The Basics of Playing Royal Hold’em Poker

Royal Hold’em does not demand that you be a member of a Royal Family in order to excel in the game. The game has many features in common with limit Texas Hold’em, but what is not the same is really unique to this poker variant. The royal hold’em deck is comprised of 20 cards and includes only the high cards of ten, jack, queen, king and ace (high) which makes it a kingly game indeed. Because of the truncated deck a maximum of only six players will make up a game.

How Royal Hold’em is Played

Royal Hold’em is in the form of standard limit where two hole cards are dealt to each player whose objective is to create the best hand with five community cards. The hands are counted as in other poker types but there are no flushes other than the Royal one and your everyday pairs count for nothing. So, a Royal flush, four of a kind, full house, straights and two pairs are what the players draw to to assemble the most powerful hand.

The epitome of Royal Hold’em Strategy

Since the lower cards do not exist in the game, the high hands reign supreme. Selecting exclusively quality cards is paramount to being a successful competitor in the game. The very lowest hand a player should give thought to to remain in the game is the ace-jack, this being a very iffy hand at that. The majority of players will tell you that a superior hand is a pair of kings or aces, with queens and ace-king a close second. In contrast a hand on the brink would be ace-queen and a pair of jacks and the holder of these should stay in the game only if his position warrants it.

Which brings us to position: The high value of the hands renders position an extremely important factor to remain competitive in the game. A player must consider that anyone raising is in possession of a pair of kings or aces, and if your position is good, you can tell precisely the hands of those players who have stayed in the game. If a player’s hand is teetering on the edge, he should remain in the game only if he has good position or is in the small blind with no advance raise. High pocket pairs are ubiquitous in Royal Hold’em so players must understand that the odds of hitting a three of a kind are at least one in three hands considering the alterations in the cards in his hand. Should another player be betting aggressively against your hand of a pair of aces, it is probably wise to think that he is holding aces or a pair of kings, thus simplifying the task of pinpointing the kind of hands in his possession.

Every player is seeking a draw of three of a kind or more so you might think of the deck as having 15 cards that you are all drawing from, e.g. 20 card deck minus two hole cards plus three community cards. Hands of power should always be played forcefully and the pot odds should be calculated before proceeding on with your betting. If your opponent(s) is also coming on strong on the turn, you should be thinking that they have three of a kind or higher. As a sample hand – you are holding two kings, the flop shows an unsuited king-jack-ten. Your hand is in second place as the ace-queen trumps yours. There is a good possibility that your opponent has ace-king or jack-jack so you must concern yourself with the number of outs to a full house or the odds that your opponent is in possession of a straight depending on his position or betting structure.

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