The Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy Guide for Casino Players

I’m a poker player at heart. I dabbled in blackjack and roulette when I was 18. I’d had the odd flutter on the Grand National. However, it wasn’t until I started playing poker at university that I developed a penchant for odds, game theory, and strategy.

My time at the poker tables (both online and live) has taught me gambling concepts that apply to all casino games. From expected value (EV) and variance to return on investment (ROI). These concepts are just as important in casino gaming as in poker. That’s why I’m the perfect person to teach you Texas Hold’em strategy.

Naturally, I can’t cover every concept in this guide. I also need to make a clear distinction between traditional Texas Hold’em strategy and skills you can use in a casino setting. The good news, however, is that there’s plenty of crossover. With this in mind, here are my ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy tips.

The Best Texas Hold’em Strategy for Beginners

Before I get into strategy specifics, let’s make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to the basics. This guide is about a casino game called Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

I’ll explain why it’s different from traditional Hold’em in a moment. Before that, here are the Ultimate Texas Hold’em rules step by step:

• Step 1: Post your ante and blind bet. These bets must be the same value.

• Step 2: Tap the deal button to get two hole cards.

• Step 3: Check for free or make a raise by adding chips to the “Play” box. A raise on this street must be 4x the value of your ante bet.

• Step 4: The flop (three community cards) is dealt.

• Step 5: Check for free or make a raise. A raise on this street must be 2x the value of your ante bet. You can only raise if you checked the previous street.

• Step 6: The turn (fourth community card) and river (fifth community card) are dealt.

• Step 7: Fold or call by adding chips to the “Play” box. A call is equal to the value of your ante bet if you have checked on the two previous streets. If you’ve previously made a raise, you make a call but don’t add any more chips.

• Step 8: The showdown. Your hand and the dealer’s hand are compared. You win if your hand ranks higher than the dealer’s hand or the dealer doesn’t have a qualifying hand (a pair or better).

Ultimate Texas Hold’em payouts are based on three things:

• The ante bet = you win 1:1 on your ante bet if the dealer qualifies (has a pair or better) and you have a better hand. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, your ante bet is returned (aka it’s a push).

• The play bet = you win 1:1 on the total value of your play bet if you beat the dealer.

• The blind bet = you win a prize based on the value of your blind bet and the Ultimate Texas Hold’em payout table (see below).

That’s a general overview of how to play Ultimate Texas Hold’em. The astute among you will notice that it isn’t the same as traditional Texas Hold’em. By traditional, I mean the type of Hold’em you play against other people rather than a casino dealer.

Ultimate Texas Hold’em is a table game similar to blackjack and baccarat. In fact, if you know how to play these games, you’ll see the crossovers. The fact that you’re playing against the house means you’re at a slight disadvantage.

This isn’t the case in traditional Texas Hold’em. No one has an inherent edge over anyone else. Sure, players can be more skilled than each other, but that’s not down to anything in the rules. Ultimate Texas Hold’em rules favor the house. That’s why strategy is so important, so let’s get into it.  

Traditional Texas Hold’em Strategy vs. Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy

Traditional Texas Hold’em strategy and Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy aren’t the same thing. Ultimate Texas Hold’em rules limit the moves you can make.

For example, the amount you can bet is based on the point you’re at in the hand. Similarly, because you’re playing against a dealer who can only show their cards, it’s impossible to bluff and value bet. 

Here’s a helpful way to think about Texas Hold’em strategy and Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy:

• Traditional Hold’em strategy is about playing situations and people.

• Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy is about playing the odds and making moves with the best expected value (EV).

This distinction should help you at the Ultimate Texas Hold’em tables. What I will say, though, is that you can use certain concepts from traditional Hold’em to guide your play. For example, it’s important to know the ranking of poker hands.

Without knowing that flushes beat straights, for example, you won’t be able to apply Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy tips such as the 21 Outs Rule. On a more fundamental level, knowing the ranking of poker hands gives you a general sense of which hands you should be betting and which ones you should be checking.

Therefore, when it comes to Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy for beginners, my advice is to build a solid foundation based on hand rankings. Once you’ve done that, you’ll have a much better chance of incorporating more advanced Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategies into your game.

