Wizard Recommends
Blinds: “Blind Bets,” are the forced bets placed prior to dealing; the Texas Hold’em version of the classic poker “ante.”. Button: The player acting as the dealer for the current hand. Check: Similar to a call but no wagers are placed. Flop: These are the first three community cards that are dealt.
Texas Hold'em Bonus Online
- €1500 Welcome Bonus
- €100 + 300 Free Spins
- 100% Welcome Bonus
On This Page
Introduction
Texas Hold 'Em Bonus is a poker based table game I noticed at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas in September 2005. I also hear that it can be found in Atlantic City. Like real Texas Hold 'em the player may bet his hole card, after the flop, and after the turn (but not after the river). As in one on one poker all bets pay one to one, except the ante requires a straight or flush (depending on the location) or higher to pay.
Texas Hold 'Em Bonus goes by the name of Easy Poker at the Casino Bregenz in Austria.
Las Vegas Rules
- The game is played with a single 52-card deck.
- The player makes an Ante wager, plus an optional Bonus bet.
- Two hole cards are dealt face down to the player and dealer. The player may look at his own cards.
- The player must either fold or make a Flop bet. The Flop bet must be two times the amount of the ante.
- Three community cards (the Flop) are dealt.
- The player may do nothing or make a Turn bet. The Turn bet must be exactly equal to the ante bet.
- A fourth community card is dealt (the Turn).
- The player may do nothing or make a River bet. The River bet must be exactly equal to the ante bet.
- A fifth community card is dealt (the River).
- The player and dealer each make the best five-card hand using any combination of the five community cards and his own two initial hole cards. The higher hand wins.
- If the dealer has the higher hand the player will lose all wagers, except possibly the Bonus bet.
- If the player has the higher hand the Flop, Turn, and River bets will pay even money. If the player has a straight or higher the Ante bet will also pay even money, otherwise it will push.
- If the player and dealer have hands of equal value the the Ante, Flop, Turn, and River bets will all push.
- The Bonus bet will pay based only the player's and dealer's initial cards, according to the pay table posted.
The Horseshoe casino in Hammond, Indiana, follows the Las Vegas rules. Despite what the rule booklet says, the Casino Bregenz in Austria follows the Atlantic City rules.
Atlantic City Rules
There are only two rule differences under the Las Vegas rules. The player needs a flush or higher to win even money on the ante. The bonus bet does not have a line item for both player and dealer having a pair of aces.
House Edge
The following table shows all the possible outcomes assuming optimal player strategy and the Las Vegas rules. An explanation of each column follows the table. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.04%. The standard deviation is 3.51.
Texas Hold 'em Bonus Return Table — Las Vegas RulesExpand
| Turn Bet | River Bet | Outcome | Win | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | No | Dealer wins | -3 | 16191937969988 | 0.291077 | -0.873232 |
| No | No | Tie | 0 | 1259275163176 | 0.022638 | 0 |
| No | No | Player wins with less than straight | 2 | 5303424537200 | 0.095338 | 0.190676 |
| No | No | Player wins with straight or higher | 3 | 1084471210036 | 0.019495 | 0.058486 |
| No | Yes | Dealer wins | -4 | 1396173000700 | 0.025099 | -0.100394 |
| No | Yes | Tie | 0 | 167704605536 | 0.003015 | 0 |
| No | Yes | Player wins with less than straight | 3 | 2296867062000 | 0.04129 | 0.12387 |
| No | Yes | Player wins with straight or higher | 4 | 605730184164 | 0.010889 | 0.043556 |
| Yes | No | Dealer wins | -4 | 1896639509356 | 0.034095 | -0.136381 |
| Yes | No | Tie | 0 | 135581445288 | 0.002437 | 0 |
| Yes | No | Player wins with less than straight | 3 | 1247381880480 | 0.022424 | 0.067271 |
| Yes | No | Player wins with straight or higher | 4 | 252140929436 | 0.004533 | 0.018131 |
| Yes | Yes | Dealer wins | -5 | 5604708827316 | 0.100754 | -0.50377 |
| Yes | Yes | Tie | 0 | 547943447680 | 0.00985 | 0 |
| Yes | Yes | Player wins with less than straight | 4 | 12372657154480 | 0.222419 | 0.889677 |
| Yes | Yes | Player wins with straight or higher | 5 | 2747896241164 | 0.049398 | 0.24699 |
| Player folds | -1 | 2517086880000 | 0.045249 | -0.045249 | ||
| Total | 55627620048000 | 1 | -0.020369 | |||
How To Deal Texas Hold Em Bonus
Explanation of table
- Column 1:Yes if player makes turn bet, no otherwise
- Column 2:Yes if player makes river bet, no otherwise
- Column 3:Outcome
- Column 4: Net win
- Column 5:Total combinations
- Column 6:Probability
- Column 7:Contribution to return (win*probability)
The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.037%. However I think this makes the game look like a worse bet than it really is. What this means is that for every dollar bet on the ante the player can expect to lose 2.037 cents. However by the end of the hand the average wager will be 3.8181 times the ante. So the element of risk, or ratio of loss to total amount bet is a much lower 2.037%/3.8181=0.5335%. The standard deviation is 3.500839.
