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Playtech Heads Up Hold’em is a single deck live dealer poker game, where the player has to beat the dealer with a better 5 card poker hand.
Based on Texas Hold’em, 2 pocket cards are dealt, one set to the Player and one to the Dealer. An additional 5 community cards are dealt with each player forming the best 5 card poker hand they can.
The skill in this game is knowing when to bet as the cards are dealt.
Two Side Bets make the game more interesting — and to top it off a Bad Beats facility will payout even if the dealer beats your Straight or higher hand.
Heads Up Hold’em is similar to Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Ultimate Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, both of which can be found at Evolution Gaming Casinos.
The difference in the Live Heads Up Hold’em rules are the side bets and the initial raise bet, which is 3x the Ante rather than 4x Ante in the other games.
The Heads up Holdem online round starts with an initial Ante bet being placed. Placing this also places a mandatory Odds Bet of the same value.
The Odds bet exists to create an edge for the house, as does the dealer Qualifying on a Pair, which I’ll explain later on.
Having placed the initial Ante bet, you can also place 2 additional Side Bets. These will pay, even if the dealer wins the hand.
In Heads Up Holdem online, the dealer deals two cards face-up to the player position and 2 cards face-down to the dealer position.
The decision is to either bet early, by placing a bet of 3x the Ante or to “check”– i.e. not place a bet and wait for the next cards to be dealt.
If the player chooses to bet the 3x, that is the end of the betting for that player.
He will have to watch the remaining cards being dealt and betting rounds until the dealer reveals his cards to know whether he’s won.
Once the previous bets are confirmed three community cards (the Flop) are dealt.
The player decides whether to play the hand and place a 2x Ante bet or Check and wait for the next cards to be dealt.
If a bet is made, the player takes no further part in the game round.
The last two cards are dealt — the Turn and the River, making up the 5 community cards.
The player’s decision is to play the hand by placing a bet equal to the original Ante or folding the hand because he sees no chance of winning.
If the hand is folded, the Side Bets remain in play until the outcome of the hand is known.
Once all bets have been completed in heads Up Holdem online, the dealer reveals his two cards. The dealer and player’s best 5 card hands are compared and the winner is announced.
To enable the dealer to pay some of the bets he needs to have a minimum hand value of a Pair. This is known as Qualifying and provides the casino with an artificial edge.
If the dealer does not qualify with a pair or better, the Ante Bet and Raise bets are pushed and the Odds bet and Side Bets are paid as per the payout tables.
If the dealer qualifies (has a pair or more in their hand) and wins:
If the Player wins:
Any Ties with the dealer – and all the Ante, Raise and Odds bets are pushed.
| Hand | Win | Bad Beat Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 500 : 1 | |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 | 500:1 |
| Quads (Four of a Kind) | 10:1 | 50:1 |
| Full House | 3:1 | 10:1 |
| Flush | 3:2 | 8:1 |
| Straight | 1:1 | 5:1 |
| All Other | Push | Loss |
The Trips Plus Side Bet is played alongside the main hand. It’s paid if you get a qualifying hand regardless of the outcome of the main hand. You can lose to the dealer and still win with this Side Bet.
Your best 5 card poker hand is used to determine if you have a winning hand for the side bet.
Qualifying hands start from 3 of a Kind.
| Trips Plus Bet | Pay table |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 40:1 |
| Quads (Four of a Kind) | 30:1 |
| Full House | 8:1 |
| Flush | 7:1 |
| Straight | 4:1 |
| Trips (Three of a Kind) | 3:1 |
| Two Pairs | Loss |
| One Pair | Loss |
| High Cards | Loss |
The Bonus Side Bet is played with the first two cards dealt to the player. If it’s a pair, you’ll get 5:1.
Other hand values are described in the pay table, but all require at least an Ace and a Face combination to qualify for the bigger payouts.
| Pocket Bonus Bet | Payout |
|---|---|
| Pair of Aces | 30:1 |
| Ace and face card (suited) | 20:1 |
| Ace and face card | 10:1 |
| Pair (2 – K) | 5:1 |
The RTP for the initial Ante Bet is 97.64%.
The Trip Plus Side Bet is 96.66% and the Pocket Bonus comes in at 95.48%.
The Ante bet is quite generous — not so the Bonus side bet, which although fun to play, you’ll struggle to get a return in the long term.
As with all Playtech Live Casino Games, all are created with the mobile playing experience in mind.
Whether you’re on an Android or iOS device you’re getting the same playing experience.
There is no advantage to playing in Landscape or Portrait modes as both provide a good view of the table.
The betting options are straightforward and easy to use.
The Live Heads Up Holdem strategy follows the same sort that you use with Ultimate Texas Hold’em.
The value and combination of the first two cards dealt to the player determine whether to play the 3x Raise Bet.
If you’re holding:
then place the 3x Raise Bet. Anything else, you should check until you’ve seen the flop.
When the flop comes, if you’ve paired with the board, your Live Heads Up Holdem strategy should be to play the raise 2x Bet.
If you’ve got 4 to a Flush or Straight, raise to 2x.
Otherwise Check and wait for the River and Turn to be Dealt.
Once all of the cards have been dealt, if you’re holding a pair to the table make a 1x bet.
Otherwise, if you have nothing — no high card, like an Ace — that’s the end of your Live Heads Up Holdem Strategy and you should fold.
Playojo is among the best places to play Heads Up Holdem Online, with dedicated tables and ongoing promotions and bonuses.
Also, give Bet Victor a try because they have a good sign-up bonus for new players, lots of live games and dedicated tables.
Playojo is also a great place to play Heads Up Holdem online, and you can take advantage of regular promotions and bonuses.
I really like this version of single card poker. Live Dealer Heads Up Hold’em is a good solid game. I like the side bets and although there’s no 4x bet, I was winning more hands than I lost during my playing session for this review.
The studio is much better than the more classic casino view we’ve become used to. A bit of design goes a long way, and this live dealer game feels something special with the attention it’s been given.
Play Playtech Heads Up Holdem online if you like poker or just want a change from other live dealer poker games.
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