Three +EV Ultimate Texas Hold’em Strategy Tips

Now you know how to create a foundation using Texas Hold’em strategy, here’s how to build on it:

1. You Can Only Raise Once, So Do It At the Right Time

You’ve got one shot to put extra chips on the table and make the most of strong hands. Therefore, you need to know when raising is better than checking. The best way to do this is to refer to a Texas Hold’em strategy chart.

The chart below shows you when to make a 4x raise based on your two starting cards. To use it, find your high-value card and scroll across until you hit the low-value card. Whatever move is listed, do that:

*Bet 4x with all pairs 3s or higher

Based on the table above, there are two simple rules to keep in mind when it comes to playing starting hands in Ultimate Texas Hold’em:

• Always raise if your starting hand contains an ace.

• Make an opening raise with any pocket pair except deuces.

Things get a bit trickier when you get past the pre-flop stage of a hand because there are a variety of situations you could be faced with. What I can do, however, is summarize the general strategy you should use:

• Make a 2x raise post-flop with two pair or better, a pair in your hand (3s or better), and four cards to a flush.

• Make a 1x raise with a pair in your hand or better, or if the dealer has fewer than 21 outs to beat you (more on this in the next section).

• Don’t play if your hand doesn’t meet any of the requirements listed already.

 2. Use the 21 Outs Rule on the River

In the same way there are optimal moves for raising and checking, there’s a rule for calling on the river. It’s known as the 21 Outs rule, and it was first proposed by James Grosjean.

It’s called a rule, but it’s actually two rules that state:

• It’s best to fold if the dealer has 21 cards or more that beat you.

• It’s best to call if the dealer has 20 cards or fewer that beat you.

This is where Texas Hold’em strategy comes in handy because you have to count the dealer’s outs (i.e., cards that can beat you).

Here’s how to use the 21 Outs Ultimate Texas Hold’em rule in practice:

• You have: Q♦ 10♥

• The board = 8♠ 9♣ A♥ 2♦ J♣

You count the dealer’s outs by looking at the number of cards that could make hands better than yours. In this scenario, you don’t have a ranked hand, so any pair beats you. Factoring this into the equation, the dealer has the following outs:

• 3x eights

• 3x nines

• 3x aces

• 3x deuces

• 3x jacks

You also need to consider the hidden cards (i.e., what the dealer has in their hand). For this example, a king would be a better hidden hand because it’s worth more than a queen. This adds four extra outs.

In total, the dealer has 19 cards that could make a better hand than yours. Based on the 21 Outs Rule, you should call in this situation.

3. Don’t Worry About Wins and Losses

My final Ultimate Texas Hold’em tip for beginners is to forget about wins and losses. The same applies to traditional Texas Hold’em strategy. Your only goal is to play optimally. That means making the mathematically correct moves irrespective of whether you win or lose.

Don’t deviate from what an Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy chart tells you to do because you have a “feeling” or the wind is blowing in a certain direction. You’re playing a casino game where the only thing you can do is reduce the house edge as much as possible by making the best EV plays.

This tip is backed by facts. Michael ‘Wizard of Odds’ Shackleford notes that Ultimate Texas Hold’em rules give the house a 2.185% edge. However, he also acknowledges that this doesn’t take into account our ability to raise, call, and fold at the right times.

That’s why he suggests considering the element of risk. This concept takes into account the fact that you can put more money on the table when you raise. This increases your average bet size. So, when you raise at the right time using optimal Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy, you can reduce the element of risk.

Based on his calculations, this brings down the house edge to 0.526%. That’s not only a huge decrease but also a figure that puts Ultimate Texas Hold’em on par with low-house edge games such as blackjack and baccarat.

This, for me, is the best reason to use an Ultimate Texas Hold’em strategy chart and play optimally.

Responsible Gambling

Part of playing optimally is sizing your bets in a way that doesn’t expose you to too much risk. You can only size your bets correctly if you understand the basics of bankroll management and gambling responsibly.

Our responsible gambling hub has articles on these topics and much more. You can also use these resources to learn more about playing responsibly and, if necessary, get help if your gambling habits have become problematic:

• The National Council on Problem Gambling

• Gamblers Anonymous

• Gam-Anon.org

• GamTalk.org