1. Folding Texas Hold Em Tables
2. Texas Hold Em Poker Free Online
3. Free Texas Hold'em Poker Download
4. Electronic Texas Hold Em Poker Table

One of the newest casino table games popping up in casinos across the country is the 'Texas Hold'em Bonus' game. Simply, it pits each player against the dealer in heads-up hands of Texas Hold'em poker. Whoever has the best five-card poker hand at the end, wins.

Putting the fun back in poker is a regular refrain within the poker community at the moment. From YouTube to Twitter to televised cash games like 'Poker Night in America,' mixing in a little entertainment and happiness as the cards are dealt has become a goal for many. It is into this atmosphere, that Canadian company Jackpot Digital recently announced the introduction of its new all-digital Jackpot Blitz poker and gaming table – with features designed appeal to rounders out for some cards and a good time.

Folding Texas Hold Em Tables

TOUCH AND GO

The Blitz tables offer a new experience for players getting in on the digital, dealer-free action. They feature an 84-inch, 4K resolution touchscreen with more than 100 sensitive touch-points to replicate a traditional live poker experience complete with gesture-based gameplay. Similar to a real game, players use hand movements to manipulate the cards – such as cupping hands around hole cards to take a peek and tapping the table to check. The tables are set up to play Texas Hold'em, Omaha, and even video poker.

Blitz tables feature 10 player seats and an interesting additional feature that may be of interest to regular poker fans – the option to play an additional side game in between hands. A player locked in a cash game who gets a little card dead now has other options. The player can play a hand of blackjack or craps or even bet on horses. Other options include blackjack, baccarat, and roulette.

'There are poker rooms on the Strip closing their poker rooms because it just doesn't pay. Now you can still offer that to your customers because you don't have that additional expense.'

Depending on the legalities of sports betting in a casino's jurisdiction, players may even be able to drop a few bucks on that night's football or basketball game. Jackpot, based out of Vancouver, sees the table as a way to appeal to smaller casinos who may not be able to dedicate space and personnel to poker, but still offer it to gamblers.

'There's so much you can do with this table,' CEO Jake Kalpakian says. 'It's our intention to get this product out in a lot of different venues wouldn't have a poker room to begin with. Mom and pop operators may not necessarily want to have a staff for poker and budget the capital outlay. There are poker rooms on the Strip closing their poker rooms because it just doesn't pay. Now you can still offer that to your customers because you don't have that additional expense.'

Founded in 1999 as an Internet gaming operator and software developer, Jackpot has focused on developing electronic table games since 2015. So far, the company has licensed about 100 Blitz tables since unveiling them in June. One of those customers includes Carnival Cruise Lines, which is using Jackpot Blitz tables as part of its tournament series and cash games. Kalpakian said the company has a couple of large orders to announce soon including some big names in the casino industry, and is hoping to distribute 350-500 tables in the next year. Jackpot draws revenue from a cut of the tables' rake and on any casino games played.

As for the rake, Kalpakian says there won't be a savings there – it's in line with typical brick and mortar casinos. However, with no dealer to tip players can keep a few bucks in their pocket after each pot won.

MADE FOR MILLENNIALS

As casinos work to reach younger gamblers, Kalpakian sees Jackpot Blitz as a way to engage this segment of the market that grew up playing video games and online poker. The format offers a hybrid of online poker and the live experience. The ability to stay engaged between hands also helps draw cell phone-addicted players accustomed multi-tasking.

'The technology is something they're used to already,' he says. 'It's got all the bells and whistles. It's got so many things that you can do that it keeps you mentally stimulated at all times. At a poker table, sometimes you see guys bringing iPads to play online while they're actually at a cash table. You don't have to do that anymore. There are always ways to be occupied.'

What sets Jackpot Blitz tables apart from others in casinos? Many of those are Poker Pro tables originally manufactured by a company called PokerTek, which was based in North Carolina. Those lacked many of the features that poker players have come to expect.

