Casino Hold'em

A simplified house-banked version of Texas Hold'em where the player makes one call-or-fold decision after seeing the flop, then competes against the dealer's five-card hand.

Definition

In Casino Hold'em the player places an Ante and receives two hole cards, followed by three community cards (the flop). The player then makes a single decision: fold and forfeit the Ante, or make a Call bet of twice the Ante. Two further community cards are dealt and both sides make their best five-card hand from their hole cards plus the five shared cards. The dealer must have a pair of fours or better to 'qualify'. If the player wins, the Ante pays on a bonus scale for strong hands and the Call pays even money; if the dealer does not qualify, the Call pushes and only the Ante is settled. Optional side bets exist. The overall house edge is about 2.2%.

Worked example

You hold A-Q and the flop comes A-9-4, giving you top pair. You make the Call bet of twice your Ante. The final two community cards bring no help to the dealer, who shows K-J for only King-high and fails to qualify, so your Call pushes and your Ante is paid on the standard scale.

Why it matters

For learners, Casino Hold'em is a gentle introduction to poker-hand ranking against a fixed house rule rather than other players. For professionals, its single call/fold decision makes it a clean example for teaching qualification rules and bonus paytables.

Related

Note: The roughly 2.2% house edge is standard; exact figures depend on the Ante bonus paytable and any side bets, which vary by provider.