Texas Holdem Poker In Singapore Casino
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Considering that it is home to two of the most famous casinos in the world–the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa–you might think that Singapore would be the perfect place to get in more than a few rounds of poker.
Indeed, it has been said that Singaporeans are among the biggest gamblers in the world.
As you will see from this article however, playing poker in the independent country state isn’t as easy as you may have thought.
As in most Asian countries, gambling has long been a part of Singaporean culture. Betting on the outcome of cockfights has traditionally been the favoured form of gambling in the country, particularly among the Malays.
However, government authorities cracked down on such activities after Singapore gained its independence in 1959, and very few instances of the pastime currently exist.
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Contents
- Recommended Singapore Online Poker Rooms
- Laws And Regulations In Singapore
- Banking Options for Singapore Players
- FAQs when playing poker in Singapore
Card games of various types have more closely been associated with the local Chinese community. Traditional favourites such as Pai Gow, Tai Sai and Mahjong were later augmented with games that were European in origin during the period of British colonial rule.
Today, gambling does exist in Singapore, although the industry is heavily regulated. Although there are two officially-licensed casinos in the country, Singapore is hardly a center of poker in Southeast Asia.
Is poker legal in Singapore?
The short version of it is that live poker is allowed in Singapore, although online poker is illegal.
The passing of the Casino Control Act in 2006 – purportedly to promote tourism and generate revenues–effectively allowed the operation of two major casinos in the country: the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa. Both these establishments were granted licenses to operate in Singapore for a period of ten years.
The opening of these two casinos did little to make poker a more widespread pursuit in Singapore. Although foreigners could play in the casino freely, Singaporean residents had to pay a fee of 100SGD.
As for online gambling, this was banned all over Singapore in 2014 in the wake of the Remote Gambling Act. Offenses carried penalties that were quite stiff – a SG$5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months for players, and a fine of SG$20,000 to SG$500,000 and/or imprisonment of up to seven years for operators caught accepting Singaporean players. The government did allow the operation of two online gambling sites catering to the local market in 2016. These were Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club.
Playing poker at home is legal, provided no money changes hands. Players caught participating in money games will have to pay a fine of SG$1000. Those hosting such events will have to pay a fine of SG$20,000 or be jailed for two months.
Laws And Regulations In Singapore
The primary piece of legislation dealing with the gambling industry in Singapore is the Casino Control Act. Passed in 2006, the act was primarily intended to promote the local tourism industry and to increase revenues generated from taxes.
The act also enabled the operation of two casinos in the country, both of which were granted 10-year licenses.
The Remote Gambling Act of 2014 enacted in February 2015 effectively banned all types of online gambling, including poker. Offenders risk a fine of SG$5,000 and/or being sentenced to six months in prison.
The penalties are even harsher for operators of online casinos and card rooms, who risk a fine of SG$20,000 to SG$500,000 and/or a prison term of up to seven years.
Singapore’s Governing Body For Poker
In Singapore, the following agencies are responsible for regulating the gambling industry:
Casino Regulatory Authority (CRA) – Tasked with administering and enforcing the Casino Control Act.
The CRA is also responsible for licensing and regulating land-based casino operations.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Media Development Authority (MDA), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) – These three agencies are tasked with administering provisions of the Remote Gambling Act. In particular, they are responsible for blocking payments and site access.
Legal Age To Gamble In Singapore
In Singapore, only people aged 21 years and above may enter casinos and card rooms
Popular Poker Tournaments Hosted In Singapore
Tournaments are periodically held at the Resorts World Sentosa. The casino has a live poker room with seven tables dedicated to Texas Hold’em. Marina Bay Sands does have poker tables, but events typically pit the players against the house rather than against other players.
Also held in Singapore was the Singapore Poker Championships (SPC), which took place on the MV Aegean Paradise, a luxury cruise liner. A part of the Leisure World Poker Series, the SPC builds on LWPS’ legacy of being the only competitive poker tournament in the region. In addition to the main tournament, the series also hosts Texas Hold’em cash games, and Sit N Go tournaments.
Online options for poker tournaments include Natural8, which is an Asian skin on the Good Game Network and GGPoker, one of the network’s flagship sites.
