Top 10 Casino Poker Games | Best Casino Poker Variants

Play the best casino poker games online. Learn how and where to play games like Jacks or Better, Three-Card Poker, Casino Hold’em, and others.

Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by Avatar Author Adrian Sterne
Fact checked by Dusan Jovanovic

Casino Poker GamesPlenty of poker game variants that can be played in a casino environment and if you are interested in playing against the house our guide to the Top 10 Casino Poker Games.

Casino poker games are forms of poker that you play against the dealer or a house rather than against other players.

The skill advantage in these games is lower when compared to regular poker, but they are fun nevertheless and can be highly rewarding if you know how to play them.

In this article, I will introduce you to the basics of casino poker games and cover the rules of some of the most common casino poker variants.

Here are some of the things that you can learn by reading this guide:

Let’s get down to business, shall we?

Whilst the vast majority of poker players will be looking to play cash table games or they may be looking to enter poker tournaments, there are a growing number of poker players who look for something completely different to play but games offering a poker related structure or format.

This is where a lot of online casinos do come in handy, for many of them offer a collection of casino poker games, and the main difference with these casino poker games is that you will not be playing other players, instead you are playing against the house on an straight up poker structured game.

There are a growing number of these casino poker games on offer at many different online casinos and as such we have listed the top 10 casino poker games below for you. You can freely play these games at most online casinos for they will let you play then at no cost or for real money.

So it may be best for you to give them some play time at no risk via the free play options of the games first so you get a feel for how the games play and operate, then you can always give them a try for real money if you like what you find when playing them for free!

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If you want to play casino poker online, you’ll be happy to know that there are hundreds of websites where you can do so. Almost every casino has several variations of casino poker, and I’ve made a list of the best ones that you can check out below.

What Are Online Casino Poker Games?


Playing poker against other players is a great way to utilize your strategies and win a lot of cash. Poker is one of a few card games where skill overweighs luck by a large margin.

However, not everybody has time or patience to play poker against others, as sessions can last for hours, tournaments can last for days, and you even need to wait for enough players to join the table for the game to start.

Casino poker games are nice compensation for all of that. There is no waiting, and you can always quit if you feel satisfied with your current earnings.

The only difference between casino poker and regular poker is that in casino poker you are playing alone against the dealer. Therefore, the odds are a little bit less favourable to a player, but you can regularly win if you apply the proper strategy.

With that said, casino poker is considered to be better than online roulette or baccarat, as your poker skills can still come in handy and negate the luck factor to an extent.

5 Most Popular Forms Of Casino Poker

Below are some of the most popular forms of casino poker, together with the basic explanations on how to play them.

Video Poker

Video poker can be played at a land-based casino on a machine station similar to those of a video slot.

Video poker is one of the earliest forms of casino poker, and all variants of this game apply the rules of a standard 5-Card Draw game and they all use standard poker rankings. The most common form of video poker is a game called Jacks or Better.

Video Poker Rules

You start this game by wagering a certain number of coins. Five cards show up and you decide which cards you want to replace. Of course, you can choose to replace all five cards or none of them.

If you only get a high card or a single pair that is lower than jacks, you will lose the bet. If you get a pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces, you break even. Every other hand combination from two pairs upwards will see you make a profit. Here’s a nice chart that explains the payouts in Jacks or Better video poker.

COINS 1 2 3 4 5
Royal Flush 250 500 750 1000 4000
Straight Flush 50 100 150 200 250
4 of a Kind 25 50 75 100 125
Full House 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
3 of a Kind 3 6 9 12 15
2 Pairs 2 4 6 8 10
Jacks or Better 1 2 3 4 5

There are two other common forms of video poker:

  • Deuces Wild — similar rules apply, only you don’t get anything for making a pair, and all deuces (2s) count as Wilds, meaning that you can use them as a replacement for any other hand combination.
  • Joker’s Wild — this variation adds Joker cards to the 52-card deck. The rules are the same as in Deuces Wild; only now, the Joker card is considered a Wild card.

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is a really interesting form of poker that’s common in both online and land-based casinos.

