | 0.002654 |
Player has flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 2 | 168883536432 | 0.006072 | 0.012144 |
Player has straight or less, dealer doesn't qualify | 1 | 5521376219148 | 0.198512 | 0.198512 |
Tie | 0 | 678596916580 | 0.024398 | 0 |
Player folds | -1 | 5009067102600 | 0.180093 | -0.180093 |
Player loses | -3 | 8839701755612 | 0.317817 | -0.953451 |
Total | 27813810024000 | 1 | -0.021576 |
The following return table is four pay table 4. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 0.35%. This pay table can be found at Internet casinos using Gamesys N.V. software titled 'Casino Hold 'Em with Zero House Edge.' As you can see, the 'Zero House Edge' part is a misnomer. The player must pay a 10% commission on any net gambling win per session. A 'session' ends after a period of one hour with no bet or 24 hours, whichever happens first.
The owner of Casino Hold 'Em wishes for me to state that Gamesys N.V. is using his game without permission.
Return Table — Pay Table 4Expand
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Player wins with royal flush | 102 | 736,259,040 | 0.000026 | 0.002700 |
Player has royal flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 100 | 119,892,960 | 0.000004 | 0.000431 |
Player wins with straight flush | 51 | 6,031,161,932 | 0.000217 | 0.011059 |
Player has straight flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 49 | 1,096,758,936 | 0.000039 | 0.001932 |
Player wins with four of a kind | 19 | 41,421,337,056 | 0.001489 | 0.028295 |
Player has four of a kind, dealer doesn't qualify | 17 | 909,634,104 | 0.000033 | 0.000556 |
Player wins with full house | 5 | 589,638,417,816 | 0.021199 | 0.105997 |
Player wins with flush | 4 | 505,727,272,920 | 0.018183 | 0.072730 |
Player wins with straight or less | 3 | 6,429,871,396,516 | 0.231175 | 0.693526 |
Player has full house, dealer doesn't qualify | 3 | 24,601,738,176 | 0.000885 | 0.002654 |
Player has flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 2 | 169,051,416,912 | 0.006078 | 0.012156 |
Player has straight or less, dealer doesn't qualify | 1 | 5,526,154,486,512 | 0.198684 | 0.198684 |
Tie | 0 | 679,763,871,140 | 0.024440 | 0.000000 |
Player folds | -1 | 4,984,375,678,920 | 0.179205 | -0.179205 |
Player loses | -3 | 8,854,310,701,060 | 0.318342 | -0.955027 |
Total | 27,813,810,024,000 | 1.000000 | -0.003511 |
I would like to thank Stephen How of Discount Gambling for supplying the combinations in pay table 4.
The only pay tables fully analyzed are 3 and 4, because it takes my computer about a month to cycle through all possible combinations. However, assuming the player was following optimal strategy under pay table 3 but playing under pay table 1 or 2, the house edge under pay table 1 would be 2.40%, and under pay table 2 would be 1.96%. The actual house edge under pay tables 1 and 2 would be slightly less or equal to these figures.
Strategy
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to quantify optimal strategy for this game. I can say that the optimal strategy player will raise 82% of the time. So only in the worst 18% of hands should the player fold. In general these are when the player has two singletons in the hole that are low compared to the flop, with little or no chance for a straight or flush.
Side Bets
The only side bet I am aware of for this game is known as the AA+. It pays based on the poker value of the player's hand after the flop. There are three known pay tables, as follows:
AA+ Pay Tables
Hand | Pay Table 1 | Pay Table 2 | Pay Table 3 |
---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 25 | 100 | 100 |
Straight flush | 25 | 50 | 50 |
4 of a kind | 25 | 40 | 40 |
Full house | 25 | 30 | 30 |
Flush | 25 | 20 | 20 |
Straight | 7 | 7 | 10 |
Three of a kind | 7 | 7 | 8 |
Two pair | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Pair of aces | 7 | 7 | 7 |
House edge | 6.40% | 6.26% | 2.97% |
Pay tables 1 and 2 can be found in land casinos. Pay table 3 is used by Internet casinos using Gamesys software.
Casino Hold'em Live Poker
As an example, following is the full return table for Pay Table 1.
AA+ Side Bet — Pay Table 1
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal Flush | 25 | 4 | 0.000002 | 0.000038 |
Straight flush | 25 | 36 | 0.000014 | 0.000346 |
4 of a kind | 25 | 624 | 0.000240 | 0.006002 |
Full house | 25 | 3744 | 0.001441 | 0.036014 |
Flush | 25 | 5108 | 0.001965 | 0.049135 |
Straight | 7 | 10200 | 0.003925 | 0.027473 |
Three of a kind | 7 | 54912 | 0.021128 | 0.147899 |
Two pair | 7 | 123552 | 0.047539 | 0.332773 |
Pair of aces | 7 | 84480 | 0.032505 | 0.227537 |
Other | -1 | 2316300 | 0.891241 | -0.891241 |
Total | 2598960 | 1 | -0.064023 |
Progressive Jackpot
The Progressive Jackpot bet shall pay based on the player's two hole cards and the five community cards only. It does not matter whether or not the player folds or loses to the dealer. In the event of a straight flush or royal flush on the board, all players who made the Progressive Jackpot bet shall split the win.
The following table shows the probability and contribution to the return for each event. Obviously, the return from the top two awards will depend on the jackpot size, so are treated as unknowns.
Progressive Jackpot
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | Jackpot | 4,324 | 0.000032 | x |
Straight flush | 10% of Jackpot | 37,260 | 0.000279 | y |
4 of a kind | $100.00 | 224,848 | 0.001681 | 0.168100 |
Full house | $10.00 | 3,473,184 | 0.025961 | 0.259610 |
Other | $0.00 | 130,044,944 | 0.972047 | 0.000000 |
Total | $0.00 | 133,784,560 | 1.000000 | 0.487931+x+y |
The table above shows the fixed wins return 42.77% of the amount bet. Assuming the player is playing alone, for every $1,000 in the meter the return will increase by 6.02%. Under the same assumption, the break-even point is $9,503.22. Due to jackpot sharing, the return will go down slightly according to the number of other players making the bet.
Jumbo Jackpot
There is another progressive jackpot called the 'Jumbo Jackpot.' The following table shows the wins, probabilities and the contribution to the return for each type of winning hand.
Jumbo Jackpot
Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
---|---|---|---|---|
7-card straight flush | ? | 32 | 0.00000024 | x |
6-card straight flush | $5,000.00 | 752 | 0.00000562 | 0.028105 |
5-card straight flush | $250.00 | 40,800 | 0.00030497 | 0.076242 |
4 of a kind | $50.00 | 224,848 | 0.00168067 | 0.084034 |
Full house | $5.00 | 3,473,184 | 0.02596102 | 0.129805 |
Flush | $4.00 | 4,047,644 | 0.03025494 | 0.121020 |
Straight | $2.00 | 6,180,020 | 0.04619382 | 0.092388 |
Other | $0.00 | 119,817,280 | 0.89559871 | 0.000000 |
Total | $0.00 | 133,784,560 | 1.00000000 | 0.531593 |
The return for the top award depends on the amount in the jackpot. I can say that all the other wins return 53.16% of money bet. For every 100,000 bet units in the meter the return increases by 2.39%. At a jackpot of $1,958,300.75 the return reaches 100%.
Progressive Jackpot Side Bet
There is yet another side bet based on the player's first two cards and the three-card flop. I put information about it in my page titled Casino Hold Em Progressive Jackpot Side Bet'.
Live Casino Hold'em Rules
Casino Razz Bonus
I believe this side bet pays according to the poker value of the player's two hole cards and the three cards on the flop -- the lower the poker value, the more it pays. For all the rules and analysis, please see my page on Casino Razz Bonus.
Methodology
Live Texas Holdem Casino
The above analysis was performed using a brute force combinatorial program that analyzed all 27,813,810,024,000 possible outcomes, and played every hand according to optimal player strategy. It took my computers about a month to crank though the 27.8 trillion hands.
External Links
The web site for Casino Hold'em, as well as other games, is www.casinopokergames.com.
There is a good Casino Hold 'Em calculator at beatingbonuses.com.