'They were basically 10 terminals that you played and it was just basically Texas Hold'em and the payment systems were very archaic,' Kalpakian says. 'There were no other real features, no tracking, no other games, no comping. It was outdated technology.'

In 2015, Jackpot bought out PokerTek and began the process of moving from the PokerPro machines to a more dynamic, interactive product, which eventually became Jackpot Blitz.

'It'll never replace all the dealers. We don't want to do that.'

Texas Hold Em Poker Free Online

'This is touchscreen so consider it like one giant iPad with touch points all over it,' Kalpakian says. 'You're not only playing poker, but you can also, while you're sitting out a hand or waiting for a hand to start, play blackjack, baccarat, order a drink, or ask for a comp.

At a single Blitz table, five players can even play Texas hold'em while the other five play blackjack. Despite the additional game options, Kalpakian sees Blitz as a great poker table first and foremost.

'One of our customers said that it's like you took someone with a 1980s cell phone and the next version you gave them was an iPhone 8,' Kalpakian says. 'That's what we've done with this product. It has enormous flexibility – we built it with the poker player in mind.

'I think it's the future. It'll never replace all the dealers. We don't want to do that. What we want to do is just be like how online poker complemented the growth of poker with poker tables springing up everywhere. I think that it's a product whose time has come and you can blend it in with what's fun with the consumer. We want to make it fun and friendly, and a faster game and a more stimulating game.'

Only time will tell if players will embrace betting and bluffing on the digital felt in a casino, but Jackpot is hoping its new tables find a niche in a poker market that seems to be on the upswing.

SIDE POT – Interested in a Jackpot Blitz table for that home game? Kalpakian says his company receives an almost equal amount of inquiries for personal use, but because of gaming laws and the strict regulations that the tables must go through, the tables won't be in people's homes anytime soon. 'We've been trying to figure out how we can get around that,' he says. 'At this moment, no.'

See the Jackpot Blitz in action:

Finding a trustworthy room to play online poker can be a monumental burden. That's all the more true if you're just looking for a place to play poker for free. We've listed five of the best play-money poker sites to enjoy and help hone your skills.

• Tags

  Poker Tables

My home state of Wisconsin has been a hotbed for controversy as of late, most notably involving Governor Scott Walker and 14 democratic senators. What many people don’t know is that there is another hot topic being debated in the state, one directly related to poker. A few months ago Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison, formerly known as Dejope Gaming, in Madison, Wisc., opened a poker room featuring, exclusively, electronic poker tables.

But there is an issue with the state that lies in whether such tables fall under Class 2 or Class 3 gaming (the former is permissible in the state while the latter is not), an issue that is being addressed by a mediator and was touched upon in an earlier article. While electronic poker tables seem like a feasible idea, past attempts to use them have often ended in disaster.

Let me begin by saying that before I ever played on an electronic poker table, I had made up my mind that I was not going to like what they had to offer. Based on what I’d heard over the years, such tables had failed in every room in which they were introduced. If you recall, back in 2009, the Excalibur Casino constructed the first all-electronic poker room in Las Vegas, complete with 12 PokerPro tables constructed by PokerTek. While it was state-of-the-art room and a revolutionary attempt to change the Las Vegas poker landscape, it eventually closed less than a year later.

At that time, Lynn Holt, VP of marketing for Excalibur, said: 'While our experience was successful, we ultimately found that live poker games more accurately reflect the interactive poker experience customers have come to expect when they make their way to the excitement of the Las Vegas Strip.' With that, electronic poker essentially disappeared from Sin City.

In fact, with the exception of cruise ships, where they make the most financial sense, electronic poker tables seemed to be on the fast track to becoming obsolete. Fast forward to this last Thanksgiving when Ho-Chunk Madison opened its new room featuring electronic poker tables. Like the Excalibur, the room used PokerTek’s PokerPro tables, but unlike them, the new room has consistently thrived since its introduction.

