Golden Joker Texas Hold'em is a casino-style poker
game. You play one hand against the dealer. The goal is to make the
best five-card poker hand from your two hole cards and five shared
community cards, and have it beat the dealer's.
The Bets
Ante — mandatory. Your entry to the hand.
Blind — mandatory, always equals the Ante.
Play — optional, placed during the hand. Size depends on when you commit:
Pre-flop: 3× or 4× the Ante
After the flop: 2× the Ante
At the river: 1× the Ante
Trips — optional side bet that pays if your final hand is Three of a Kind or better, regardless of the dealer.
Golden Joker — optional side bet equal to the Ante. When active, a random card in the deck becomes a gold wildcard. If it lands in your hole cards or on the board, you may treat it as the single best card for your hand. The dealer still sees it as its real rank and suit.
The Flow of a Hand
Place your Ante (Blind is set automatically), and any optional side bets.
You and the dealer each get two hole cards (dealer's face down).
Pre-flop: Bet 3× / 4× the Ante, or Check.
The flop is dealt (3 community cards).
After the flop: if you haven't bet yet, Bet 2× or Check.
The turn and river are dealt (2 more community cards).
At the river: if you still haven't bet, Bet 1× or Fold.
The dealer reveals their hand and the winner is determined.
How Wagers Resolve (House Rules)
One thing to note: the Play bet scales with the strength of your winning hand, and Ante/Blind push on wins (rather than pay even money).
Outcome
Ante
Blind
Play
You win the hand
Push
Push
Pays per Play paytable
You lose the hand
Lose
Lose
Lose
Tie (same hand)
Push
Push
Push
You fold
Lose
Lose
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Play Bet Paytable
When you win the hand, your Play bet pays based on your final 5-card hand:
Royal Flush — 100:1
Straight Flush — 10:1
Four of a Kind — 6:1
Full House — 5:1
Flush — 3:1
Straight — 2:1
Three of a Kind — 2:1
Two Pair / Pair / High Card — 1:1
Trips Bonus Paytable
The Trips side bet pays independently of the main hand result, based only on your own final hand:
Royal Flush — 50:1
Straight Flush — 40:1
Four of a Kind — 30:1
Full House — 8:1
Flush — 6:1
Straight — 4:1
Three of a Kind — 3:1
Pocket Aces bonus — 2:1
The Pocket Aces bonus pays 2:1 any time you were dealt two aces in the hole and your final hand is less than Three of a Kind. If your hand reaches trips or better, the bigger paytable payout applies instead (pocket aces that improve to trips or better are always worth more than 2:1).
Note: The Trips bonus uses your real hand — the Golden Joker wildcard does not affect the Trips payout.
Golden Joker
Optional side bet = 1× Ante.
A random card is transformed into a Golden Joker card.
If it's in your hole or on the board, it acts as a wildcard for your main hand, turning into the best possible card to make the best possible made hand.
Dealer does not benefit from the Golden Joker wildcard effect.