Evolution Gaming Texas Hold’Em Live Review
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Evolution Gaming Texas Hold’Em Live
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How to play Evolution Gaming Texas Hold’Em Live
Evolution Gaming’s Texas Hold’Em live games cater to wagers starting at 50p-£1, with most variants accommodating top wagers of £500-£1000. While some differences will occur via bonus features and special side bets, the overall aim of the game remains the same.
Beating the dealer's qualifying poker hand is the objective of the Evolution Gamings' Hold'em Poker games.
- You have to make an ante bet to play. Bonus bets are another possibility that you might have (depending on the individual version)
- Three community cards are dealt face up (the Flop), two cards are dealt face down to the dealer's hand, and two cards are dealt face up to the players' hand (plus two cards to any other seated player).
- The player now has two choices Fold (You give up your Ante and any Bonus bet you may have made); or to Call (You place a Call bet two times your Ante).
- The dealer then reveals their pocket cards after dealing the next two community cards, known as the Turn and River.
- Using standard poker hand ranks, the player's best five-card poker hand (which combines pocket and community cards) is compared to the dealer's best five-card poker hand. The person with the highest value hand wins.
The outcome of each round depends upon whether the dealer’s hand qualifies or not. If the dealer’s hand qualifies when:
- If the dealer has a higher value hand, all side bets are lost as well as the ante, play, and blind bets.
- If the player has a stronger hand; the Blind bet is settled per Blind payment guidelines, and the Ante and Play bets pay out at a ratio of 1:1.
- If the dealer and player have tied hands, the push returns the ante, play, and blind bets.
If the dealer’s hand does not qualify (pair of 4s or better), then:
- If the Dealer holds the superior hand the Play and Blind rewards are not awarded, and the ante bet is refunded ("Push").
- If the player's hand is superior they receive their ante bet back ("Push") and will receive blind payouts and a 1:1 payment on the play bet.
- If the dealer and player have tied hands, the ante bets, play, and blind are returned.
Different Texas Hold’Em Live Games
As mentioned, four of the seven poker games which Evolution Live have released are Hold’em variants. The other three games are Three-Card Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, and Evolution Gamings’ unique 80s-inspired casino innovation called Side Bet City. Below we have examined each Live Texas Hold’em game currently available from Evolution Gaming.
Casino Hold’em
In the five-card poker variation known as Casino Hold'em, players compete against the house rather than one another. By assembling the finest five-card hand possible from the two cards that were given to you and the five community cards, you will need to beat the dealer to win payouts of up to 100:1.
You can also choose to place a Bonus wager that pays out if a Pair of Aces or higher is dealt in the first five cards, which we will examine further later on.
2-Hand Casino Hold’em
Evolutions' 2-Hand Casino Hold'em offers you two chances to win on two separate hands against the house in addition to an optional, simple-to-play Bonus wager option.
You can play against the dealer with one or two hands in 2-Hand Casino Hold'em. In conventional poker, if you lose on your first hand, the game is over for you. But 2-Hand Poker gives players a second chance, with the bonus of increased chances to win.
Ultimate Texas Hold’em
The objective of Evolution's Live Ultimate Texas Hold'em, developed in collaboration with Scientific Games, is to pit players against the dealer by forming a five-card poker hand that is better than the dealer's hand. An Ante and Blind wager is made first. In addition, there is an optional Trips bonus wager that pays out regardless of the dealer's hand on a variety of poker hands. The unique 'Play' bet is one of the additional wagers; we will discuss it later.
Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
Live Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker, was developed in collaboration with Games Marketing. The primary game of Evolution Live Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker is similar to standard multiplayer Texas Hold'em Poker, but it is played against the house and does not have a wager after the River card. Additionally, there is a double bonus in the shape of the Bonus bet and the First Five Progressive Jackpot side bet, which are optional side bets. Both provide independent opportunities to win regardless of the dealer's hand. Bonus bets are optional, and they pay up to 1,000:1.
Texas Hold’em Features & Side Bets
Evolution Gaming are developers well-known for their innovations and because of this, many of their live Texas Hold’em Poker games include a selection of bonus features and side bets.
First Five Progressive Jackpot (Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker)
A top-level jackpot payout that increases in value with each game round until a Royal Flush wins it is offered by the First Five Progressive Jackpot side bet. Additionally, there is a possibility to win smaller fixed rewards for a variety of additional poker hands with this same single-side wager.
Jumbo 7 Jackpot (Casino Poker)
With each gaming round until it is won, the highest Progressive Jumbo 7 Jackpot award increases in value. It is paid out on a 7 Card Straight Flush and has no cap. You can earn smaller fixed rewards for a variety of additional poker hands with the same single side wager. All jackpot payouts occur even if you fold or the dealer's hand wins.
Aces or Higher (Casino Poker)
This is a side bet used in Casino Poker games where players can make a wager that a pair of Aces or higher will appear in the first five dealt cards.
Play Bet
The main factor contributing to Ultimate Texas Hold'em's enormous player appeal is the Play Bet. You can raise three or four times your ante if you place an early play bet. However, you can only raise 2x or 1x if you wait until after the Flop or after the River. Since each game only allows one raise, the earlier this wager is used the greater the potential payout (and the risk of course).