This is a very low variance type of game whereby you are dealt out a set of playing cards and have to form two different hands with the cards you are dealt, you will be aiming to beat the dealers two hands with both of yours.

Pai Gow Poker Rules

Players in Pai Gow are given seven cards with which they need to make two hands — a front hand consisting of two cards and a back hand consisting of five cards. The player can set up their hands in any way they like as long as their back hand is stronger than their front hand.

The dealer does the same with their seven cards. However, they can’t exactly make hands as they wish since they must follow the specific dealer rules.

The goal of the game is to beat the dealer with both of your hands, in which case you get paid 1:1. You can only win the bet if both hands win, and lose the bet if both hands lose.

If you only have one hand better than the dealer and the dealer beats you on the other one, that’s considered a push, and no money changes hands.

Some versions of Pai Gow use the Joker card. The Joker can be used to replace any card in a flush or a straight. Otherwise, it counts as an ace.

Alternative Version: Bonus Pai Gow Poker

This game is the same as the game listed above with the exception being that you can place an additional side bet, this will award you with several different sized bonus payouts whenever you get dealt a certain set of hands combinations in your dealt hand.

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud is a casino poker version of 5-Card Stud. If you know the rules to 5-Card Stud, you don’t need any further explanation, as the only difference is that you will be playing against the dealer instead of other players at the table.

Caribbean Stud Poker Rules

Before the cards are dealt, each player must put down an ante bet. The dealer then gives five cards to each of the players and deals five cards to themselves, with only one card being face-up.

The players then choose to either bet or fold. Once the betting round is over, the dealer will reveal all their cards and compare them to the players’ hands. However, the dealer first must qualify by at least having an AK-high.

If the dealer does not qualify, each of the remaining players gets paid 1:1 on their ante bet and gets a push on their main bet.

If the dealer qualifies, they compare their hand to the players’. All winning players will get paid 2:1 on their ante bets, while their main bet payouts will depend on the strength of their hand. All losing players lose all of their wagered chips.

Alternative Version: Cyber Stud Poker

This is a game whereby you are simply playing a five card game of poker against the dealer in the hope that your hand will beat the dealers for you to be awarded a winning payout, an ante bet needs to be placed and the dealer will need to qualify for you to get paid the sliding scale of payouts as indicated on the pay table.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em

Ultimate Texas Hold’em has been gaining a lot of steam lately, and it’s slowly becoming one of the most popular casino poker games.

Unlike regular Texas Hold’em, players in the Ultimate version of this game are allowed three different types of bets — ante and blind bet, play bet, and trips bet.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em Rules

The ante bet is placed pre-flop, and it’s always equal to the blind bet. You can also bet 3x or 4x your ante pre-flop in the play bet field. After the flop, you can only bet 2x your ante and bet 1x or flop during the final two community cards.

The dealer must qualify with at least a pair. Otherwise, the ante bet is a push. A player with a winning hand wins 1:1 on both the ante and the play bet. The blind bets pay out according to the following table.

Royal Flush 500:1
Straight Flush 50:1
Four of a Kind 10:1
Full House 3:1
Flush 3:2
Straight 1:1
All Other Push

The trips bet is an optional bet that can win you some extra money. It pays only if a player has three-of-a-kind or better. However, the payouts are much smaller compared to blind bets.

Alternative Version: Texas Hold’Em Bonus Poker

This is the one casino poker game that most poker players will already have an idea of how to play, this is a game where you are taking on the dealer in the hope that you hand is a better ranked one than the dealer, and if so you will be awarded the winning payout based on the strength and rank of your hand.

3-Card Poker Rules

This game has proved to be one of the most popular casino poker game played all over the web ad in most land based casino sites. In 3-Card Poker, players are dealt the cards, and they try to make the best possible three-card poker combo. Since there are only three cards active in each hand, the hand rankings in this game work a little differently.

The aim of the game is to either beat the dealers 3 card poker hand with your own higher valued one, or by placing a pairs plus side bet you can instead pick up a set of winning payouts for being dealt one of several special hands.

