Simply put, your goal in live dealer hold’em is to build the best possible poker hand using the two cards you’re dealt and any three of the five shared community cards.
The Difference between Standard Online Hold’em and Live Dealer Hold’em
In Live Dealer Hold’em, as opposed to traditional online Texas Hold’em, you play against the dealer and the dealer only, rather than trying to beat the other players.
Live dealer casino hold’em places you at a virtual casino table, but unlike other online poker rooms, the flashy graphics and random card generators are replaced by a real-life dealer and a real card deck seen via live video stream. Thanks to this live video stream, you can interact with the dealer and fellow players just as if you were at a real casino, sitting at your favourite poker table.
Hold’em Deal and Betting Rounds
At the beginning of each hand, each player at the table will be dealt two cards face down. These are also known as the “pocket” or “hole” cards. Over the remainder of the hand, the dealer will reveal five community cards, interspersed with rounded of betting.
Here’s what the game looks like:
- Each player is dealt two cards face-down
- First round of betting
- The dealer reveals the first three community cards (this is known as the “flop”)
- Second round of betting
- The dealer reveals the fourth community card (this is known as the “turn”)
- Third round of betting
- The dealer reveals the fifth and final community card (this is known as the “river”)
- Final round of betting
After all rounds of dealing and betting are complete, the reamining players will reveal their ‘pocket’ cards, and the best hand wins the pot.