How to Play Live Casino Hold’em
To play Live Casino Hold’em simply follow the steps below.
- The game starts with the ante bet. There are also optional side bets you can place.
- The dealer shuffles the 52-card deck. Shuffling is repeated after every hand.
- Two cards (faced up) are dealt to the player and two cards (faced down) to the dealer.
- Three community cards are dealt in the middle of the table.
- You can decide to fold or call. If you have a side bet, you must call. When you call, you must place 2x the ante bet.
- The dealer deals 2 more community cards in the middle and opens her cards.
- Then, there is a showdown. That is, the best 5 cards from each hand are compared.
- You win when you have a better hand than the dealer. It involves the same ranking of hands as Texas’ Hold’em. You will learn more about that in the section below.
Betting
Betting in Live Casino Hold’em is done in three stages:
- Ante bet: This is a compulsory bet which is done before all cards are dealt
- Optional Bonus (AA): It is placed at the same time as the Ante bet. This pays out if a pair of Aces or higher values are dealt in the first 5 cards. This bet is not compulsory.
- Call bet: This is done after three community cards have been dealt. It is twice the ante bet. It is also an optional bet.
Game Outcome
- The dealer must have a pair of 4’s or a better pair to qualify. Once the dealer qualifies, he or she can pay players winning call bets and also the ante bet.
- If the player has a better card hand when the dealer qualifies, the player wins. The dealer pays out the ante bet according to the paytable and the Call bet at 1:1
- The player wins if the dealer doesn’t qualify. The call bet is returned to the player while the dealer will have to pay the ante bet according to the paytable.
- If the dealer qualifies and beats the player, the player loses all bets made.
- The dealer and player could also have the same 5 card hand. This is known as ‘push’. In this situation, the players’ bets are returned.
- To win the bonus bet, the first 5 cards must contain a pair of aces or higher. The players are paid according to the paytable as long as a call bet was placed.
Ranking of Hands
Here, we have listed all hands, from the highest to the lowest.
Royal Flush
A set of 5 consecutive cards of the highest value in the same suit . For example, ace, king, queen, jack, and ten of hearts.
Straight Flush
A set of 5 consecutive cards in the same suit. For example, 5c, 6c, 7c, 8c, and 9c.
4 of a kind
This is a set of 4 cards of the same value but of different suits. The value of the cards determines the winner if there are other players with 4 of a kind. For example, 4 J’s in clubs.
Full house
A mix of cards that includes 3 of a kind and a pair. When there are ties with other full houses, the three of a kind determine the best hand. An example of a full house is three Qs and two 5s.
Flush
This is a combination of 5 cards of the same suit. The highest card in the hand determines the winner if there is a tie. For example, 3, 7, 9, J, Q in diamonds
Straight
5 consecutive cards which may be of different suits. For example, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. If another player has a straight run, the card hand with the highest value determines the winner. For instance, a run of 5,6,7,8,9 will beat the hand in the example above.
Three of a kind
A set of three cards with the same value. The other two may be of different values. The value of the three-card hand determines the winner in case of a tie. For example, 7s, 7h, 7c. This hand would lose against a hand with three 8’s or higher.
Two pairs
Two sets of pairs where each pair is of different values. For example, two Qs and two 10s. If there is a tie the hand with the highest pair value wins.
One pair
A card hand containing one pair of the same value. The value of the pair determines the winner if two players have one pair.
High cards
Here the winner is determined by the highest card in hand. If there is a tie with another hand, the second-highest determines the winner.
Payout Tables
Ante bet
| Hand | Payout |
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 20:1 |
| 4 of a kind | 10:1 |
| Full house | 3:1 |
| Flush | 2:1 |
| Straight or less | 1:1 |
Bonus AA Bet
| Hand | Payout |
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| 4 of a kind | 40:1 |
| Full house | 30:1 |
| Flush | 20:1 |
| Pair of Aces to Straight | 7:1 |
Probabilities
Ante bet
| Hand | Probability |
| Royal flush win | 0.000026 |
| Straight flush win | 0.000217 |
| 4 of a kind win | 0.001489 |
| Full house win | 0.021199 |
| Flush win | 0.018183 |
| Wins made with straight or less | 0.231175 |
| Tie | 0.024440 |
Bonus AA side bet
| Hand | Probability |
| Royal flush | 0.000002 |
| Straight flush | 0.000014 |
| 4 of a kind | 0.000240 |
| Full house | 0.001441 |
| Flush | 0.001965 |
| Straight | 0.003925 |
| 3 of a kind | 0.021128 |
| Two pairs | 0.047539 |
| Pair of aces | 0.032505 |
| Others | 0.891241 |
| Total | 1.000000 |
Jumbo 7 Jackpot Side Bet
This particular side bet was introduced by Evolution Gaming. It is a progressive network jackpot. That is, the jackpot is contributed by wagers of players on different casinos that feature the game.
It pays out only when a 7 cards straight flush is dealt. The prize of the jackpot keeps increasing with every game round until it is won. The value of the jackpot as at the time of writing this is £3,239,365.
Probability for Jumbo 7 Jackpot:
| Hand | Probability |
| 7 cards straight flush | 0.00000024 |
| 6 cards straight flush | 0.00000562 |
| 5 cards straight flush | 0.00030497 |
| 4 of a kind | 0.00168067 |
| Full house | 0.02396102 |
| Flush | 0.03025494 |
| Straight | 0.04629382 |
Best Studios for Live Casino Hold’em Games
Evolution Casino Hold’em
This provider has two versions of Live Casino Hold’em. These include the regular Casino Hold’em game with Jumbo 7 jackpot and a 2-Hand Casino Hold’em game. The Jumbo 7 jackpot is a unique feature that is absent in other versions of Live Casino Hold’em.
Playtech Casino Hold’em
Playtech offers two different Live Casino Hold’em tables. The first is streamed from their Latvian Studio. The second one which is called Soho Casino Hold’em is streamed from their Romanian studio.
Ezugi Live Casino Hold’em
Live Casino Hold’em from Ezugi is played on a table similar to the other versions of the game. It also follows the same rules and payout.
Strategy for Live Casino Hold’em
Once you receive your hole cards (two dealt cards), you decide whether to fold or call. The value of the hole cards determines the decision you make.
You know you have good hole cards when you get the following:
- A pair
- An Ace or King
- Having a Jack or Queen is good unless the three community cards are of the same suit. If you don’t have one in your hand, fold.
- When you have a straight draw or flush, there’s only one card to complete the hand. That is, four out of the five cards are a flush.
- When both hole cards are overcards. That is, the hole cards have higher values than the three community cards.
- When you have no card that matches the board and no cards over 10, fold. But if you have a flush or straight draw, you can call.
If your hole cards are not over 10, not a pair, and do not match the board, fold. Also, fold if they don’t give you a straight draw or flush.