According to Scott McIntosh the house edge is 5.5935% under the Atlantic City rules. I trust this figure because we agree exactly on the Las Vegas rules.
Strategy
The following is when the player should fold according to the rules.
- Las Vegas: unsuited 2/3 to 2/7.
- Atantic City: unsuited 2/3 to 2/7, and unsuited 3/4.
I have not quantified the strategy past the first decision point. I can say that under the Las Vegas rules the player who made the Flop bet will make the Turn bet 43.13% of the time, and the River bet 48.46% of the time. If the player made the turn bet, then he will also make the river bet 85.76% of the time. If the player made the flop bet, but not the turn bet, he will make the river bet 15.78% of the time.
The following table shows the expected value of all 169 possible initial hands under both the Las Vegas and Atlantic City rules.
Two-Card Expected Values
| Initial Hand | Las Vegas Rules | Atlantic City Rules |
|---|---|---|
| 2,3 unsuited | -1.155927 | -1.195592 |
| 2,4 unsuited | -1.091604 | -1.13521 |
| 2,5 unsuited | -1.019987 | -1.067022 |
| 2,6 unsuited | -1.046723 | -1.077817 |
| 2,7 unsuited | -1.031301 | -1.050057 |
| 2,8 unsuited | -0.896002 | -0.917393 |
| 2,9 unsuited | -0.763132 | -0.784523 |
| 2,T unsuited | -0.613979 | -0.636507 |
| 2,J unsuited | -0.459414 | -0.478676 |
| 2,Q unsuited | -0.28969 | -0.305687 |
| 2,K unsuited | -0.102668 | -0.1154 |
| 2,A unsuited | 0.184373 | 0.160096 |
| 3,4 unsuited | -0.950034 | -1.009069 |
| 3,5 unsuited | -0.874456 | -0.937452 |
| 3,6 unsuited | -0.899632 | -0.946711 |
| 3,7 unsuited | -0.8854 | -0.919748 |
| 3,8 unsuited | -0.850607 | -0.872617 |
| 3,9 unsuited | -0.699497 | -0.724139 |
| 3,T unsuited | -0.549947 | -0.575726 |
| 3,J unsuited | -0.395206 | -0.417719 |
| 3,Q unsuited | -0.225563 | -0.24481 |
| 3,K unsuited | -0.038499 | -0.054482 |
| 3,A unsuited | 0.254437 | 0.226376 |
| 4,5 unsuited | -0.735126 | -0.813569 |
| 4,6 unsuited | -0.756096 | -0.819136 |
| 4,7 unsuited | -0.740561 | -0.790904 |
| 4,8 unsuited | -0.7068 | -0.744413 |
| 4,9 unsuited | -0.654394 | -0.679669 |
| 4,T unsuited | -0.487036 | -0.516079 |
| 4,J unsuited | -0.332233 | -0.358011 |
| 4,Q unsuited | -0.162612 | -0.185124 |
| 4,K unsuited | 0.024799 | 0.005551 |
| 4,A unsuited | 0.321642 | 0.290174 |
| 5,6 unsuited | -0.614318 | -0.692805 |
| 5,7 unsuited | -0.595481 | -0.661787 |
| 5,8 unsuited | -0.560487 | -0.614096 |
| 5,9 unsuited | -0.508593 | -0.549471 |
| 5,T unsuited | -0.437507 | -0.467184 |
| 5,J unsuited | -0.265364 | -0.294408 |
| 5,Q unsuited | -0.095642 | -0.12142 |
| 5,K unsuited | 0.092367 | 0.069855 |
| 5,A unsuited | 0.392893 | 0.358138 |
| 6,7 unsuited | -0.457726 | -0.536213 |
| 6,8 unsuited | -0.421014 | -0.48732 |
| 6,9 unsuited | -0.36839 | -0.421999 |
| 6,T unsuited | -0.297258 | -0.339273 |
| 6,J unsuited | -0.217975 | -0.244386 |
| 6,Q unsuited | -0.031216 | -0.056994 |
| 6,K unsuited | 0.156819 | 0.134306 |
| 6,A unsuited | 0.370719 | 0.351472 |
| 7,8 unsuited | -0.284039 | -0.362526 |