Here are all hand rankings in 3-Card Poker from strongest to weakest:

  • Straight Flush
  • Three of a Kind
  • Straight
  • Flush
  • Pair
  • High Card

Before the cards are dealt, each player can make an ante bet, a pair plus bet, or both. With the ante bet, you are wagering on whether your hand will beat the dealer’s hand. If you are satisfied with the cards you’ve been dealt, you can make a play bet that’s always equal to your ante.

With the pair plus bet, a player makes a wager on whether they will get a pair or better. You can win this bet regardless of whether the dealer has a better hand. The payouts for the pair plus bet are as following:

Pair 1:1
Flush 4:1
Straight 5:1
Three of a Kind 30:1
Straight Flush 40:1

Another way you can win is by getting rewarded the ante bonus. Again, the ante bet is optional, and it pays regardless of whether you’ve beaten the dealer. The ante bonus pays 1:1 on a straight, 4x the ante on three-of-a-kind, and 5x the ante on a straight flush.

Once the bets are concluded, the dealer turns their cards and compares it to the players’ cards. The dealer must have at least a queen high to qualify. Otherwise, the ante bets are paid 1:1, and the play bet is a push.

If the dealer does qualify and your hand is better, the casino pays 1:1 for both the ante bet and the play bet.

More Casino Poker Games Worth Playing

6. Red Dog Poker

This is a fun casino poker game to play and when you opt to play it two cards will be dealt out and you have to place a wager in the hope that the third card to be dealt will fall with in the value of the initial two cards, there is a large additional winning payout is the three cards dealt are all of the same value.

7. Triple Action Poker

This is a very unique casino poker game as the only cards in the deck are the 8’s and higher valued cards right up to the Aces, all other cards are removed from the deck and are not in play.

You will be looking to form a better ranked poker hand than the dealer and both of you will have five cards only to make that hand with.

8. Triple Pocket Hold ‘Em

This is another very unique game in which you are dealt two cards and the dealer is dealt two sets of hole cards, the game will then progress to the next levels where five community cards are dealt out.

The aim of the game is for your one hand to beat both of the dealers hand and if you do a wide range of winning payouts can be awarded to you.

9. Poker Ride

You may get to like this Poker Ride game if you like taking the occasional risk you first have to place a series of bets onto the poker table and as such a set of cards are dealt out, you then have to decide whether to keep the additional wagers on the betting layout and if you do an additional card will be dealt, you continue playing in such a fashion until you have been dealt a five card poker hand, and if your hand is one listed on the pay table then your stakes are paid out at the respective odds.

10. Poker Pursuit

When you play the Poker Pursuit casino poker game you need to place a wager and you are dealt three cards you can then call or raise your initial wager to be dealt a fourth and then a fifth card, the aim is much like the game above, and that is to end the game with one of the ranked hands as displayed on the pay table.

The game is strategic as by raising your bet when you have a guaranteed winning hand then you are guaranteed a much higher payout than if you had just called the bet!

Conclusion


As you can see, the world of casino poker is very diverse, and it offers you a chance to explore multiple variations of classic poker.

If you don’t like playing against other players and you’re more comfortable with taking your chances against the dealer, then casino poker is a perfect choice.

For any other questions related to casino poker games, feel free to use the comment section below.

And, as always — good luck!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best casino poker games?

There are several casino poker games, each with their own exciting bets and features. The most popular variants include video poker, Pai Gow, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, and 3-Card Poker.


Are casino poker games easier?

In a sense, yes, playing casino poker games is easier since you’ll only be going against one other person — the dealer. However, casino poker games rely more on luck than regular poker games, so the house edge will also be higher.


Is casino poker a scam?

As long as you play in an official casino or at a licensed casino website, you should not worry about being scammed. Check out my list of the best casino poker sites to learn where you can play 100% safely.


How to win a jackpot at video poker?

The jackpot at video poker considers that you get a royal flush while betting the maximum amount of coins. If you get lucky and do it, you will get paid 800 to 1.


What is the best hand in 3-Card Poker?

The best hand in 3-Card Poker is a straight flush (three consecutive cards with the same suit, preferably Q, K, A). If you make a pair plus bet, this combination will give you a 40:1 payout.

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