Poker has consistently been a very popular game in casinos, both physical as well as online. In fact, in America alone nearly 60 million people play this game! Every online casino worth its salt has at least one version of poker PC software in its game library. In this article, we’ll take a look at some variants of poker that your casino should know about when it seeks to buy poker software, in order to attract a wider range of customers.
Table of Contents
1. Texas Hold’em Poker
2. Three Card Poker
3. Jacks or Better Video Poker
4. Tequila Poker
5. Pai Gow Poker
6. Conclusion
1. Texas Hold’em Poker
Texas Hold’em Poker is probably the most popular variant of poker played online, as well as in physical casinos. The World Series of Poker (WSOP), poker’s biggest worldwide tournament, also uses Hold’em as its main event.
When dealing with game providers, your company should be able to find one who supplies Texas Hold’em Poker easily. If your casino doesn’t have this version, you’re missing out on potential players.
In Texas Hold’em, each player will be dealt two cards. A few rounds of betting then follow, and five community cards are revealed.
This variant of the game has simple rules, but also allows for a lot of strategic depth, where players can read their opponents while also managing their own hand and chips.
Thanks to this blend of simple rules and high stakes, Texas Hold’em poker is very, very popular worldwide. It’s definitely not an easy game for newbie players, but they can still enjoy it if they brush up beforehand. If your casino is looking for an intense, high-stakes poker variant, then your company should buy poker PC software like Texas Hold’em.
2. Three Card Poker
Three Card Poker’s exact origin is unclear, but it was likely derived from a 16th Century British card game called Three Card Brag. T
Three Card Poker is a straightforward poker PC software game, and is ideal if your casino wants to offer options for quick thinkers, or poker newbies.
In this variant of poker, individual players go up against the dealer instead of playing against each other. It starts off with players placing their bets, before they are dealt their hand face up, while the dealer will receive three cards face down. The player then has the option to fold, which forfeits their bet, or play and place a second bet with the same amount as the first. Three Card Poker is appealing to players not just because of its simplicity, but also because the house edge sits at a reasonable 3-4%, while wins pay out with a 1:1 ratio.
3. Jacks or Better Video Poker
Another simple poker PC software variant your casino should check out when it buys poker software is video poker. Video poker is a game based on five-card draw poker. It is usually played on a physical console resembling a slot machine, or in the case of an online casino, a screen designed to look like a slot console. The most common version of video poker found in casinos is Jacks or Better.
Jacks or Better Video Poker plays similarly to slots. When the game starts, players must place their initial bet. Then, the wheel spins and each player is dealt five cards randomly. Players are allowed to add any number of extra cards, before spinning once more to finalize their decision.
If a player’s hand has a pair of jacks or better, they win a fixed payout. Jacks or Better is a really simple game, and it’s great to lure in players that like calculating probabilities quickly on the fly.
4. Tequila Poker
If your casino is looking for a relatively newer variant of poker to draw in a younger crowd, compared to the classic versions, you might want to get Tequila Poker. Tequila Poker was first tested live in Las Vegas in August 2005, and is a unique variant which is a combination of Poker and also Blackjack.
After placing their bet, your players will be dealt four cards face up. They then have to choose one of three options: Fold, High Tequila, or Tequila Poker. High Tequila means wagering on a total of 46 points or more with five cards. Tequila Poker involves a bet on the poker value of each card in the player’s hand.
Tequila Poker has a house edge of 4.21%, and the payouts can reach up to 200:1! This makes it an attractive game for younger players, paired with the fact that it’s quite new and innovative.
5. Pai Gow Poker
Like Tequila Poker, Pai Gow Poker is also quite a new poker variant that your company might want to look out for if you buy poker software.
In Pai Gow Poker, players play against the dealer or a designated banker. Each participant receives seven cards. These seven cards are then arranged into two hands. One hand is the ‘High’ hand with five of the best cards, and the other is a weaker two card ‘Low’ hand.
Instead of betting everything on one hand like in normal poker games, in Pai Gow players will split their bet evenly between the two hands. These hands are then pitted against the dealer’s equivalent hands. For example, High vs High and Low vs Low. In Pai Gow, each winning hand pays out with a 1:1 ratio.
Because of the lower risk and higher potential to win big, many risk-averse players like Pai Gow, which allows them to spread their bets instead of placing everything in one basket. The downside is that because of this lower risk, for each winning bet, players will have to pay a 5% commission fee to your casino.
Conclusion
These are just five out of many more must-have poker games for your online casino. It’s important that your company evaluates its target market and goals accordingly before it decides to buy poker software games. Also, be sure to secure trustworthy and reliable partners like Nautilus Games, that can help you in deciding on which games suit your casino best.