| 7,9 unsuited | -0.229986 | -0.296292 |
| 7,T unsuited | -0.157768 | -0.212535 |
| 7,J unsuited | -0.078216 | -0.116966 |
| 7,Q unsuited | 0.019887 | -0.003259 |
| 7,K unsuited | 0.224911 | 0.202399 |
| 7,A unsuited | 0.456798 | 0.434885 |
| 8,9 unsuited | -0.092377 | -0.170864 |
| 8,T unsuited | -0.016383 | -0.08401 |
| 8,J unsuited | 0.062709 | 0.011207 |
| 8,Q unsuited | 0.16144 | 0.125955 |
| 8,K unsuited | 0.282809 | 0.262927 |
| 8,A unsuited | 0.533716 | 0.511803 |
| 9,T unsuited | 0.127027 | 0.046521 |
| 9,J unsuited | 0.20434 | 0.139978 |
| 9,Q unsuited | 0.304465 | 0.256228 |
| 9,K unsuited | 0.428187 | 0.395968 |
| 9,A unsuited | 0.602407 | 0.583126 |
| T,J unsuited | 0.370279 | 0.288219 |
| T,Q unsuited | 0.471694 | 0.405776 |
| T,K unsuited | 0.600228 | 0.550453 |
| T,A unsuited | 0.78194 | 0.745643 |
| J,Q unsuited | 0.535555 | 0.472903 |
| J,K unsuited | 0.665761 | 0.619251 |
| J,A unsuited | 0.852493 | 0.819462 |
| Q,K unsuited | 0.735444 | 0.6922 |
| Q,A unsuited | 0.925311 | 0.895545 |
| K,A unsuited | 0.999317 | 0.972816 |
| 2,3 suited | -0.886985 | -0.923987 |
| 2,4 suited | -0.826008 | -0.866658 |
| 2,5 suited | -0.75798 | -0.801803 |
| 2,6 suited | -0.782881 | -0.811796 |
| 2,7 suited | -0.768076 | -0.785429 |
| 2,8 suited | -0.639021 | -0.658814 |
| 2,9 suited | -0.51015 | -0.529944 |
| 2,T suited | -0.364595 | -0.385438 |
| 2,J suited | -0.212709 | -0.23053 |
| 2,Q suited | -0.044946 | -0.059747 |
| 2,K suited | 0.141142 | 0.129363 |
| 2,A suited | 0.425022 | 0.402419 |
| 3,4 suited | -0.693044 | -0.74813 |
| 3,5 suited | -0.62123 | -0.679983 |
| 3,6 suited | -0.644776 | -0.688639 |
| 3,7 suited | -0.631082 | -0.663007 |
| 3,8 suited | -0.597478 | -0.617842 |
| 3,9 suited | -0.450882 | -0.473684 |
| 3,T suited | -0.304918 | -0.328768 |
| 3,J suited | -0.152868 | -0.173698 |
| 3,Q suited | 0.014889 | -0.002919 |
| 3,K suited | 0.201376 | 0.186589 |
| 3,A suited | 0.490618 | 0.464512 |
| 4,5 suited | -0.490199 | -0.563403 |
| 4,6 suited | -0.509707 | -0.5685 |
| 4,7 suited | -0.494853 | -0.541737 |
| 4,8 suited | -0.461634 | -0.496581 |
| 4,9 suited | -0.40913 | -0.432516 |
| 4,T suited | -0.246108 | -0.272979 |
| 4,J suited | -0.094025 | -0.117875 |
| 4,Q suited | 0.073849 | 0.053019 |
| 4,K suited | 0.260929 | 0.243121 |
| 4,A suited | 0.553554 | 0.524295 |
| 5,6 suited | -0.376191 | -0.449435 |
| 5,7 suited | -0.357989 | -0.419804 |
| 5,8 suited | -0.323018 | -0.372923 |
| 5,9 suited | -0.270833 | -0.308801 |
| 5,T suited | -0.199974 | -0.227429 |
| 5,J suited | -0.031373 | -0.058245 |
| 5,Q suited | 0.136745 | 0.112895 |
| 5,K suited | 0.324793 | 0.303963 |
| 5,A suited | 0.620767 | 0.588467 |
| 6,7 suited | -0.227072 | -0.300316 |
| 6,8 suited | -0.190276 | -0.252091 |
| 6,9 suited | -0.137464 | -0.187369 |
| 6,T suited | -0.066542 | -0.105559 |
| 6,J suited | 0.013273 | -0.011162 |
| 6,Q suited | 0.197628 | 0.173777 |
| 6,K suited | 0.385858 | 0.365029 |
| 6,A suited | 0.59982 | 0.582012 |
| 7,8 suited | -0.05986 | -0.133104 |
| 7,9 suited | -0.005551 | -0.067365 |
