Texas Hold’em Bonus is a game offered at many online casinos. It is usually listed under Table Games and is a casino poker variant. It broadly follows the normal Texas Hold’em poker rules but is structured differently. The player keeps betting based on his cards and the community cards as they are dealt. His final hand is compared with that of the dealer to decide whether he wins or loses.

The first strategic decision that the player has to take is whether or not to play Texas Hold’em Bonus. Such decisions are usually based on the house edges and payouts. Texas Hold’em Bonus has two components. One is the main game and the other is the bonus bet. The main game has a house edge of about 2%. This is not attractive when compared to blackjack or video poker, but better than that compared to other online casino games. The added problem is that the house edge of 2% is achieved only with optimum play and that requires the player to be skilled in normal Texas Hold’em poker. If the player makes decisions that are not optimal then the house edge will be higher. The payouts in the main game are even money, which is not very attractive. The bonus bet offers payouts from 3 to 1 to 30 to 1 but at a house edge of 8%. Therefore Texas Hold’em Bonus is suited for players skilled in poker and who enjoy the game, provided they are willing to grind for long periods at even odds. But even such players should stick only to the main game and avoid the bonus bet.

The next step for the player is to understand the rules. One of the software providers that offer Texas Hold’em Bonus is Realtime Gaming, and the rules described here pertain to the Realtime Gaming variant. The Ante bet is placed and two hole cards are dealt face up to the player and face down to the dealer. The player has to fold or make a Flop bet, which is two times the Ante bet. The three-card Flop is dealt. The player may place the Turn bet, equal to the Ante bet, or check. The Turn card is dealt. The player may then place the River bet equal to the Ante bet or check. The River is dealt, the dealer’s hole cards exposed, the best poker hands for the dealer and the player are automatically made and the hands compared. If the dealer has the higher hand the player will lose all bets. If the player has the higher hand the Flop, Turn, and River bets pay even money. If the player has a straight or higher the Ante bet will also pay even money, otherwise it will push.

Strategic decisions are required for the Flop, Turn and River bets. The article discusses only the Flop bet. If the lower of the player’s hole cards is a three or higher, then he should always place the Flop bet. If the lower card is a two then the player should place the Flop bet only in the following circumstances. In all other cases he should fold.

1. The higher card is from the same suit.

2. The higher card is eight or higher.

3. The player has a two pair.