For those who may not be familiar with how these tables work, take a look at what Ho-Chunk Madison says on its website.

“EPoker is ‘Live’ poker, played on an automated poker table that allows up to ten players to compete against each other in a variety of player-banked poker games . . . Players at ePoker tables do not play against the computer or gaming establishment; they play against each other. EPoker tables are similar in appearance to traditional poker tables however they do not require a human dealer, cards or chips. The tables have colorful, animated, graphic representations of actual playing cards, chips and dealer buttons.”

Essentially electronic poker is a mix between live poker and online poker that combines the face-to-face element of the former with the functionality and ease of the latter. While it sounds like a winning combination, history suggested that it fails to “accurately reflect the interactive poker experience customers have come to expect.” In other words, people just didn't enjoy them as much as a regular game.

Nonetheless, Madison rejected the stigma and somehow proved the naysayers wrong. How could this be? How did they make it work when no one else could? My best guess is simple: electronic poker tables succeed when it does not face competition, which is evidenced by their success on cruise ships. Shawn Bauer, Poker Room Supervisor at Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison, recognizes the lack of legal poker options in Madison, a fact that he concedes likely contributes to their early success.

“Until now, Poker in Madison was taking place in backroom card parlors and bars with no regulation and no guarantees on safety or game integrity. Are we trying to force out all other poker in Madison? We are not. We welcome our role as a fledgling portion of Madison poker. We in the Ho-Chunk Gaming-Madison Poker Room are simply giving our poker community an option. Considering the accuracy, safety, professionalism, and integrity of our room, we feel we offer a very desirable product. Judging by our steady growth, I can say with confidence that I am not alone in this assessment.”

I decided to take a trip to Madison to try out the new room for myself and must admit I came to recognize the benefits of playing on an electronic table. First, they provide players with more hands per hour than any live setting I’ve ever encountered. In fact, I thought it was close to being on par with online poker when it came to the pace of the game (probably a few strokes back but certainly faster than a traditional game). This was driven, in part, because electronic tables maximize time (no shuffle, pots pushed instantaneously, etc.) and never make a mistake.

“The fact is, one of ePoker’s strengths is that there is almost no room for mistakes occurring during games. A live dealer, however skilled, will eventually make a mistake. Some of the more common mistakes that we avoid entirely are: premature exposure of cards, misdeals, mistaken mucking of cards, poor judgment in pushing a pot, making mistakes in secondary and tertiary pots, etc, etc.,” according Bauer.

Indeed, the entire time I was there, the machines performed flawlessly. I got to see a ton of hands in a short time, which reminded me a lot of playing online, but I also got the brick-and-mortar feel. I can’t say that I’d play on an electronic poker table over a traditional one, but it was certainly a nice change of pace and something I’d be willing to play again, especially if I wanted to get in a lot of action in a short time. My sentiments were echoed by Tyrell Rosemeyer, a 20-year-old junior at UW-Madison and regular at the new room, who told the Capital Times: “It’s so fast, I can play two or three hours and get in as many hands as I could playing five hours somewhere else.”

In Madison, it seems that a lack of options has inspired players to give electronic poker a fair shake, which has resulted in overwhelming support and enthusiasm. While the state attempts to shut the room down, all projections indicate that the electronic tables will continue to flourish. They still have the glitz and glamor that accompanies something new, but with a lack of options in Madison, that appeal will likely remain strong, resulting in the opposite outcome the Excalibur experienced. Personally, my experience opened my mind to the fact that, while it may not be the future of the game, there seems to be a place for electronic poker tables in the industry after all — provided the conditions are right!

PokerTek Electronic Poker Table Locations

Have you ever played on an ePoker table? Use the comments section below to let us know what you think. In the meantime, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

Free Texas Hold'em Poker Download

Electronic Texas Hold Em Poker Table

• Tags

  Poker TablesGeneral PokerLive casino poker