| 7,T suited | 0.066287 | 0.015313 |
| 7,J suited | 0.146267 | 0.110272 |
| 7,Q suited | 0.246024 | 0.22461 |
| 7,K suited | 0.451106 | 0.430277 |
| 7,A suited | 0.682911 | 0.662637 |
| 8,9 suited | 0.125648 | 0.052404 |
| 8,T suited | 0.200955 | 0.13792 |
| 8,J suited | 0.280795 | 0.232842 |
| 8,Q suited | 0.381333 | 0.348359 |
| 8,K suited | 0.50656 | 0.488168 |
| 8,A suited | 0.757219 | 0.736945 |
| 9,T suited | 0.33757 | 0.262459 |
| 9,J suited | 0.416267 | 0.356253 |
| 9,Q suited | 0.518407 | 0.473476 |
| 9,K suited | 0.646145 | 0.616192 |
| 9,A suited | 0.822276 | 0.80444 |
| T,J suited | 0.574533 | 0.497955 |
| T,Q suited | 0.677017 | 0.615537 |
| T,K suited | 0.808521 | 0.762138 |
| T,A suited | 0.990289 | 0.956538 |
| J,Q suited | 0.737666 | 0.679207 |
| J,K suited | 0.870492 | 0.82713 |
| J,A suited | 1.056211 | 1.02548 |
| Q,K suited | 0.936506 | 0.896165 |
| Q,A suited | 1.124432 | 1.096723 |
| K,A suited | 1.194024 | 1.169336 |
| 2,2 pair | -0.134137 | -0.140431 |
| 3,3 pair | 0.078584 | 0.068777 |
| 4,4 pair | 0.322289 | 0.308953 |
| 5,5 pair | 0.589457 | 0.572593 |
| 6,6 pair | 0.837465 | 0.820601 |
| 7,7 pair | 1.093669 | 1.076805 |
| 8,8 pair | 1.353048 | 1.336184 |
| 9,9 pair | 1.612114 | 1.59525 |
| T,T pair | 1.87899 | 1.860933 |
| J,J pair | 2.097415 | 2.082887 |
| Q,Q pair | 2.315838 | 2.304838 |
| K,K pair | 2.535691 | 2.528219 |
| A,A pair | 2.788899 | 2.78206 |
Bonus Bet
The bonus bet pays based only on the players hole cards, and in some cases the dealer's two hole cards. Who wins the hand does not matter. There seem to be two pay tables available for the bonus bet as follows. From what I hear the Atlantic City pay table is also used in Missouri and Indiana.
Bonus Bet — Las Vegas Rules
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player has AA, dealer has AA | 1000 | 6 | 0.000004 | 0.003694 |
| Player has AA | 30 | 7344 | 0.004521 | 0.135636 |
| Player has AK suited | 25 | 4900 | 0.003017 | 0.075415 |
| Player has AQ or AJ suited | 20 | 9800 | 0.006033 | 0.120664 |
| Player has AK unsuited | 15 | 14700 | 0.00905 | 0.135747 |
| Player has KK, QQ, or JJ | 10 | 22050 | 0.013575 | 0.135747 |
| Player has AQ or AJ unsuited | 5 | 29400 | 0.0181 | 0.090498 |
| Player has Pair 22 to 10,10 | 3 | 66150 | 0.040724 | 0.122172 |
| All other | -1 | 1470000 | 0.904977 | -0.904977 |
| Total | 1624350 | 1 | -0.085406 |
Bonus Bet — Atlantic City Rules
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA | 30 | 7350 | 0.004525 | 0.135747 |
| AK suited | 25 | 4900 | 0.003017 | 0.075415 |
| AQ or AJ suited | 20 | 9800 | 0.006033 | 0.120664 |
| AK unsuited | 15 | 14700 | 0.00905 | 0.135747 |
| KK, QQ, or JJ | 10 | 22050 | 0.013575 | 0.135747 |
| AQ or AJ unsuited | 5 | 29400 | 0.0181 | 0.090498 |
| Pair 22 to 10,10 | 3 | 66150 | 0.040724 | 0.122172 |
| All other | -1 | 1470000 | 0.904977 | -0.904977 |
| Total | 1624350 | 1 | -0.088989 |
The lower right cells show a house edge on the bonus bet of 8.5406% under the Las Vegas rules and 8.8989% under the Atlantic City rules.
