While live casino poker shares many similarities with other poker variants, it is a relatively new addition to online casinos. The two most popular versions of live poker are Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Casino Hold’em. Both games work in the same way as at land-based casinos, and even recreate the whole atmosphere around.
There are a number of live poker games available, such as Live Three Card Poker and Live Caribbean Stud. Here, however, we will focus on Ultimate Hold’em and Casino Hold’em. The two games are very similar, and the primary difference is in the betting rounds, where in Ultimate Texas Hold’em, for example, you are involved in placing bets, or betting, all the way until the hand ends. You can play both games at Mr Green’s live casino.
How is live poker played?
Live poker is among the most exciting forms of poker, and helps to increase the excitement of an online casino. Just like in classic Texas Hold’em, the primary goal is to create the best hand out of five cards, which is done from a combination of the cards you’ve been dealt as well as the community cards on the table.
To start the game, you must place your first bet, which is also known as the “ante” and is similar to a blind in Texas Hold’em. You also have the option of making bets that are not part of the game itself, a so-called “side bet”, which we will elaborate on shortly.
The dealer then deals himself and you two cards each, as well as three cards in common out on the table, also known as the flop. The dealer and you split the cards on the table. Once the cards are dealt, you must decide whether or not the hand you’ve been dealt is a good one, and whether or not you want to continue with two more cards out on the table. If you want to continue the game, you must make a bet more commonly known as a “call”, or choose to fold your hand. In the latter case, you will lose your original bet.
If you choose to continue, your bet will be double the value of your ante. Once the dealer has dealt the last two cards (“turn” and “river”) on the table, your hand and the dealer’s hand will be revealed. Then both hands are compared and the one with the best hand wins the round.
Side bets
The most common side bet is a Pair Plus bet. This is where you place an additional bet that your hand will be a pair or better. We’ll talk more about whether or not it’s a good idea to make these bets. Depending on which version of the game you’re playing, this side bet has to be an AA bet, which means you have to have a pair of Aces before your bet goes home.
There are side bets that are exclusive to Ultimate Texas Hold’em, which includes the Trips Bonus Bet. This side bet pays out regardless of whether the cards you received are in a winning combination. In other words, if the community cards on the table make a hand for you, you will still win the extra bet, which also explains why this is one of the more popular side bets. Here are the payouts for the Trips Bonus Bet. The house edge is typically around 1.9%.
Another side bet found only in Ultimate Texas Hold’em is the progressive jackpot.
The possibility of hitting a progressive jackpot adds to the excitement of the game. Generally speaking, there are two different progressive jackpots available: a small progressive and a large progressive.
Small progressive
To hit the small progressive jackpot, you must have a qualifying hand in which at least one of the cards in the hand is one of your own hole cards. As expected, the highest payout is from a Royal Flush, which will award the entire jackpot. Other qualifying hands from the small progressive jackpot include a straight flush and four of a kind.
Large Progressive
To hit the big progressive jackpot, you’ll need to form the same kind of hands as for the small progressive. The difference here, however, is that you may not use any of the cards from your own hand. Here, all cards must come from the flop instead. While the probability of hitting the jackpot here is less than with the small progressive, the payouts are also much higher.
