OnAir Entertainment Live Casino Hold’em Poker
OnAir Entertinment have further expanded their game range with the addition of their first live poker table – Live Casino Hold’em Poker.
It’s not the first live Casino Hold’em table to be offered online with a live dealer. Playtech Casino Hold’em and Evolution Casino Hold’em have been operating for many years and are now offered across multiple tables (private, casino branded etc), and in tweaked formats (eg 2 Hand Casino Hold’em).
OnAir’s version employs identical house rules to their competitors on the main game, but does throw in a couple of new side bets for some differentiation. A little more on the side bets later. First a reminder on how to play the main game.
How to play the OnAir Entertainment Live Casino Hold’em
This is a house poker game. You versus the house (or the dealer). The aim of the game is to better the dealer’s 5 card poker hand (using standard poker hand ranks).
The deal is from a freshly shuffled single deck each round, and follows a Texas Hold’em deal format, that is:
- 2 pocket cards to the player hand (face up in this case),
- 2 pocket cards to the dealer hand (face down), and
- 5 community cards (3 card Flop first, Turn and River last).
The dealer and player hands will be the best possible 5 card poker hand combining respective pocket cards and the 5 community cards.
An Ante bet get’s you in the game and a look at your pockets and the Flop.
After the Flop you are given the choice to either fold forfeiting your Ante or Call if you like the look of what’s on the table at this point.
With a pair of 6s and a possible Flush draw, Call was the obvious choice this round.
The Call bet costs 2x the Ante and is automatically deducted on selection.
To complete the deal, the final 2 community cards, Turn and River are dealt to decide the winning hand (using standard poker hand ranks) and final payouts.
Ante & Call bet payouts
Win conditions and bet payouts are as follows.
| Result | Ante bet | Call bet |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer doesn’t qualify | Win (payout below) | Push |
| Dealer qualifies, Player wins | Win (payout below) | 1:1 |
| Dealer qualifies, hands tie | Push | Push |
| Dealer qualifies, Dealer wins | Lose | Lose |
| Player folds | Lose | N/A |
Dealer qualifying hand is a pair of 4’s or better.
Ante win payouts depend on the quality of the winning hand, as follows:
| Hand | Payouts |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 20:1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 10:1 |
| Full House | 3:1 |
| Flush | 2:1 |
| Straight or less | 1:1 |
The side bets
Once an Ante is placed you have the option to take any of 3 optional side bets. The side bets aren’t affected by your Call/Fold decision or outcome on the main game.
Bonus side bet
The Bonus side bet pays based on the quality of the players’ first hand (pockets plus Flop) as follows.
| Hand | Payouts |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 40:1 |
| Full House | 30:1 |
| Flush | 20:1 |
| Straight to Pair of Aces | 7:1 |
Casino RazzTM
The Casino Razz side bet is new and also pays based on the composition of the players’ first hand with lowest hands paying better.
| Hand | Payouts |
|---|---|
| Steel Wheel (suited 5-4-3-2-A) | 200:1 |
| Wheel (unsuited 5-4-3-2-A) | 50:1 |
| 6 high | 25:1 |
| 7 high | 10:1 |
| 8 high | 8:1 |
| 9 high | 6:1 |
| 10 high | 4:1 |
| Jack high | 2:1 |
Red or Black side bet
Here you are betting on all 5 cards in the first hand being either red or black. A win pays 35:2.
Theoretical returns
As is almost always the case, the main game offers a much better return to player (RTP) than the side bets. The main bet RTP is however predicated on playing optimally (ie making the correct Fold/Call decisions).
No decisions are required on the side bets…other than whether to take them or not. And the optimal choice here, it could be strongly argued, is do not take them.
| Bet | Return to Player |
|---|---|
| Main game (Ante) | 97.83% |
| Bonus side bet | 93.74% |
| Casino RazzTM side bet | 95.02% |
| Red or Black side bet | 93.65% |
How we rate OnAir’s Live Casino Hold’em
If aesthetics are your thing, there’s a lot to like about how this table looks and plays. Beautifully uncomplicated and with everything you need at your fingertips.
Aside from this, with identical house rules and returns offered on the main game your choice of Hold’em table, between OnAir, Evolution and Playtech may come down to side bets. In this regard, Evolution’s Jumbo Jackpot bet probably raises the pulse a little more than Casino Razz will. But each to their own.
Given a few casinos offer you the choice (notably Betway and Betvictor) switching between tables isn’t an inconvenience.
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