Casino poker games: Hold'em, Three Card, Caribbean Stud

Casino poker games use poker hands but not poker play: you are up against the dealer at fixed payouts, not other players. With sound strategy, the four main games cost between about 2% and 5% of the Ante, and noticeably less when measured against your total stake. Side bets cost far more.

House edge versus element of risk

These games make you raise to stay in, so your total bet varies from hand to hand. Two figures are used:

• House edge: the average loss as a percentage of the Ante.
• Element of risk: the same average loss as a percentage of the total amount bet, including raises.

A game with a higher house edge can still be cheaper per pound wagered if you put more money on the table each hand. The figures below come from the Wizard of Odds, except where noted, and assume optimal strategy.

The Casino Hold'em element of risk is our calculation from the Wizard's figures: a 2.16% edge divided by an average total bet of about 2.64 Antes (the Ante plus a 2x Call made about 82% of the time). The Wizard does not state it directly.

Casino Hold'em

1. Place an Ante. You and the dealer get two cards each, and three community cards (the flop) are dealt.
2. Fold, losing the Ante, or Call with a bet of twice the Ante.
3. Two more community cards are dealt and the dealer's hand is revealed.
4. The dealer needs a pair of fours or better to qualify. If not, the Ante pays by its pay table and the Call is returned.
5. If the dealer qualifies, the better five-card hand wins. The Ante pays by its pay table and the Call pays 1:1. Ties push.

The most common Ante pay table is: royal flush 100:1, straight flush 20:1, four of a kind 10:1, full house 3:1, flush 2:1, anything else 1:1. House edge 2.16%. A strategy tip from the analysis: the optimal player calls about 82% of the time, so fold only weak hands. The AA bonus side bet (pays on a pair of aces or better) runs from about 2.97% to 6.40% depending on the pay table.

Three Card Poker

1. Place an Ante, a Pairplus bet, or both. You and the dealer get three cards.
2. Fold (losing the Ante) or Play with a bet equal to the Ante.
3. The dealer qualifies with queen-high or better. If not, the Ante pays 1:1 and the Play is returned.
4. If the dealer qualifies, the higher hand wins 1:1 on both bets. Ties push.
5. An Ante Bonus pays on a straight or better regardless of the dealer: on the 5/4/1 table the Wizard of Odds analyses, 1:1 for a straight, 4:1 for three of a kind, 5:1 for a straight flush.

With three cards, a straight beats a flush. Strategy: raise with queen-6-4 or better and fold anything worse. That gives the 3.37% edge; copying the dealer (raising any queen) costs 3.45%, and raising everything 7.65%. Pairplus pays on your hand alone; the 40/30/6/3/1 table carries 7.28%.

Indian players will recognise the format in casino Teen Patti, which uses a slightly different ranking.

Caribbean Stud Poker

1. Place an Ante. You and the dealer get five cards; one dealer card is face up.
2. Fold or Raise exactly twice the Ante.
3. The dealer needs ace-king or better to qualify. If not, the Ante pays 1:1 and the Raise is returned.
4. If the dealer qualifies and you win, the Ante pays 1:1 and the Raise pays by hand: 100:1 royal flush, 50:1 straight flush, 20:1 four of a kind, 7:1 full house, 5:1 flush, 4:1 straight, 3:1 three of a kind, 2:1 two pair, 1:1 otherwise.

House edge 5.22%, the highest of the four. Strategy: always raise with a pair or better, always fold below ace-king, and with ace-king raise only in specific situations depending on the dealer's up card. Raising on any pair alone costs 5.47%. The optional progressive jackpot bet averages a 26.46% edge, according to the Wizard of Odds.

Ultimate Texas Hold'em

1. Place equal Ante and Blind bets, plus an optional Trips bet. You and the dealer get two cards each.
2. Before the flop, check or bet 3x or 4x the Ante. After the flop, if you checked, check or bet 2x. After the river, if you checked twice, bet 1x or fold.
3. You can bet only once per hand. Earlier bets are bigger, which rewards raising with strong starting hands.
4. The dealer needs a pair or better to qualify. If not, the Ante is returned, but the Blind and Play bets are still settled.
5. The Play and Ante pay 1:1. The Blind loses if you lose; if you win, it pays only on a straight or better (500:1 royal, 50:1 straight flush, 10:1 quads, 3:1 full house, 3:2 flush, 1:1 straight) and otherwise pushes.

House edge 2.19% of the Ante. Because the average total bet is about 4.15 Antes, the element of risk is only about 0.53%, the lowest here. The Trips side bet ranges from about 0.90% to 6.18% depending on the pay table, so check it.

Strategy, honest about limits

• Learn the basic raise-or-fold rule for the game you play. Folding hands the strategy says to play is costly: the optimal Casino Hold'em player calls about 82% of the time.
• Strategy reduces the edge. Nothing removes it. These are house-banked games and every hand is priced in the casino's favour.
• Side bets carry most of the cost. A jackpot that looks large still averages a big loss per bet.
• Betting systems do not change any of the figures above.

Playing online

All four appear as RNG games, often with demo modes for learning strategy, and as live dealer tables. See our live dealer games guide and studios such as Evolution and Playtech. Pay tables vary between versions, so read the help screen before playing. Our RTP and volatility guide explains how edge, RTP and element of risk relate.

If you want poker against other players, see Texas Hold'em rules, poker hand rankings and our UK poker and New Jersey poker listings. For a pay-table game you play alone, see video poker.

Where to play

We list licensed casinos only: UK casinos, Ontario, Alberta, rest of Canada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. See how we rate casinos.