Royal Hold'em is Texas Hold'em played with only the big cards: tens, jacks, queens, kings and aces. That is a 20 card deck. Every hand is full of high cards, and big hands come along constantly.
The deck
Take a normal deck and keep only the 10, J, Q, K and A of each suit. That leaves 20 cards. Because the deck is so small:
- The game is for 2 to 6 players.
- There are no burn cards, so there are enough cards to go round.
How a hand plays
It plays exactly like no-limit Texas Hold'em:
- Small and big blind.
- Two cards each, then a round of betting.
- The flop, the turn and the river, with a round of betting after each.
- Showdown: best five from your two and the five on the board.
What the small deck does to hand rankings
The usual Hold'em hand rankings apply, but a few hands behave very differently:
- There is only one straight: 10 J Q K A. With every card in the deck being one of those five ranks, it comes up a lot.
- Every flush is a royal flush. Each suit only has five cards in this deck, the 10 to the ace. Five cards of one suit can only be 10 J Q K A of that suit.
- Full houses and four of a kind are common. With only five ranks, cards pair up all the time.
So a hand that would be a monster in Hold'em, like a straight, is often just average here.
An example hand
You hold A♠ A♦. The board comes K♣ Q♥ J♦ 10♠ A♥.
You have three aces, which would be a great hand in normal Hold'em. Here it doesn't matter, because the board is a straight by itself: 10 J Q K A. Every player still in has at least that straight, so your three aces play no part. Nobody can have a flush or a full house on this board, so the pot is split between everyone left.
That happens far more often here than in normal Hold'em.
Tips
- Pocket aces are not as strong as in Hold'em. Everyone has high cards, and boards connect with everything.
- Think in full houses. On a paired board, a full house is often what wins.
- Watch the straight. If the board has four of the five ranks, any card of the missing rank makes a straight. With 20 cards, a lot of players hold one.
- Expect a big hand at a full table. With six players, someone usually has a straight or a full house by the river.
Play it
Play Royal Hold'em on Bink with friends in your browser, for chips. The table uses the 20 card deck for you, and takes up to 6 players.