Bonus Texas Holdem
Texas Hold 'em Bonus Poker Review. About Texas Hold 'em Bonus Poker. This casino variation offers more strategic decisions than most poker-based games which match the player vs. The game resembles a regular Texas Hold 'em hand, except that you're not playing any opponent except the dealer. Texas Hold 'Em Bonus is a table game which is played heads-up against the dealer and has an optional bonus bet. The game is based on the traditional Texas Hold'em poker game, but differs in that there is no bet after the river card.
Texas Bonus Hold’em – also know as Texas Hold’em Bonus or Casino Hold’em – is a table game that essentially takes the action of heads up Hold’em poker and turns it into a contest between the players and the dealer. The object of the game is simple: make a better five card poker hand than the dealer. However, there are a few twists that make the game much more fun and interesting than you might expect.
Keen to try it out? Play our free Flash game now. If you’re unsure of how it all works, simply keep on reading the rest of the article below.
Texas Holdem Bonus
How Texas Hold’em Bonus is Played
The game begins with each player making an Ante bet; the player also has the option to make a Bonus bet. Both the player and the dealer are given a two card hand, face down.
The player may look at his own cards. At that point, the player much choose whether to fold – which forfeits his hand and his bets – or make a Flop bet. The Flop bet is double the size of the Ante bet.
Next, the dealer will deal out the “flop,” consisting of three community cards either the player or dealer can use to improve their hand. The player now has another choice to make; he can either do nothing and let the hand continue, or make a Turn bet, which is equal to the size of the Ante. This bet is entirely optional.
After the dealer deals the turn (a fourth community card), the player again has the choice to make the optional River bet, which must be the same size as the Ante bet. Again, there is no punishment for not making this bet.
Finally, the dealer deals the final community card, known as the river. At this point, both the player and dealer reveal their hands. If the dealer has a better hand, the player loses all of his bets (with the possible exception of the Bonus bet, which doesn’t consider the dealer’s hand). If the player wins, he wins even money on the Flop, Turn, and River bets; if the player has a straight or better (in some casinos, a flush or better), the Ante bet also pays even money. If the dealer and player tie, all bets push.
Bonus Bet
The Bonus bet is based on the player’s hole cards, though some casinos also have one extra jackpot bonus that depends on both the player and dealer hands. Here are the typical payouts for the Bonus bet, based on the player’s starting hand.
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| AA and dealer has AA | 1000 to 1 |
| AA | 30 to 1 |
| AK suited | 25 to 1 |
| AQ or AJ suited | 20 to 1 |
| AK unsuited | 15 to 1 |
| KK or QQ or JJ | 10 to 1 |
| AQ or AJ unsuited | 5 to 1 |
| Other Pairs | 3 to 1 |
Texas Bonus Hold’em Strategy
Unlike in real Texas Hold’em, where patience and folding weak hands is a virtue, you’ll rarely want to fold in Texas Bonus Hold’em. Which hands you should fold depends heavily on the exact rules being used, but it’s never much. Under the most common rules, which are used in Las Vegas casinos, you should only fold unsuited hands of 32, 42, 52, 62 or 72. Everything else is worth paying the Flop bet for!
After the flop, the game is much trickier to figure out from a strategic standpoint. Because the dealer has no hand selection – in other words, the dealer is as likely to play 32 offsuit as AA – you don’t need a great hand to make bets.
However, there are some general rules of thumb you can use. For instance, Michael Shackelford found that the optimal strategy would have a player making the Turn bet 43% of the time, and the River bet 48% of the time. If a player makes the Turn bet, they will almost always make the River bet (about 86% of the time), while if you do not make the Turn bet, you’ll only make the River bet about 16% of the time. Essentially, if your hand improves and you’ll have the edge against a random hand, it’s worth making more bets.
Texas Holdem Bonus is an exotic new poker game that is turning up in more and more live and online casinos around the world. The game is like a mix of standard casino table games, using the versus-style format of games like Blackjack and Let It Ride, combined with the standard game play and rules of Texas Holdem Poker.
If you already know how to play Texas Holdem, you shouldn’t have any problem picking up on Texas Holdem Bonus Poker. The only real difference is that your competing against the dealer, not any of the other players around you, to develop the best 5-card poker hand. The betting style is a little different too.
Rules of Texas Holdem Bonus
The following is a step-by-step guide to how to play Texas Holdem Bonus. There can generally be anywhere from 1 to 6 players, or however many player seats are available at the table. A standard deck of 52 cards will be used.
Ante: First, each player will post an Ante bet.
Bonus Bet: Players have the option of placing a Bonus Side Bet for the Texas Holdem Bonus Jackpot. We’ll discuss this optional bet more in a moment.
The Deal: Each player and the deal will be dealt 2 cards, face down. These are your Hole Cards.
Playing or Folding the Hand: If you decide to play your hand, you will need to place a bet equal to twice that of your Ante bet. (i.e. If your Ante is $1, the Bet is $2.) To fold at this point would result in an instant loss of your Ante (and Bonus Side Bet, if placed).
The Flop: The dealer will place three cards in the middle of the table, face-up. This is called the Flop, the first three of 5 community cards. Players will combine these cards with their own Hole Cards to develop a complete hand.
Betting Round: Players will now decide whether to place another bet, or Check. If placing a bet, it must be equal to the original Ante. So if you Anted $1, this bet will also be $1. Checking is to continue with the hand, but without placing a bet. Either way, you get to continue playing the hand.
The Turn: A fourth community card is placed in the middle of the table, again face-up.
Last Betting Round: Another betting round takes place in the same fashion as the last. You can Check, choosing not to bet but to continue the hand, or place a bet equal to your Ante. This is the last opportunity to bet in Texas Holdem Bonus Poker.
The River: A fifth and final community card is dealt.
Dealers Hand: The dealer will reveal his Hole Cards, and the best possible 5-card hand he can muster using the 7 cards available to him (community cards and his own hole cards).
Players Hand: The dealer flips over all players hole cards. Each player will do the same as the dealer, determining their best possible 5 card hand from their own hole cards and the community cards. In a live casino, the dealer will pick out the best hand for each player as they were trained to do. The player does not touch the cards.
Bonus Texas Holdem
Winning: the dealer will pay all hands that beat his own. The payoff is equal to the players total bet throughout the hand of Texas Holdem Bonus Poker. In some casinos, the Ante is not paid, only the following bets.
Losing: If the dealers hand beats the players hand, the dealer collects the entire bet from the player, including the Ante bet.
Texas Holdem Bonus Bet
If a player has placed a Jackpot Bonus Side Bet, the wager is based on the players hole cards alone. Winning or losing the actual hand has no bearing on the side bet.
Winning hole cards are generally any pair, and hands of A-J, A-Q and A-K. When these latter hands are suited, they pay more. The actual pay tables vary greatly from one casino to the next, so be sure to check out the Texas Holdem Bonus Side Bet Pay Table before placing a jackpot bonus bet.