logo logo
Results for

clear

Top Picks for United States United States

ENG

Casino Hold'em

Pragmatic Casino Hold'em: Our Review, How and Where to Play

!DISCLOSURE
Pragmatic Play by Pragmatic Play

Pragmatic Casino Hold’em is a live dealer casino game inspired by Texas Hold’em. The concept of casino hold’em has been around for quite a while now, so Pragmatic is relatively late to the party when it comes to introducing their own table. Still, this version of the game offers premium-quality graphics, top-notch presentation, and an interesting pair of side bets that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to find elsewhere. The game also boasts a high RTP rate and an exciting, interactive base gameplay loop that will be enjoyable for any fan of card games.

This review of Casino Hold’em by Pragmatic Play covers everything you need to know about the game before you play it (and whether playing it at all is a good thing.) We’ll explain the rules, bets, and features of this game while comparing the odds and quality to other casino hold’em live dealer tables.

Pragmatic Casino Hold'em
  • Excitement
  • Design & Sound
  • Streaming Quality
  • Interactivity
  • Win Potential

Pragmatic Casino Hold'em Review

Game Specifications
Game name Pragmatic Casino Hold'em
Game provider Pragmatic Play
Game type Casino Hold'em
Streaming from
RTP 97.84%
Bet range €1 - €5,000
Max win 20,000x
Side bets Yes
Supported platforms Desktop Mobile Tablet
Supported OS Android Apple Windows
Languages Albanian Albanian Arabic Arabic Belarusian Belarusian Bulgarian Bulgarian Chinese Chinese English English +20
All supported languages
  • Albanian Albanian
  • Arabic Arabic
  • Belarusian Belarusian
  • Bulgarian Bulgarian
  • Chinese Chinese
  • English English
  • Finnish Finnish
  • French French
  • German German
  • Greek Greek
  • Hebrew Hebrew
  • Hindi Hindi
  • Italian Italian
  • Japanese Japanese
  • Korean Korean
  • Malay Malay
  • Polish Polish
  • Portuguese Portuguese
  • Romanian Romanian
  • Russian Russian
  • Spanish Spanish
  • Swedish Swedish
  • Taiwanese Taiwanese
  • Thai Thai
  • Turkish Turkish
  • Vietnamese Vietnamese

Casino Hold’em was invented by Stephen Au-Yeung, who created the variant in 2000 for training purposes. As opposed to the original form of poker game where players are competing against each other, the dealer is your only opponent. It was created as a way of attracting poker enthusiasts to live casinos. The game has since drawn huge crowds on desktop and tablet, so there’s interest in something like that. Played with a single deck of cards that are shuffled after each hand and featuring an enticing game play that differs from the one in regular Texas Hold’em poker, Casino Hold’em impresses on so many levels.

Currently, the game is available through multiple major software providers, most notably Evolution and Playtech. It seems Pragmatic decided to throw their hat into the Hold’em ring in 2025, which is when their own version first hit the casinos.

Since the gameplay itself follows a standard ruleset, there aren’t any major differences between this version and competing tables. The game looks great and runs well, but so do its competitors. However, it also offers two side betting options that help it stand out a bit. First of all, there’s the AA+ bet, which is known as the Bonus bet in Evolution’s version. AA+ is all about assembling 5-card hands using your hand and Turn and River.

Beyond that, Pragmatic’s table also offers a unique Jackpot bet. Although Evo offers something similar, Pragmatic Play’s version is not actually progressive. It’s just a big, volatile wager with a huge maximum payout.

Key Highlights

livecasinos
Mostly standard version of established Casino Hold'em rules, streamed from Pragmatic's stunning studios
livecasinos
The goal of the game is to assemble a stronger card than the dealer using a 2-hard hand and 5 community cards, as in Texas Hold'em
livecasinos
Two-step betting process comprised of the Ante and Call bets. Ante bets are mandatory to participate, while Call wagers give you a chance to back out early
livecasinos
AA+ and Jackpot side bets that offer huge potential payouts
livecasinos
97.84% RTP on the Ante bet, 00.18% on the Call bet, assuming you're playing optimally
livecasinos
Impressive live stream quality and multiple camera views

How to Play Casino Hold'em by Pragmatic Play

The game uses a single deck of standard playing cards which is shuffled between every round using an automatic shuffler.

Every round of Casino Hold’em starts with an Ante bet. You have to place this wager if you want to participate in the upcoming round.

After the Ante bet is submitted, the dealer draws two cards for the player, two cards for the house (facing down) and three community cards (facing up). The community cards are placed at the center of the table, and they’re often referred to as the Flop.

At this point, the player has to make a decision after checking the cards. If you think your hand is worth playing, you need to place a second bet called the Call bet. The stake of the Call bet in Casino Hold’em is always double the Ante stake. Alternatively, you can choose to Fold. This means that you lose the money you used for the Ante, and the round is over for you. The idea is for you to measure whether the round is worth playing by considering your hand, the community cards, and whether they’re likely to make a strong poker hand.

