Are you one of the many who wonder how to play Texas Hold'em? Many poker fans would recommend practicing with the Casino Hold'em game, which you can find in just about any online casino and play for free. This game is based on the same rules except that here you only play against the dealer, rather than against other players. There is no rush to make a move; you can relax and take all the time you want to make a decision. With Casino Hold'em you have the time to look at combinations and really learn when to "call" a hand or "fold", etc.

Casino Hold'em is a variation of 5 card poker. You will be given two cards, which are used along with a 5-card flop on the table. The best possible hand will be automatically selected for you by using the 7 cards (your two cards plus the 5 community cards).

There is an extra mini-game option in this game called "AA side bet", where you can choose whether you want to bet that the first 5 cards that are dealt (your two cards and the first 3 flop cards) contains a pair of Aces or higher-value combination.

How to Play Casino Poker Online

Click on your casino chips to choose how much to bet, click on the Ante circle to place your bet (optionally you can also click on the AA side bet). Each time you click, your bet will increase according to the value of the casino chips you selected. To reduce the bet, right-click on the bet area. You can also click on the Clear Bets button to remove all the bets and start over. If you do not want to play AA (AA side bet), you can just ignore that circle. Once you are ready, just click on the Deal button.

When you click the Deal button, you and the dealer will be dealt two cards each (the dealer's cards will be face down), and three cards will be drawn to the table (this is known in poker terminology as the flop).

If the cards you see are a poker combination, it will be displayed on the screen. Your best poker hand will be automatically selected. If you bet on the AA side-game, then if you have one pair of Aces or higher, you will have won the AA bet. However, note that in some versions of Casino Holdem you must choose to Call to win the AA side bet; if you choose to Fold, you will also lose the side bet.

You can then choose to click the call button to continue playing against the dealer, or fold to end the game if you do not like the cards you are dealt (i.e. if you think you have a bad initial hand). If you choose to Call you must bet double your initial bet. This happens automatically -- if you start with a bet of 10 euros, the pot will be automatically increased to 20 euros when you click the call button. If you click the Fold button, you'll lose only the bet you started the game with.

The last two cards are then dealt to the flop, the dealer shows his cards and the best possible combination will be selected for both of you. If your poker hand is better than the dealer's, you win the pot (usually ante and call bets times two).

These are the basics to playing Casino Hold'em. If you want to play another round, simply click on the New Game or Rebet button. Rebet will put the same ante bet as the previous round on the table. It could not be simpler.

Playing Casino Hold'em is a great way to prepare for playing Texas Hold'em for real money on the tables of the online poker rooms.