Texas Hold’em Bonus is a casino table game that takes the excitement of Texas Hold’em out of the poker room, and turns it into a game played against the casino. Players make an initial ante bet, and also have the choice to make a Bonus bet. After receiving their two card hand, each player can fold or make a Flop bet of twice the amount of the ante. If the player doesn’t fold, they also have the choice to make two more bets before the turn and the river if they choose to do so (called Turn and River bets respectively), but they are not required to do this in order to continue playing.
If the player wins the hand, they win even money on the Flop, Turn and River bets. If they have a straight or better (in some casinos, a flush or better), they also win their Ante bet; otherwise, that bet pushes. If the dealer wins the hand, the player loses all of these bets.
Texas Hold’em Bonus strategy is all about when to fold or when to see the flop, as well as when to put in extra bets before the river. The first part is rather simple: according to optimal Texas Hold’em Bonus strategy, you should almost never be folding before the flop. Under most rules systems, the only hands that are worth folding are unsuited hands from 2/3 through 2/7.
After the flop, Texas Hold’em Bonus strategy becomes much more complex. It is very difficult to quantify exactly when you should put in the Turn and River bets, although in many cases, the correct play will be obvious. If your hand improves the board significantly, you should put in the extra bets; if there are few or no hands that you’ll beat given your pocket cards, the extra bets are a waste of time. According to analysis, proper play will result in both the Turn and River bets being made slightly less than half of the time. Though perfect strategy is nearly impossible to perfect, the house edge is only slightly over 2% with optimal play, and playing the Turn and River reasonably will allow you to approach this percentage.
Texas Hold’em Bonus Strategy: The Bonus Bet
Along with the normal game, Texas Hold’em Bonus also has the Bonus bet that gives the game its name. This bet pays the player based on the two cards the player is dealt. The pay table varies, but typically looks similar to the following one:
AA: 30-1
AK suited: 25-1
AQ or AJ suited: 20-1
AK unsuited: 15-1
KK, QQ or JJ: 10-1
AQ or AJ unsuited: 5-1
All other pairs: 3-1
The house edge on this side bet is about 8.9%. In some casinos, there is an additional 1000-1 payout if both the player and the dealer have pocket aces; this lowers the house edge to 8.5%. In either case, the bonus bet has a much higher house edge than the game itself, and probably shouldn’t be a part of your Texas Hold’em Bonus strategy.