Optional Bonus Bet
The bonus bet featured in all of Evolutions Texas Hold’em Poker games, but in Texas Hold ’em Bonus Poker the potential payout is far higher, awarding 1000:1.
Trips Bonus Bet (Casino Poker/Ultimate Texas Hold’em)
The Trips Bonus Bet ups the difficulty of play somewhat and is appealing to veteran casino players. Regardless of the dealer's hand, this optional side bet pays out on three of a kind or higher. The catch with this side bet is that to be successful, not only must the aforementioned conditions be met, but the player must also win the hand.
Texas Hold’Em Live Payouts
You can play the main bet or the bonus bet in Live Casino Hold'em. Your hand's strength increases your payoff. A straight win or lower will award an even money payout, but because a royal flush is the strongest and rarest hand, winning with one can be worth 50:1 or more. The paytable for Evolution Gaming’s Hold’em Poker games is as follows:
| Casino Hold’Em | Ultimate Texas Hold'em | 2 Hand Casino Hold'em * | |||
| Straight or Lower | 1:1 | Straight or Lower | 1:1 | Straight or Lower | 1:1 |
| Flush | 2:1 | Flush | 1.5:1 | Flush | 2:1 |
| Full House | 3:1 | Full House | 3:1 | Full House | 3:1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 10:1 | 4 of a Kind | 10:1 | 4 of a Kind | 10:1 |
| Straight Flush | 20:1 | Straight Flush | 50:1 | Straight Flush | 20:1 |
| Royal Flush | 100:1 | Royal Flush | 500:1 | Royal Flush | 100:1 |
* Alongside the standard hands, 2 Hand Casino Hold’em also pays out 1:1 for Three of a Kind, Two Pairs, and One Pair or Less, respectively.
Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, features a very different paytable than those explored above. In contrast to other poker game side bets, the winning hands are combinations of the player's and/or dealer's high-valued hands rather than poker-valued card combos. The paytable for Evolutions’ Bonus Poker game is as follows:
| Hand Type | Payout |
| Ace-Ace (Player and Dealer) | 1000:1 |
| Ace-Ace (Player Only) | 30:1 |
| Ace-King (Matching Suit) | 25:1 |
| Ace-Queen/Ace-Jack (Matching Suit) | 20:1 |
| Ace-King (Any Suit) | 15:1 |
| King-King/Queen-Queen | 10:1 |
| Ace-Queen/Ace-Jack (Any Suit) | 5:1 |
| 10-10 through to 2-2 (Pairs) | 3:1 |
| Straight or Better | 1:1 |
| Flop, Turn, and River wagers | 1:1 |
Languages and Times
All of Evolution Gamings’ Live Texas Hold’em Poker games are played live in real time, 24/7. When it comes to the available languages, most commonly the games will be hosted in English, but players may find these poker games in 15 languages (subject to availability and the preferences of the host site). Outside of this, Evolutions’ well-designed user interface can be configured to the following
languages:
| Albanian | German | Russian |
| Bulgarian | Hebrew | Serbian |
| Chinese | Italian | Slovak |
| Croatian | Japanese | Spanish |
| Czech | Polish | Swedish |
| English | Portuguese | Thai |
| Finnish | Romanian | Turkish |
Key Highlights
Evolution Gaming has a strong reputation within the live casino industry and offers both high production value and trustworthiness
Multiple side bets are offered in Evolutions Live Texas Hold’em games including exclusive bets Jumbo 7 and First 5
Progressive jackpots are available in Casino Texas Hold’em, and Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
Multiple languages are supported by the UI, and some tables may be hosted in languages other than English
Most of Evolutions’ live poker games pit the player against the dealer for a new take on classic Texas Hold’em Poker
Games are HD Livestream 24/7 and are compatible across all devices including smartphones
Evolution Gaming Texas Hold’Em Live Final Thoughts
It seems like there is very little that Evolution Gaming can do wrong when it comes to producing live casino games, and while their overall live poker game offering is small, it is certainly perfectly formed. The four Texas Hold’em Live Poker games are designed to appeal to a broad range of players, with straightforward gameplay featured in Texas Hold’em Casino Poker, authentic gameplay infused with scintillating side bets in Ultimate Texas Hold’em Casino Poker, exciting two-hand action in 2 Hand Texas Hold’em Poker, and a whole new way to play with larger prizes up for grabs in Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker. Most of these live games pit the player against the dealer, for a refreshing take on one of the most famous card games worldwide.
As with all Evolution titles, the production quality is high, with multiple camera HD streaming, multiple device compatibility, smart purpose-built studios, and expert dealers. It is hard to think of any negatives for Evolution Gaming’s Texas Hold’em Poker games, other than that I wish there were more; Lightning Poker anyone?
For these reasons Evolution Gamings Live Texas Hold’em Poker games receive a 9/10 from me.
Rating: 9.0
Evolution Gaming Texas Hold’Em Live FAQ
Here are some of the most common questions we get asked about Live Texas Hold'em Poker from Evolution Gaming.