If you have decided to Call, the dealer will place two more community cards at the center of the table. These are often called the Turn and River.

At this point, the dealer’s cards are also revealed. Before proceeding to the next step, the dealer first has to qualify. This means that their hand (when combined with the community cards) has to have at least a pair of 4s. If the qualification is successful, the round proceeds to the next step. If not, player Ante bets win while Call bets Push (the full stake is returned to the player.)

Finally, both the player’s and dealer’s hands combine with community cards in order to make the strongest possible hand. The stronger hand of the two wins. The hands are ranked as follows: from strongest to weakest:

  1. Royal Flush
  2. Straight Flush
  3. Four of a Kind
  4. Full House
  5. Flush
  6. Straight
  7. Three of a Kind
  8. Two Pairs
  9. Pair
  10. High Card

If you want to know more about poker hands, how they rank, and how they’re made, check out this poker hand tutorial.

The Ante pays depending on how strong the winning hand is. On the other hand, the Call bet always pays 1:1.

There are actually several possible outcomes to a round of Casino Hold’em, depending on whether the dealer qualified or not:

Result Ante Play
Dealer does not qualify and you win Win Push
Dealer qualifies and you win Win 1:1
Dealer qualifies and you lose Lose Lose
Dealer qualifies and you tie Push Push
Player folds Lose Lose

Side Bets

The two side wagers can add a bit of extra spice to the game

  • AA+ Side bet: This side bet looks at the player’s hands and the three Flop community cards. If these five cards manage to form a poker hand stronger than a pair of Aces, the AA bet wins. The stronger the hand, the better the payout. It’s essentially a way to get two results in the same round. However, it also offers a much worse RTP than the main game, so we can’t recommend it.
  • Jackpot side bet: The Jackpot wager is an optional bet that gives you a big extra prize if you win with a particularly strong hand. Specifically, you can only win with a Straight, Four-of-a-kind, or a Straight Flush. The Straight Flush result offers the biggest payout in the game – 20,000x.

Pragmatic Hold'em Strategy

While a lot of it comes down to luck, there is an element of strategy in Casino Hold’em. Specifically, players need to know when to Fold and when to Call if they want to maximize their returns (and thus the game’s RTP.)

With that in mind, here are some tips for knowing when to play the Call bet:

  • If you have a Pair or better in hand, always Call.
  • Call open-ended Straight draws. This means that you should call if you only need one card for a Straight hand.
  • Calling with a King or Ace high card is generally a good idea. There are certain situations in which you may want to fold them, but those only happen if the Fold cards are particularly poor.
  • Fold low unpaired cards. IF you don’t have at least a Queen High, you should fold.

Players should also play less aggressively if the community cards are high or mostly of one suit. In this scenario, you should consider folding even Queens or Kings.

The stats tell us that the optimal Casino Hold’em strategy involves Calling more than 82% of all hands. In other words – don’t be shy. Even a seemingly weak hand can still win, especially if the dealer fails to qualify. A folded hand, however, can never possibly win.

Pros and Cons of Casino Hold’em by Pragmatic

Pros Cons

✅ Classic Casino Hold’em rules

✅ Standard base game payouts, resulting in an optimal RTP of 97.84%

✅ Exciting side bets that are not available at most competing Hold’em tables

✅ Non-progressive jackpot side wager with payouts up to 20,000x

✅ High-end streaming with multiple camera angles and immersive camera movements

❌ No unique or innovative features

❌ Does not offer any notable improvements over competing live casino hold’em games

❌ The Jackpot bet implies that it’s progressive. In reality, it’s just a big fixed payout

Payouts

There are three casino holdem payouts you’ll need to keep track of.

The Ante Bet’s pay depends on the hand you win with. the stronger the hand in terms of poker rankings, the higher the reward.

The Play bet always pays even money.

The side bets has their own separate tables. It can be a lot to take in, but all of this information is available in-game.

Check out the full Pragmatic Play Casino Hold’em Paytable below:

Bet Payout
Ante
Royal Flush 100:1
Straight Flush 20:1
Four of a Kind 10:1
Full House 3
Straight 1
Three of a Kind 1
Two Pairs 1
One Pair or less 1
Call Bet
Call 1:1
AA+ Side Bet
Royal Flush 100:1
Straight Flush 50:1
Four of a Kind 40:1
Full House 30:1
Flush 20:1
Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, Pair of Aces 7:1
Jackpot
Straight Flush 20,000x
Four of a Kind 1,000x
Straight 100x

RTP & House Edge

The RTP of Casino Hold’em by Pragmatic Play varies depending on several factors.

First of all, the practical RTP of the game depends on your decisions. If you were to blindly Call every possible hand, you would get an RTP of around 97.60%. Optimal play can raise this up to around 98.04%. However, the game’s listed in-game RTP is 97.84%, which is right around average. In other words, the impact of player decisions is not major, but it’s still there.

On the other hand, the two side bets have a fixed RTP rate:

  • Jackpot: 94.04%
  • AA+: 93.74%

If you’re concerned with playing optimally, we suggest staying away from the side bets. If you’re intent on playing them, though, the JAckpot is the better option, even though its chances of ever winning are minimal.

