A Guide to Playing Casino Poker Tables



Oct 30th, 2011 Thomas Kearns

Table play in either a small or large casino requires a number of things from the player; an understanding of game play, the house rules, opponents and an inclusive plan. Entering the poker room of a casino you'll witness a number of different games including Pai Gow Poker, Caribbean Stud, Hold'em Tournaments and tables strictly for Hold'em and Omaha. If you carefully select you spot, learn your opponents and play with discipline you can move the advantage to you - but this requires analyzing your competition before laying down your chips.

Traditionally table poker games favor the house. However, there are steps you can take to help increase your chances of winning, and you may even come out ahead when comps and other casino perks are taken into account. Successful poker players use their skill and intuition to play at traditional table games where they are going up against other players rather than the house.

House Games - Pai Gow and Caribbean Stud

Casino dealer games have you competing directly against the house, and require a dominant strategy if you are going to minimize your potential for losses. Be aware that usually house games place the dealer at an advantage even when you practice your best plan of attack.

Pai Gow, or double hand is one of the more popular games. It uses a standard 52 card deck and a joker. The table for Pai Gow is set for six players plus the dealer, and the aim is to better the hand of the banker. Seven cards are dealt, and the player builds two hands - one with five cards the other with two. The players five card hand must count higher than the two cards. Hands are ranked according to standard poker rules, with jokers normally counting as aces. The joker can be wild to make a flush or a straight. Both the five card and two card hands of the player must be better than the dealer in order for the player to win --- and the dealer wins all ties. This give the dealer some advantage, and some tabloes may require antes or commissions in order to increase the house advantage.

Also popular is Caribbean stud poker. In this table game, similar to stud poker, the players are dealt five cards and the dealer shows one of his cards. Players are not permitted to share hand information. After studying their hands player can place their bet (double their ante) or give up their initial bet (fold).Dealer hands at Ace-King or better are entered into play (or else the ante bets are returned) and the higest hand wins. This hand choice delivers a slight house advantage, but most players will choose to play all hands greater than Ace-King (at least a pair). Raising against a dealer's week hand when your are holding strong cards can also result in the best possible play.

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