6-Card Bonus
Some casinos add on a side bet known as the 6-Card Bonus. This side bet is found on multiple poker-derivative games, so I created a special page for it. For more information, please see my page on the 6-Card Bonus.
C5
At the Casino Bregenz in Austria, where the game goes by the title Easy Poker, they add a side bet called the C5, which is based on the poker-value of the player's seven-card hand. The following return table shows a house edge of 8.95%.
C5
| Event | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 100 | 4,324 | 0.000032 | 0.003232 |
| Straight flush | 60 | 37,260 | 0.000279 | 0.016710 |
| Four of a kind | 40 | 224,848 | 0.001681 | 0.067227 |
| Full house | 8 | 3,473,184 | 0.025961 | 0.207688 |
| Flush | 6 | 4,047,644 | 0.030255 | 0.181530 |
| Straight | 4 | 6,180,020 | 0.046194 | 0.184775 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 6,461,620 | 0.048299 | 0.096597 |
| All other | -1 | 113,355,660 | 0.847300 | -0.847300 |
| Total | 133,784,560 | 1.000000 | -0.089540 |
Methodology
A brute force approach was used to cycle through all possible cominations of cards. In total 7,089,794,712,000 hands were played out, requiring 72 days of computer time to loop through them all.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Scott McIntosh of Online Poker Room Reviews for his contributions to this page. He confirmed my Las Vegas results and provided the Atlantic City house edge and expected values. His program runs in six hours compared to the 72 days mine takes, so I was happy to use his numbers. For reviews and advice on playing poker online I encourage you to visit his web site.
Links
There is a good Texas Hold 'Em Bonus calculator at beatingbonuses.com.
Analysis at ReviewPokerRooms.com.
In hold'em, players receive two down cards as their personal hand (holecards), after which there is a round of betting. Three board cards are turned simultaneously (called the flop) and another round of betting occurs. The next two board cards are turned one at a time, with a round of betting after each card. The board cards are community cards, and a player can use any five-card combination from among the board and personal cards. A player can even use all of the board cards and no personal cards to form a hand ('play the board'). A dealer button is used. The usual structure is to use two blinds, but it is possible to play the game with one blind, multiple blinds, an ante, or combination of blinds plus an ante.Rounds of Betting
- Opening deal- Each player is dealt two cards face down, which are known as hole cards or pocket cards.
- First round of betting- Starting with the player to the left of the big blind, each player can call the big blind, raise, or fold. The big blind has the option to raise an otherwise unraised pot.
- The flop- The dealer burns a card, and then deals three community cards face up. The first three cards are referred to as the flop, while all of the community cards are collectively called the board.
- Second round of betting- Starting with the player to the left of the dealer button, each player can check or bet. Once a bet has been made, each player can raise, call, or fold.
- The turn- The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fourth card face-up to the community cards. This fourth card is known as the turn card, or fourth street.
- Third round of betting- It follows the same format as the second round, but the size of the bets have usually doubled in limit games.
- The river- The dealer burns another card, and then adds a fifth and final card to the community cards. This fifth card is known as the river card, or fifth street.
- Final round of betting- It follows the same format as the second and third rounds.
- The showdown- Using the best five-card combination of their hole cards and the community cards, the remaining players show their hands, with the bettor or last raiser showing first. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. (In case of a tie, the pot is evenly split among the winning hands.)
- These rules deal only with irregularities. SeeButton and Blinduse for rules on that subject.
- If the first or second hole card dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer retrieves the card, reshuffles, and recuts the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card can not be kept. After completing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one hole card is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.
- If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it is possible to know which card is the extra one.)
- If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the board cards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burn card remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.
See Explanations,discussion #2, for more information on this rule. - If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card's place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burn cards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.
See Explanations,discussion #2, for more information on this rule. - If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card is returned to the deck and used for the burn card. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.
- If you are playing the board, you must so declare before you throw your cards away; otherwise you relinquish all claim to the pot.