Live Dealer Poker at Gala Casino
Live poker at Gala is live casino poker, which means you play against the dealer rather than a table of other players. There's no bluffing, no reading anyone else and no waiting for the rest of the table to act, so a hand moves at your own pace. If you've spent time in an online poker room or watched tournament poker, this is a different thing. No opponents, no blinds going round, just your hand against the dealer's.
The cards are dealt live on camera by a real dealer, so it plays like a table in front of you rather than a screen of graphics. Most of the games take a hand or two to get the hang of.
How a live poker round works
The rules change from one live poker game to another, but a typical round follows a similar pattern:
- Pick a table. Filter the lobby by game, dealer or stake. Some tables start low, with higher-limit tables alongside them if that's what you're after.
- Place your ante. You're dealt your cards, and depending on the game some cards go to the dealer or onto the board. You then decide whether to bet on or fold, based on how your hand looks.
- The showdown. The dealer's hand is revealed, and the stronger five-card hand wins. Any side bet is settled on your own cards, whether the main hand wins or loses.
Poker hand rankings
Every game here uses the standard rankings - heres a list from strongest to weakest:
- Royal flush: A, K, Q, J and 10 of the same suit
- Straight flush: Five consecutive cards of the same suit
- Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank
- Full house: Three of a kind and a pair
- Flush: Five cards of the same suit
- Straight: Five consecutive cards
- Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank
- Two pair: Two separate pairs
- Pair: Two cards of the same rank
- High card: Your highest card counts when no other hand is made
The three-card games work a little differently, because a straight is harder to make with only three cards than a flush is.
Live Poker Games at Gala Casino
Live Hold'em Poker
Casino Hold'em is a version of the familiar community-card format of Texas Hold'em live poker, that’s been turned into a game against the dealer.
You receive two cards and you use them with five community cards to make your strongest five-card hand. After your first two cards and the three-card flop have been dealt, you decide whether you want to continue or rather fold.
If you continue, the final two community cards are dealt before your hand is compared with the dealer's.
There is also an optional bonus bet based on your first five available cards, starting from a pair of aces or better.
Live Three Card Poker
In the live version of Three Card Poker it gets played with just three cards for you and three for the dealer.
Once you've seen your 3 cards, you decide whether to continue or fold. The shorter hand means that rankings work differently. Your straight beats a flush in Three Card Poker, which is the opposite to how it works in standard five-card poker.
Sometimes a table also include an optional Pair Plus bet, which is settled on the strength of your own three-card hand instead of looking at whether have beaten the dealer.
Live3 Card Brag
3 Card Brag also uses three cards, but it shouldn't be confused with Three Card Poker.
The hand rankings are different. Three of a kind, known as a prial, is the strongest type of hand, followed by a running flush. Three 3s is the highest prial, ranking above three aces.
If you're switching between the two three-card games, checking the rankings first will save plenty of confusion.
Casino Stud Poker
Casino Stud Poker is a five-card game played against the dealer.
You receive your cards while one of the dealer's cards is left face-up. The choice is up to you then, to continue with the hand or fold before more cards are revealed.
Dealer qualification, payouts and any optional jackpot bet are covered by the rules of the individual table, so check these before betting.
Extreme Texas Hold'em
Extreme Texas Hold'em is another Hold'em-style live poker game available at Gala.
You play against the house, and not other poker players - with the usual poker hands and community cards.
What’s different though from the standard Hold’em are the betting decisions, Check the table rules before starting if you haven't played this version before.
Live 3 Card Poker and Live 5 Card Poker
Keen in mind that one of the main differences between Gala's live poker games is the number of cards that are used to make your hand.
Casino Hold'em and Casino Stud Poker deal you 5 cards to make up a hand.
Three Card live and three Card Brag only use 3 card hands, this means the rankings differ both from five-card poker and also from each other.
How Do Live Poker Side Bets Work?
Some live poker tables offer additional bets alongside the main game.
These usually pay according to a particular hand or card combination and are settled separately. That means the result of a side bet does not always depend on whether your main hand beats the dealer.
The rules aren't the same across every game. A Casino Hold'em bonus bet, Three Card Poker Pair Plus bet and stud poker jackpot can all work differently.
Check the paytable and game rules before placing a side bet so you know what needs to land for it to pay.
Playing Live Poker Responsibly
Live poker is gambling, so decide what you're comfortable losing before you start and keep your spending within that amount.
Gala provides safer gambling tools including deposit limits, stake controls, Reality Checks, Play Breaks and Time Outs. You can find these through our Responsible Gambling pages.
If gambling stops feeling enjoyable or you're worried about your play, free support is also available from GamCare and BeGambleAware.
More Live Games at Gala
Looking for a different table game? Browse Live Roulette, head to Live Blackjack, or return to the main Live Casino lobby.