Bitcoin Poker – Your Guide to Top Bitcoin Poker Sites

Poker is one of the most exhilarating (and at times, stressful) ways to bet with bitcoin at top casinos. Its fame and popularity are so widespread that bitcoins rumored founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, is believed to have lined a piece of code into the cryptocurrency that players could follow to play poker with BTC. We wouldn’t want to go on record as saying that Nakamoto was a fan of poker, but we certainly are, and we’re here to share our tips, recommendations, and top bitcoin poker sites with you.

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How Does Bitcoin Poker Work?

Bitcoin poker is not one game, but many. The term defines all types of BTC betting games where poker hands are used to play the game and win. This may mean simplistic, retro-looking games like video poker, right up the world’s most popular (and profitable) poker game, Texas Hold’em.

Irrespective of the poker game you are playing, most tend to follow a similar pattern. That pattern is traceable throughout all variants, and we’ve laid it out straight for you below.

Betting and the Deal

Before any bitcoin poker action takes place, a bet needs to be made. In most cases, this is done by placing your chips into the ante bet spot on the table. After this, you’ll be dealt your cards. That may mean just a handful of cards, with a central set of community cards available for all players to use, as in hold ’em poker, or it may mean a full five-card that can be altered, as in a five-card draw.

The Ranking of the Hands and the Play

Once your BTC poker hand has been dealt, you will always be tasked with forming the best hand you possibly can. The objective will be to beat the dealer, and any competing players, as is often the case in tournaments. To do that, one of several poker hands must be formed, and they are ranked as follows:

The lowest accepted hand is a Pair (often a pair of Jacks or better). A Two Pair beats that, consisting of two pairs of cards of the same value. This is then trumped by a Three of a Kind, consisting of three cards of the same value. A Straight will beat all these and requires bitcoin poker players to have all five cards in numerical sequence, with aces high or low. Flushes require all five cards to be in the same suit, nothing more.

At the upper end of the rankings, we have a Full House, namely a pair of cards and a Three of a Kind. This is trumped by a Four of a Kind, which is beaten by a Straight Flush. Finally, a Royal Flush (10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace in the same suit) is the ultimate hand.

It is also worth noting in some games (not many), unofficial hands may be considered. These include Four Deuces, a Five of a Kind, and an Unnatural Royal Flush or a Wild Royal Flush. This is accomplished by using one of the cards (often jokers or deuces) as a wild. This card can act as a substitute for any you need to form your hand. As this is not conventional poker gameplay, we won’t dwell much more on that here.

Winning a Hand of Poker

Depending on the bitcoin poker game you choose to play, you may be able to draw (take new cards), discard (drop cards), fold (drop out of the hand losing your bet), call (match the highest bet so far), check (pass the action to another player without making a new bet) or raise (increase the previous high bet). Each poker game has its options, so you’ll need to read guides for each poker game to learn the specific moves open to you in those bitcoin poker games.

Once players and dealers (whoever is playing) have made their move, and any betting rounds are complete, the hands are compared. Whether you are playing solely against the house or other players is irrelevant – the best-ranking hand wins.

A Wealth of Bitcoin Poker Games Await You

As touched on, there are many different bitcoin poker games for you to play out there, and each can be quite different from its counterparts. We strongly suggest that bitcoin poker players look up the specific rules for each game before betting their bitcoins on them. However, we’re happy to give you a general overview of the most popular bitcoin poker games below. Bear in mind that some of these games can be played as both live dealer and RNG (random number generator) games, while some are only available on the latter platform.

Hold’em Poker

This bitcoin poker game involves multiple betting rounds and community cards. Players receive two cards and must use the five community cards, with a round of betting in-between the turning over of these cards, to form a final five-card hand. The game may be known as Texas Hold’em poker or Casino Hold’em poker, but there is precious little difference between them. Another option is Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker (with side-bets), but they are all relatively the same game.

Omaha

Players are dealt four cards (hole cards), with five community cards issued on the board. Again, a five-card hand is required interspersed with betting rounds in between those cards being revealed. Omaha may also be played as a Hi/Lo game, although there are many differences between that game and this one.

Seven-Card Stud

Each player receives three cards and must make a bet. Three more cards will be drawn per player, with a round of betting after each one, and then a final, seventh card is given. The best five-card hand wins. This game is like Omaha and Hold ‘em poker in how it is played.

