The game of Texas Hold’em is believed to have been invented in Robstown, Texas. It first appeared in a Las Vegas Casino in 1963 and from there it grew to become one of the biggest card games in the world, with the greatest growth occurring around the year 2000.

Players of all preferences and stakes are drawn to this game - it’s simple, yet intricate; fast, yet intense. One of the best was to play Hold’em is in the Live format, where you’ll face-off against a real dealer on a real poker table.

Live Hold’em Poker is one of the many poker formats available at at the top Kiwi casino sites featured on Casino.com New Zealand, and one that we’ll take a close look at in this overview:

• Total Live Dealer Hold’em Games: 1+
• Developer: Playtech.
• Stake Range: $1 to $5,000.
• Spectate Mode: Available.

To play the Live Casino Hold’em games at the top-rated casinos on Casino.com NZ, simply pick one, sign up, find your game of choice, and start playing. To play for real money you will need to have funds in your account, so take a look at the many payment methods and feel free to email the customer support team if you encounter any issues.

The Live Dealer Hold’em Poker games on these sites utilize a high-speed stream, a crystal-clear cam and chat features that allow you to converse with the dealer during play. You can watch the game unfold in real-time and interact with it just like you would if you were sitting at the table in person.

Live Dealer Hold’em Poker provides a level of immersion that you simply don’t get with virtual variants of this card game. One of the main benefits of Live Dealer Casino Hold’em, when compared to non-live versions, is that you can see the game being played in real-time - every card, every bet, every outcome.

It’s a more engaging, involving, tactile experience. It’s just you, your opponent, a deck of cards, and a set of rules. That’s how poker should be played and how it is best enjoyed. Take a look at these pros and cons of Live Casino Hold’em when compared to non-live versions:

Pros

• Play with a Real Dealer and Real Equipment.
• High-Quality Streams Deliver an Immersive Experience.
• Chat with the Dealer as you Play.
• Guaranteed Fairness.

Cons

• The Games are a Little Slower.
• More of a Demand is Placed on your Processor/Connection.
• Multi-Tabling is not Feasible.

Texas Hold’em is a relatively simple game, at least on the surface. The basic rules of this game are very easy to learn, but like all good games, the more you play it, the better you will become. The world’s best Texas Hold’em players compete on a daily basis and when they’re not playing, they’re studying it - discussing hands, moves, and strategy.

Live Casino Hold’em is a game you can pick up and play with some basic information, but it’s one that you can also get better at over time. In many ways, Live Dealer Casino Hold’em is like playing a dealer heads-up, a term used to denote a 1-vs-1 game. However, there are a few differences in how this game plays and how Player-vs-Player games of Texas Hold’em are played, these include:

• Player-vs-Dealer: In Casino Hold’em you play against the dealer, not the player. This dealer is real, not AI, but they also play each hand to the end and will never fold like a traditional opponent might. This means you can’t bluff your way to victory and always need to have the best hand to win.
• The Deal: A hand of Hold’em begins with 2 cards being dealt to both the player and the dealer. These cards are known as the “hole” cards and can only be used by the player that holds them.
  • The Flop: Another three cards are laid across the middle of the table. Known as “Community Cards”, these can be used by both the dealer and the player to form their hand, with the goal being to create the best 5-card poker hand.
  • Turn and River: The fourth card is the “Turn” and the fifth is the “River”. In traditional games of Texas Hold’em, these are dealt one after another, with a betting round in between. In games of Casino Hold’em, they are dealt at the same time.
  • Showdown: The “Showdown” is the climax of the hand, the point at which players show their cards and compare them to the dealer’s. The best hand wins and collects the chips, at which point the hand ends and another one begins.
• The AA Side Bet: This game of Casino Hold’em includes a side bet known as “AA”, which triggers payouts based on the strength of the player’s hand. The term “AA” is used to denote a hand of two Aces, which is the strongest pair of cards that you can get in a game of poker.

In games of Live Dealer Casino Hold’em, the best hand always wins. What’s more, if that hand consists of some of the highest possible poker hand values, such as a Royal Flush, then big payouts can be triggered.

A Royal Flush is one of the rarest hands in poker, but it’s also the strongest. It consists of a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit. To give you an idea of just how rare it is, there are over 2.5 million different poker hands available in a single deck of cards and a Royal Flush accounts for just 4 of these (one for each suit). In a standard game of Texas Hold’em poker, the odds of it appearing are close to 650,000 to 1.

