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Casino Hold'em

Live Casino Hold'em (Playtech): Our Review, How and Where to Play

Playtech by Playtech

Live Casino Holdem by Playtech is a live dealer poker game released in 2019. It boasts an RTP of 99.18% with a minimum bet of $0.5 and a $1,000 maximum wager. Available on desktop and mobile, this game offers a smaller house edge than even the best live casino hold’em games out there.

Playtech started really focusing on live casino games a few years ago. With such fierce competition to beat, they had to present something truly attractive to players. Their take on live dealer casino hold ’em certainly fits the bill – and our Playtech Casino Holdem review will explain why.

Live Casino Hold'em (Playtech)
  • Excitement
  • Design & Sound
  • Streaming Quality
  • Interactivity
  • Win Potential

Live Casino Hold'em (Playtech) Review

Game Specifications
Game nameLive Casino Hold'em (Playtech)
Game providerPlaytech
Game typeCasino Hold'em
Streaming from Latvia
RTP99.18%
Bet range€0.5 - €1000
Max win100:1
Side betsYes
Supported platforms Android Apple Windows
Supported OS Android Windows
Languages Czech Czech Dutch Dutch English English French French German German Greek Greek +10
All supported languages
  • Czech Czech
  • Dutch Dutch
  • English English
  • French French
  • German German
  • Greek Greek
  • Hindi Hindi
  • Hungarian Hungarian
  • Italian Italian
  • Mandarin Mandarin
  • Polish Polish
  • Portuguese Portuguese
  • Romanian Romanian
  • Russian Russian
  • Slovak Slovak
  • Spanish Spanish

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 in Casino Holdem.

The cards are dealt according to the one-to-many principle. This means that all the players use the same hand but draw independent moves. One will also notice that Playtech’s Live Casino Hold’em (as well as the developer’s other live poker variants) has a distinctive way of shuffling the cards – the used deck is placed in one of the two automatic card shufflers after every round, and a fresh deck takes its place.

The action takes place in Playtech’s acclaimed Riga live casino studio. Whether you’re looking for new live dealer casino games or just want to play poker online in a casino, this game fits the bill.

Key Highlights

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Automatic shufflers that increase the pace of the game
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Advanced game settings enabling you to automatize the Call bet
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Live Chat allowing you to communicate with the dealer
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Video quality adjustment, adapting the stream to your net connection
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Option to mute the dealer’s voice and play in silence
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Exceptional RTP rate that outright beats most of the competition

How to Play Live Casino Holdem

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 (Flop). The players will then either Call and double the Ante or fold and forfeit the bet. Two more cards are added to the community pile (Turn and River) and the dealer finally reveals his cards.

If the dealer does not qualify with a pair of 4s, the Ante bet wins, and the Call bet is returned to the players. The fact the dealer can qualify or not means that there are several possible outcomes for each round. Check out the table below to see what they are.

ResultAntePlay
Dealer does not qualify and you winWinPush
Dealer qualifies and you winWin1:1
Dealer qualifies and you loseLoseLose
Dealer qualifies and you tiePushPush
Player foldsLoseLose

Betting time is limited and failing to beat the clock will automatically fold the hand.

If the dealer qualifies and you haven’t folded, your hand is compared against the dealer’s. IF you win, you collect winnings for both the Ante and Call bets. Playtech Casino Hold’em poker hands are what you’d expect them to be. Here they are in descending order of strength.

  • Royal Flush
  • Straight Flush
  • Four of a Kind
  • Full House
  • Flush
  • Straight
  • Three of a Kind
  • Two Pairs
  • Pair
  • High Card

Those are the basics on how to win Live Casino Hold’em. The so-called ‘AA’ bet is another option in this game. It’s a side bet, however, and will be covered in the Special Features of this Casino Hold’em game review.

