Ezugi adds Royal Poker to its extensive portfolio of live casino games. It is now ready to play at all partnering online casinos! (Image from ezugi.com)
Ezugi, the long-standing Evolution-owned supplier of live casino games, has just revealed the latest title added to its portfolio. Royal Poker becomes the first new title the developer has released since the launch of Ultimate Sic Bo back in April. This new title strengthens an already strong collection of poker titles offered by the brand that prefers to focus on mainstream traditional casino games rather than the current live gameshow trend.
In this latest title, you get to take additional cards, swap out cards, and even buy cards for the dealer. Think of it as Casino Hold’em, but with the addition of the above.
This new title now features at all Ezugi casinos and is well worth a look if you are a fan of poker. You will appreciate the different decisions you can make. Plus, as it has a 98.23% RTP, it is the type of game in which you can sit and play for hours without worrying too much about losing your bankroll too quickly. That is as long as you play to an optimal strategy, of course.
Below, I take you through what you can expect from Ezugi’s Royal Poker and how you play this highly entertaining new title.
What is Royal Poker and How Do You Play It?
Essentially, Royal Poker is Ezugi’s name for Russian Poker. If you have played the latter, you will have no trouble getting straight into action on the former. To those that have not played Russian Poker, this title might look complicated at first, but once you understand the rules, you will start to learn the best ways to play. If you do have knowledge of other poker games, that will help, especially if you understand the hand rankings.
Once you have placed your ante bet, the game starts with the dealer dealing out your 5 cards all face-up and then dealing his 5 cards (4 face-down and 1 face-up). At this point, you have four options:
- Fold: You throw away your hand and lose your ante bet.
- Stand: You leave your hand as it is (costs a bet of 2x your ante).
- Take an additional card: For the cost of 1x your ante bet, you will add a sixth card to your hand (this is the first card dealt as part of the 5 community cards)
- Swap 2-5 Cards: Also costing 1x your ante, you can choose to swap 2-5 of your cards. They are replaced by the first 2-5 cards dealt as part of the 5 card community hand.
The dealer now deals the 5 community cards onto the table above your 5 cards. These reveal the cards you might have used as an additional card or that will replace those that you swapped out. If your hand is equal to or stronger than a 3 of a Kind + A-K, you now have the option to place insurance. This costs 2x your ante bet and protects you if the dealer’s hand fails to qualify. If the dealer is unable to qualify, you receive 1:1 from that insurance bet.
The Dealer Reveal – Does he Qualify and Do You Win?
With your own actions taken care of and with your hand ready to go against the dealers, you now have to hope it has what it takes to win. Plus, the dealer needs at least an Ace-King to qualify. Should he not qualify, your Ante bet is paid 1:1. If he does qualify, the best hand wins. You lose your bets if the dealer creates a better hand or win a payout according to the strength of your hand if your hand is better. You can see those payouts in the accompanying table. Plus, if you take the sixth card during your hand, this creates the potential to create two five-card hands from the same hand. When you do that, you qualify for a Double Hand payout. Those payouts range from 2:1 right up to 150:1 for creating a Royal Flush + Straight Flush. Check the paytable when playing to see all remaining payouts.
In the event that the dealer does not qualify, you get the opportunity to help him do so. For the cost of 1x your ante, you can replace the dealer’s highest card for a new one drawn from the shoe. This could allow the dealer to create a qualifying hand, which therefore gives you a better payout if your hand is better.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 20:1 |
| Full House | 7:1 |
| Flush | 5:1 |
| Straight | 4:1 |
| 3 of a Kind | 3:1 |
| Two Pair | 2:1 |
| Pair | 1:1 |
| Ace-King | 1:1 |
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As a poker fan, I really enjoyed playing Ezugi’s Royal Poker, especially since I had never tried Russian Poker. It gives you lots of decisions to make, and if you use an effective strategy, you will often come away with some good wins. I definitely recommend you try it out. You can learn more about this game over at Ezugi.
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