It’s not the only hand that pays big though. Sizeable returns can also be secured for hands such as the Straight Flush, which is any Straight of the same suit (such as the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Hearts), and Four-of-a-Kind, which is when you have all four cards of the same value.

You don’t have to look very hard to find Hold’em Poker strategies. Countless authors have written books on this subject and millions of them have been sold over the years. However, these often concern tournament play, telling you when to play loosely and when to play tightly; when to fold and when to bet, and how to bluff. These tips won’t help you much in a game of Live Dealer Casino Hold’em.

Instead, you just need to learn a few basic rules, which we have discussed below:

1. Learn the Basics - The first thing you need to do is learn poker hand values. These will serve you well in all variants of poker, from Live Dealer Casino Hold’em to Stud, Draw, and more. Poker hand values may seem a little complicated at first, but it’s much easier than you might think.
   
   The first thing to remember is that Ace is high, which means a 3 is more than a 2, a 4 is more than a 3, and an Ace is more than a King. You also need to know that a Flush is more than a Straight; a Full House beats both; Four-of-a-Kind beats a Full House; a Straight Flush beats Four-of-a-Kind, and a Royal Flush beats everything.
   
   Everything else is common sense, for instance, Three-of-a-Kind is better than a Pair.
2. Incorporate Expected Value (EV) - Expected Poker (EV) is an important calculation that can tell you whether a pot is worth investing in or not. This is something that all poker players know, either actively or passively.
   
   Simply put, it’s a calculation that tells them whether to bet or fold; whether to chase a pot or give up on it. As an example, let’s assume that you’re waiting for the Turn and you need 1 card to win. No other card will help you, but that 1 card will almost certainly win the hand as it will give you the “nuts” (a term used to denote the best possible hand).
   
   The odds are slim, possibly around 5%, so if the pot is $100 and you need to bet $50 to $100 to call, then it’s not worth it. This is Negative EV (-EV). However, if the pot is $100 and you need to bet $5 or less, then the payout is in line with your chances and this is Positive EV (+EV).
3. Budget and Bankroll - Finally, whenever you bet, make sure it is within your budget. It is important to monitor your wins and losses and to avoid depositing and gambling more than you can afford to lose.

The Live Dealer Casino games in the Casino.com NZ games room are provided by Playtech as part of their Eurolive platform. This is one of the most trusted platforms in the iGaming sector and contains many top games, including 3 Card Brag, Baccarat, Roulette, and more.

All the Live Casino games on our best online casinos are mobile-friendly and available across a host of devices and on a number of platforms. Just make sure you have a secure and stable connection, and that your volume is turned up (we recommend wearing a pair of headphones). The icons and options are large enough to cater for the smaller, touchscreen devices and to ensure there are no issues.

We have covered a lot of rules and strategies in this guide to Casino Hold’em Poker, but you may still encounter a few issues, especially if you’re not an experienced poker player. Should that be the case, simply use one of the help options below:

• In-Game Help: You can find a help screen on all Live Dealer Casino games, and Hold’em is no exception. If you are struggling with any rules, simply click this icon and you’ll get the assistance you need.
• Customer Support: If the in-game menu can’t help you, then contact the customer support team. Our recommended sites have dedicated staff members as part of their support team who are on hand around-the-clock to help with whatever game or account-related issue you have.

Our list of top casino sites offer a plethora of casino bonuses to all new players and many of these can be used to play Casino Hold’em and other live games. To see these for yourself, simply visit the Promotions page. Here you can discover what bonuses you qualify for and learn how to collect and use them.

We also have an extensive guide to casino bonuses should you need any further information.

Casino Poker Hold’em is one of the most popular games in the Live Casino section at our recommended casinos, but it’s far from the only one they have. There are stacks of other top games available, all of which have been given the Live Dealer treatment.

You can find multiple variants of Live Blackjack, Live Baccarat and Live Roulette, as well as lesser-known games such as 3 Card Brag. There is a little something for everyone, so be sure to check the other Live Dealer titles when you’ve finished with this one.

The reputable online casinos featured on Casino.com NZ are the best places to play Live Dealer Casino Hold’em and to enjoy countless other Live and virtual Casino games nz. These sites also have a mountain of slots for you to sift through, as well as plenty of bonuses and payment options.

All new players can take advantage of the Welcome Bonus, which supplies you with free credits and other extras that you can use to get acquainted with their extensive games room.