Live Casino Best Tips for Casino Hold’em

  • Casino Hold’em may seem confusing at first, but it’s deceptively simple. Knowing when to Fold and when to Call is the main skill you’ll need.
  • The best strategy for Casino Hold’em is to not think like a poker player. There are similarities between the two, but you need to remember it’s a different game.
  • Keep in mind that you’ll need a bankroll to cover the Call stake as well. This means that the real minimum bet in Live Casino Hold’em is actually $1.5.

Live Casino Hold’em Payouts

Since there are two main bets in Live Casino Hold’em by Playtech, there are also two payouts. The Call bet is the easy part – it always pays even money, no matter how you win the hand. However, the Ante and AA side bets have different rewards depending on the winning hand. Check out this handy Casino Hold’em payout table for more details.

HandPayout
Ante Bet Payouts
Royal Flush100:1
Royal Flush20:1
Four of a Kind10:1
Full House3:1
Flush2:1
Straight or Less1:1
Bonus Bet Payouts
Royal Flush100:1
Straight Flush50:1
Four of a Kind40:1
Full House30:1
Flush20:1
Pair of Aces to Straight7:1

The RTP of Live Casino Hold’em Ante Bet is at 99.18%, as per the game’s official information. Bear in mind, however, that this only applies if you’re using optimal strategies. The side bet is at a somewhat lower 93.74$. That’s why beginners should probably avoid the side bet until they have a firm grasp on how Casino Hold’em works.

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New to Live Casino Hold’em?

Special Features

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, with suits some players well. To help you with that, the Playtech Live Holdem 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.

Beyond that, the main extra feature is the AA bet. Those of you who’ve played other live casino hold’em games such as Evolution’s will know it as the Bonus bet. This bet is completely optional, and you’ll need to put down a stake at the same time as for the Ante. Essentially, the Bonus 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 AA side bet in Casino Hold’em operates independently from the base game. Even if you fold or lose the Call bet, the AA can still win. This opens up interesting casino hold’em strategies, though we advise caution. The wager’s low RTP rate makes it difficult to consistently profit from it in the long run.

Languages

  • All Playtech live table casino games have a unified interface and lobby. The interface settings menu allows you to change the language of the game at any time. Players can choose from a lot of different languages, such as English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Hindi, and Slovak.Note that this option merely changes the text and various game information in the game. The dealers will still only speak English.

Our Verdict of Live Casino Hold'em (Playtech)

Live Casino Hold’em has a pretty fast tempo, and not much time is left for the players to analyze the results and prepare for the next round.

For those who are still not proficient enough to make quick decisions, Soho Live Casino Hold’em by the same developer might be a better choice.

More experienced players will enjoy the faster sessions as well as the highly responsive interface that allows you to follow the pace with ease.

Beyond that, there’s very little to complain about with this title.

It boasts exceptional RTP value, the patented Playtech interface, and an overall great idea of what makes Hold’em fans love the game.

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Excellent

FAQ

Unlike classic Texas Hold’em, this version of the game was modified to be played at live casinos. An unlimited number of players share a single hand and attempt to beat the dealer. If you want to know more about the Live Casino Hold’em game by Playtech, read the review above.
Playtech Live Casino Hold’em tables are open 24/7, and available through your favorite live casino with Playtech games.
Yes. These days, all competitive live casino games are fully optimized for playing on the go. As such, you can play Playtech Casino Hold’em on Android and iOS – both phones and tablets.
No. As a fully licensed, legal casino software provider, Playtech can be trusted to deliver a fair game. Besides, the remote gambling licensing procedure requires all their releases to be vetted and tested for fairness.
The lowest you can bet in this game is $0.5 US, or the equivalent in other currencies. Keep in mind that live casino table betting limits are generally determined by the casino as well. As such, you may see different limits with different live casinos.
If the dealer does not get at least a pair of 4s after the flop, the players win Ante bets and Push their Play bet. You’ll receive an Ante bet payout according to the regular payout table. The full stake for the Play bet is also returned.

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