Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker
A casino Hold'em variant with sequential betting at the flop, turn, and river, no dealer qualifier, and an Ante that only pays out if the player's hand reaches a straight or better.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker deals two hole cards to each player and the dealer, with a standard five-card community board revealed as flop, turn, and river.
After an initial ante, players bet sequentially at each stage: 2x the ante after the flop, then 1x after the turn, then 1x after the river (or fold at any point, forfeiting bets already made). There is no dealer qualifying hand — every player hand that stays in is compared to the dealer's hand regardless of strength.
The Ante bet has its own separate condition: it only pays out if the player's final hand is a straight or better, regardless of whether they beat the dealer — a player with a weaker hand who still beats the dealer wins their Play bets but not necessarily the Ante.
Historical note: originally developed by Mikohn Gaming and Progressive Gaming International, the game is now marketed by Galaxy Gaming under this name (also sometimes marketed as "Bonus Texas Hold'em").
Strategy notes: Because the Ante's payout depends on absolute hand strength (straight or better) rather than beating the dealer, players should think of the Ante and Play bets as two semi-independent wagers rather than a single combined bet, similar in spirit to Ultimate Texas Hold'em's separate Blind bet condition.
Common house rules
Ante requires a straight or better
This is the game's most commonly misunderstood rule: the Ante bet only pays out on a straight-or-better hand, independent of whether the player beat the dealer — explain this clearly to new players before dealing.
No dealer qualifier
Unlike Casino Hold'em, there's no minimum hand the dealer needs to qualify — every player hand that stays in through the river is compared regardless of dealer strength.
Sequential betting, no big preflop raise
Unlike Ultimate Texas Hold'em, there's no large raise available before the flop — betting is spread more evenly across the flop, turn, and river instead.
Related games
Based on shared category, origin, and rules that reference each other.
Texas Hold'em
The world's most popular poker variant: two private hole cards combined with five shared community cards, playable heads-up or with a full ring of players.
Learn the rules →Ultimate Texas Hold'em
A casino adaptation of Hold'em played against the dealer: players commit to a raise size at each stage (or fold), with the biggest raises available before the flop is even seen.
Learn the rules →Casino Hold'em
A banking casino adaptation of Texas Hold'em devised in the late 1990s, first spread in Egyptian casinos before expanding to Russia, South Africa, and eventually the UK.
Learn the rules →5-Card Omaha
Omaha with five hole cards instead of four, played high-only — the high-hand-only counterpart to Big O, which adds a low split to the same five-card format.
Learn the rules →