Casino Poker – Playing Poker Against a Dealer
The big difference between casino and regular poker is that with casino poker, you’re not playing against other players, you’re playing against the dealer. If you play live casino poker, you may be playing at the same table as other players, but what they have in their hands won’t impact your chances of winning because everyone's battle is against the dealer. This means there can be several winners at the table, and there’s no communal pot to win. Your winnings are based only on your own bets.
Poker Hands
Whenever you play a card game, the cards you have are referred to as a hand. One of the most common questions new poker players have is how poker hands are ranked and which poker hand is the best.
#1: Royal Flush
A, K, Q, J, and 10, all from the same suit.
#2: Straight Flush
Five consecutive cards from the same suit, such as 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of hearts.
#3: Four of a kind
Four of the same card value, such as Aces from all four suits.
#4: Full House
Three cards of the same value and two cards of the same value, such as 6, 6, 6, and 8, 8.
#5: Flush
Five cards from the same suit, such as 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, and Q of hearts.
#6: Straight
Five consecutive cards, such as 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 from any suit.
#7: Three of a kind
Three cards of the same value, such as Aces from three different suits.
#8: Two Pair
Two sets of pairs (cards of the same value), such as A, A, and 9, 9.
#9: Pair
Two cards of the same value, such as two Aces.
#10: High Card
If no other poker hands are obtained, the highest card will win, starting with the Ace as the highest.
Casino Hold’em
Casino Hold’em is basically where you play Texas Hold’em Poker against the dealer. All players and the dealer start off with two cards each. The rest of the cards you need to make up a poker hand of five cards are communal cards. Once all of the cards are on the table, the dealer must qualify for the game to continue. If the dealer qualifies and has the best hand between you, the dealer wins. Payouts are made for the game according to the paytable for both Ante and Call bets.
Caribbean Stud Hold’em
Another casino poker game that features a progressive jackpot is Caribbean Stud Poker. It’s common to find this as an automated poker game where you play against a machine, the way you do with slots. However, it’s also among the three most common games you can find as a live table game, along with Casino Hold’em and 3 Card Poker. The difference between Casino Hold’em Poker and Caribbean Stud Poker, or Casino Stud Poker as the game is also known, is that Casino Hold’em is based on Texas Hold’em Poker while Caribbean Stud Poker is based on Five Card Stud.
3 Card Poker
The online game 3 Card Poker is, perhaps more than any other version of casino poker, a game of chance. The game is based on normal Five Card Poker, but your hand only consists of three cards. This, of course, means the 3 Card Poker rules are a bit different than they are in most other versions of casino poker since the best hands can’t be achieved.
Mississippi Stud Poker
What sets Mississippi Stud Poker apart from most other casino poker games is that you don’t play against a dealer. It is still a house-banked game, meaning your opponent is the casino and not other players. But you won’t have to beat the dealer to win. The only thing that matters is how good your poker hand is since you’re basically playing against a paytable. When you play Mississippi Stud online, it’s almost like playing video poker.
Pai Gow Poker
For new players, the rules of Pai Gow Poker might seem a bit daunting. Compared to normal casino card games like Stud Poker, the rules are a bit complicated because they contain so many different elements. The first thing you should know about how to play Pai Gow is that you play with two hands, but they’re not two different hands. Instead, they’re two hands you need to use to make up one winning poker hand. To learn more about the creative poker variant, check out our Pai Gow poker guide.
Online Poker vs. Live Dealer Poker vs. Poker Platforms
Newbies that want to try online poker for the first time often get confused by the different options they have. Let's settle this issue once and for all by describing each one in detail.
- Online poker. These games are played against the machine and outcomes are generated by random number generators.
- Live dealer poker. This game includes a live dealer who hosts the poker table. The action is streamed from a live casino studio and real cards are used throughout the game.
- Poker platforms. Here, players compete against each other. These games usually have outcomes generated by random number generators and are similar to online poker.
Video Poker at Online Casinos
When you play video poker, you’re basically playing casino poker on a digital machine. At online casinos, these games can sometimes be found in a separate category in the game lobby, but they can also be found either combined with the table games or slots. However, the most correct grouping for these games, in our opinion, would be to include them with the table games.