LiveCasinos

New to Live Casino Hold’em?

Interface & Usability

The betting interface is very similar to those seen in other baccarat games. The various betting positions are placed front and centre, and they’re quite easy to navigate due to the simple and intuitive layout. Making any bet is a simple matter of selecting the desired stake, clicking on the betting position, and confirming your selections.

One advantage of live casino hold’em is that it’s a fairly exciting game, even without extra features and such. There’s plenty to keep track of and think about, which suits some players well. To help you with that, the game boasts a comprehensive history and stats window. Found in the upper right corner of the screen, it can offer the kind of insight you need to win Casino Hold’em.

Graphics & Presentation

Pragmatic Play has been putting out some of the best-looking live dealer games for a while now, and that tradition continues with Hold’em. To be frank, this game doesn’t offer spectacle like some of Pragmatic’s game shows do. It’s actually a relaxed, serious casino game that’s intended to feel like a real brick-and-mortar casino.

As expected, the game stream is top-notch with a high-definition broadcast running 24/7. All of the action is captured from a single camera angle, which makes sense for a card game like this. All in all, the game achieves what it sets out to do in terms of presentation, so we can’t ask for more.

Live Dealer Experience

A game like Casino Hold’em feels interesting to play because it offers a high degree of player interaction. It’s not on the level of blackjack, of course, but there’s still a bit of back-and-forth that makes it feel dynamic and strategic. OF course, there are only two decisions you make as a player (not counting the side bets), but every decision feels deliberate and like it contributes to the outcome of the round – because it does.

Beyond that, Pragmatic’s professional dealers really take the game experience to the next level. They have all the charm of experienced hosts combined with the professionalism of trained dealers, which adds up to a premium-level online poker offer.

Languages

  • Only a single live Casino Hold'em table is currently available with Pragmatic Play, and it’s presented entirely in English
  • That said, you can still change the language of the UI in the settings menu. Available options include Bulgarian, Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Finnish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, and more.

Our Verdict

Casino Hold’em is a tried-and-true idea that stood the test of time with casino players. It’s a fun, exciting card game that feels quite similar to classic poker.

Pragmatic has given the idea some fresh life through strong technical implementation and attention to detail. THeir version of Casino Hold’em boasts all of the usual advantages, such as high RTP and dynamic gameplay, and throws in some handy features and side bets to help it stand out from the crowd.

It’s fast-paced, exciting, and doesn’t have any issues in terms of odds or payouts. More experienced players will also enjoy the faster sessions as well as the highly responsive interface that allows you to follow the pace with ease.

If you want to play poker online at a casino, you can’t go wrong with Pragmatic’s version.

 

  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *
  • *

Excellent

How We Rate Live Casino Games

Here at Livecasinos.com, how we rate casino games is based on a strict set of standards that were developed over many years of playing and analyzing live dealer games of all sorts. Here are some of the key factors we consider before giving our recommendation:

  • Graphics & Stream Quality – Although visuals are not the most important factor, they certainly matter. Good-looking games create a better and more immersive atmosphere. Moreover, the game’s graphics can set it apart from the competition.
  • UI and User-Friendliness – Well-designed games have intuitive interfaces that are easy to use and access. Our reviews also consider any additional UI elements such as betting options, performance settings, stats and histories, and more.
  • Payouts & RTP – How much your bets win is crucial for determining a casino game’s quality. A higher RTP is always better for us as players, making RTP one of the most objective ways to rate how good a particular game is.
  • Gameplay – This refers to how the game actually plays – whether it’s exciting, fun, engaging, and whether we’ve actually enjoyed playing it.
  • Extra Features – This refers to any added features such as additional bonuses, multipliers, and UI elements.
  • Platform compatibility – We also rate how well a game performs on mobile devices, apps, etc.
  • Localization and Native-speaking Tables – Games with a lot of language options are more accessible to international audiences, which is why we consider such features as well.

Responsible Gaming Disclaimer

It’s always fun to explore new live casino games, but it’s important to always gamble responsibly. Remember to control your bankroll, don’t go over the budget you set up at the beginning of the game, and take regular breaks so as not to damage your health.

Check out this page to find more information about responsible gambling and useful tips on how to avoid problem gambling and control your spending. If you suspect you may be developing symptoms of problem gambling, we recommend contacting such organizations as:

Written and fact checked by: Andjelka Ostojic

Last Update: June 27, 2025

Anything incorrect or missing?

Let me know

WRITE YOUR REVIEW

Your Rating

Country *
Africa
Argentina
Armenia
Asia
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Canada
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Denmark
Estonia
Europe
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India (EN)
India (HI)
Indonesia
International
Ireland
Isle of Man
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Lithuania
Malaysia (EN)
Malaysia (MS)
Malta
Mexico
Middle East
Moldova
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Peru
Philippines (EN)
Philippines (TL)
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Spanish
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Thailand
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Vietnam
Yemen
Not Convinced? Read More User Reviews
Choose different game