Caribbean Stud

A popular bitcoin poker game, Caribbean Stud, sometimes comes with a progressive jackpot side-bet. Each player receives five cards, with the dealer’s fifth card face up. You can decide to place an extra bet or fold. The BTC casino dealer must have an Ace-King hand or higher to qualify, or you’ll get a 1:1 payout, and the additional bet will push. If the dealer’s hand qualifies, and you beat them, you’ll pocket 1:1 for your original bet and up to 100:1 for your hand, depending on its value.

Three Card Poker

This simple game is a straightforward shoot-out. After being dealt three cards, you can choose to fold or place a bet equal to your ante stake. The dealer must have a Queen-high to qualify. Naturally, as only three cards are used, many of the conventional poker hands aren’t possible.

Let ‘em Ride

Let ‘em Ride is much like five-card stud. You get three cards, and there are two community cards. You can remove your bet (fold) or Let It Ride (continue). A bonus side-bet is often available in this game. Let’ em Ride may also be known as Let It Ride, or Ride ‘em Poker, depending on the software provider in question.

Red Dog Poker

Red Dog is a straightforward BTC poker game. Two cards are drawn. Your job is to predict whether the next bitcoin poker card will be between the first two cards hit. For instance, if a four and a nine appear, you’ll win if the next card is a five through eight. Payouts are determined by the “spread”, namely the number of cards you can potentially get between the two drawn numbers. So, for instance, cards of four and nine give you a four-point spread, so the payouts are just 1:1. However, if a two and four were drawn, the spread is just one card, so the potential payouts are 5:1.

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow Poker is a seven-card game. Your objective is to form a five-card hand and a two-card hand. Players will receive seven cards face down. After arranging the cards into two hands, (a big hand of five cards and a small hand of two cards). The low hand must be worth a pair or at least two high cards. The five-card hand must outrank the two-card hand. The big and small hands are compared independently. If you win both, you’ll receive winnings of 1:1. If you win one hand, the bets will push, and if you lose both, you’ll lose your stake.

Video Poker

There are many bitcoin video poker variants out there. These aren’t played against a dealer. The objective in all these games is to merely form the best hand you can (from a paytable) to win. You’ll be dealt five cards, and you may discard as many or as few of those as you like (once) to form a five-card hand. Check our bitcoin video poker guide for more information about these simplistic, retro games.

Placing Side-Bets in Bitcoin Poker Games

As touched on above, some bitcoin poker games feature side-bets. However, this should not be expected in many titles. Most bitcoin poker games regularly see you take on either the dealer, other players, or both; therefore, there is little to no room for side-bets. Caribbean Stud is notable for featuring a progressive jackpot side-bet, and some games feature Perfect Pairs options like blackjack, but we wouldn’t advocate using any of these, as side-bets feature terrible house edges.

Participate in Bitcoin Poker Tournaments

It is possible to find bitcoin poker tournaments at top casinos, but you shouldn’t expect every site to play ball. Moreover, the types of bitcoin poker tournaments that are available may differ greatly. Some may involve the awarding of points based on the hands you acquire while playing. These are then ranked on a leaderboard, with the top-scoring players pocketing prizes.

Proper poker tournaments are far more exciting. These appear as only the cream of the crop and can feature a wealth of purses for the more successful players. Here, you will almost certainly be taking on players directly, so expect buy-ins, rebuys, satellites tournaments, and more.

Find the Best Bitcoin Poker Casinos Online Right Here

Finding the right bitcoin poker room for your style of gameplay is important. Some sites fail to offer tournaments. Others are more specifically aimed at poker pros and now newbies, so many of the games and competitions will be overly confusing. Our team aims to look at the best of all worlds. The types of bitcoin poker rooms you can find with us span all sorts of options. If you want to play tournament poker, one on one, player vs dealer poker, or simply want to try your hand at beginner’s tables in a safe, licensed, and secure environment, head over to our bitcoin poker reviews to find exactly what you’re looking for.

FAQs: We Answer Your Bitcoin Poker Questions

Bitcoin poker is such an extensive topic that we’re sure you still have questions. That’s fine, and we’ll try to help you with some of those below in this brief FAQ: