Casino Hold'em

There’s a new poker game in town, and it’s called Casino Hold'em. Casino Hold'em made its debut in 2000 in live casinos and poker rooms in Asia and Africa. In the eight years since, its popularity has grown regularly so that it is now played in over 100 live poker rooms worldwide. Furthermore, it is catching on fast in the online poker community.

What Is Casino Hold'em

Casino Hold'em is a poker variation that closely resembles the perennial classic Texas Hold'em with a few small differences. Like Texas Hold'em, Casino Hold'em is played using the standard 52-card deck. It is played at a table with a dealer and other players. The dealer and each player are dealt two cards face down and start with the traditional three communal cards on the table (which will eventually be five, as in Texas Hold'em). The object is to make the best five card combination using your hand and the communal cards. All combinations and their values are the same as in any other poker game.

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Unique Rules of Casino Hold'em

Most notably, Casino Hold'em is played against the dealer instead of the other players. That means that even if you have the worst hand at the table, if it beats the dealer you win. The only stipulation is that the dealer must hold at least a “qualifying” hand. A qualifying hand in Casino Hold ‘em is a pair of Fours or higher.

Another major difference between Casino Hold'em and Texas Hold ‘em is that the players start with an ante instead of betting with blinds. After the player’s two cards and the flop have been dealt, they have the option of folding or calling. A call bet is two times the size of the original ante.

If the dealer does not get a qualifying hand, then the ante bets pay according to the win table and the call bets are a push. If the dealer does get a qualifying hand, then the ante bet is paid according to the table and the call bet is returned. If the player hand is equal to the dealer’s, then both the ante and call bets are pushed, and if the dealer’s hand beats the player’s then all bets are lost.

This high stakes game may be hard for some players to adjust to, as winning big requires betting big from the beginning (or getting a monster hand), and staying in the game requires an even greater investment, but once accustomed to the game and its rules many poker players find Casino Hold'em to be a challenging and exciting variation of the game.

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Casino Hold'em Strategy

Because of the unique rules, Casino Hold'em strategy is very simple and yet significantly different from other poker games. For one, you no longer have to worry about trying to get accurate reads on your opponents or about moves like bluffing and semi-bluffing. The dealer rarely if ever gives “tells” and will always call a qualifying hand. This leads to the most obvious strategy for Casino Hold'em. You should never call on less than the dealer would play with. For example, if you have only unsuited, non-consecutive cards in the hole.

On the other hand, because the game is more straightforward and you are only competing with one other player, you should be playing more hands in Casino Hold'em. A player set on winning should fold no more than one out of five times. Any pair, any outs for a straight or flush, or any two over cards in the hole are good for calling. After the flop, if there is any pair of Fours or higher on the table then you know the dealer has qualified and your bets will be paying off. 

Some Casino Hold'em tables offer a side bet option for the flop. This bet must be placed with the ante and will be paid out depending on the five card combination comprised by your hole cards and the flop cards.

The house advantage in Casino Hold'em is a little over 2% with a 6.25% edge on side bets. As always, your motivation as a player is to reduce this edge as much as possible. As you play, you will get a better feel for the unique features of Casino Hold'em and will be able to devise a more advanced strategy for narrowing the house advantage.