How to Play Heads-Up Hold’em™ games
Heads-Up Hold’em™ turns the classic game of poker into a fun Casino game, where you compete against the dealer to see who can make the best five-card hand. Play now across a range of different stakes.
Basic rules and betting
Heads-Up Hold’em™ uses a standard, single, 52-card deck of cards. Players start by placing an equal amount on both the ante bet and the odds bet. In addition, the player can also wager on one or both of two optional side bets, called Trips Plus and Pocket Bonus.
The player is dealt two cards, and the dealer is dealt two cards, face down. Players have the option to make an additional bet, known as the raise, of 3x the ante bet. This is optional, and if the player does not want to make the bet, they can ‘check’ instead.
After the first round of betting is complete, the dealer deals three community cards, known as the flop. If the player checked before the flop was dealt, they can now make a raise of 2x the ante bet, or simply check again if they prefer.
Once the second round of betting is complete, the dealer deals the fourth and fifth community cards, known as the turn and river. This means there are now five community cards revealed on the board. If the player checked on both of the previous two betting rounds, they must now make a raise of 1x the ante bet, or fold their hand.
If the player doesn’t fold, the dealer reveals their hand. The player and the dealer use any combination of their two hole cards and the five community cards, to see who has the best hand.
Winning raise bets are paid as even money (1:1). In addition, if the dealer opens with a pair or better, the dealer either pays or takes the ante bet. Winning ante bets are paid as 1:1. The ante bet pushes if the dealer has less than a pair.
Winning odds bets are paid according to hand value, as shown below.
Winning odds:
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 500:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| Quads | 10:1 |
| Full House | 3:1 |
| Flush | 1.5:1 |
| Straight | 1:1 |
| All other | Push |
Losing odds:
| Hand | Pays | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | Micro* | |
| Straight Flush | 500:1 | 500:1 |
| Quads | 50:1 | 50:1 |
| Full House | 10:1 | 10:1 |
| Flush | 8:1 | 6:1 |
| Straight | 5:1 | 5:1 |
| All other | Loss | Loss |
Trips Plus side bet odds:
| Hand | Pays | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | Micro* | |
| Royal Flush | 100:1 | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 40:1 | 40:1 |
| Quads | 30:1 | 30:1 |
| Full House | 8:1 | 8:1 |
| Flush | 6:1 | 7:1 |
| Straight | 5:1 | 4:1 |
| Three of a kind | 3:1 | 3:1 |
Pocket Bonus side bet odds:
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Pair of aces | 30:1 |
| ‘Ace and face’ suited | 20:1 |
| ‘Ace and face’ unsuited | 10:1 |
| Pair, 2-K | 5:1 |
Please Note: Heads-Up Hold’em™ is a Casino game, and completely different to our Texas Hold’em poker games. See here for more about our full offering of poker games.
The theoretical return to player (RTP) in Heads-Up Hold’em™ games is as follows:
Ante Bet:
Regular: 99.36%
Micro: 99.17%
Pocket Bonus:
Regular/Micro: 95.46%
Trips Plus:
Regular: 98.26%
Micro: 96.66%
* Micro refers to tables with micro stakes.