Singapore Poker Players To Watch Out For
Singapore has produced quite a few excellent poker players, some of who are based in other countries and others that continue to play out of Singapore. Among the Singaporean players that have made their marks at home and abroad are:
Wayne Yap – With total live earnings of more than $1.4 million, Yap has racked up quite an impressive string of accomplishments. The most he has won in a live event is $719,505, and he has made it into the number one spot on Singapore’s all-time money list. He is currently 1,208th on the world all-time money list.
Diwei Huang
Currently based in California, Diwei “Bryan” Huang is one of the most accomplished players in the current scene. Having recently made the $1 million milestone, he has earned more than $1.4 million throughout his live playing career.
His best live cash earnings stand at $162,565, and he occupies the 1,215th spot in the world all-time money list and the second spot in the Singapore all-time money list.
Chris Yeow Chung Chong
Chris’ total live earnings stand at just over $700,000 and he has won a maximum of $354,903 in a single event.
Number 2,612 in the all-time money list, he is number three in the Singapore all-time money list.
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Alex Xiang Wei Lee
Having earned $570,058 total in various live events, Alex has won $62,630 in a single live event.
He is at 3,269 in the all-time money list.
Banking Options for Singapore Players
Most online gambling establishments will not accept credit cards and debit cards issued from Singaporean banks due to government restrictions. The exceptions are Singapore Pools and Singapore Turf Club. Therefore, your options for making deposits into casino accounts and making withdrawals are:
- e-wallets
- Bank wire transfer
- Checks
Currencies Used In Singapore Poker Rooms
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The official currency of Singapore is the Singapore dollar. This is readily accepted in casinos and card rooms all over the state. Many establishments will accept US dollars and British pounds as well.
Conclusion
Although Singapore isn’t exactly brimming with opportunities to play poker, there are certainly a few establishments where you can indulge in your favourite game. In addition to the government-approved casinos Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa, there are occasional cash money events and tournaments held in the country that are sponsored by foreign entities.
There is also the option to play in smaller events held all over the country and in online poker rooms, although these are subject to many restrictions. Even so, you can reasonably expect to be able to play at least some poker if you are planning to visit Singapore.
FAQs when playing poker in Singapore
Will offshore poker rooms accept players from Singapore?
Some online poker rooms do accept players from Singapore. However, deposit and withdrawal options may be limited due to recently enacted Singaporean laws. Furthermore some casinos and card rooms that have previously accepted players from Singapore may no longer accept new players or may inform you of the termination of your account.
Can I play on online poker sites from Singapore with the use of a VPN?
Many casinos that otherwise accept players from Singapore will not take kindly to players that attempt to conceal their actual physical location. In such online establishments, any player who is determined to be using VPNs or some other means to conceal their location may find their account terminated and any funds in their account withheld.
If I have an account in Singapore, will I be able to play online poker from another country?
Unfortunately, most casinos that accept players from Singapore will not allow this either. In the majority of cases, accounts originating from Singapore are automatically blocked from cash play or from performing any real money transactions.
On This Page
Introduction
Casino Hold 'Em is a poker variation, similar to Texas Hold 'Em, that is played in Egypt, Russia, South Africa, Holland, Latvia, Estonia, Ireland, Morocco, Malta, Ukraine, Panama, and Romania. It is also available to play online at casinos using Net Gaming, Real Time Gaming, Playtech, Gamesys, and Galewind Software.
The game also goes by the name Casino Hold 'Em Open. Under this name, the rules are the same except the player hole cards are dealt face up. In normal Casino Hold 'Em they are dealt face down.
Rules
The rules are as follows.
- Play begins with each player making an Ante wager. There is also an optional Progressive Jackpot side bet.
- The dealer gives the player and himself two hole cards and three community cards face up on the table.
- Each player must decide to either fold or call. If the player folds, then he gives up his cards and his Ante bet. If the player calls, then the Call bet must be equal to two times the Ante bet.
- The dealer will then deal two more community cards, for a total of five. The dealer will then turn over his own two cards.
- Both hands shall be scored according the highest poker value of the two hole cards and five community cards.
- The dealer must have a pair of fours or better to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify then the Ante will pay according to the Ante pay table below and the Call bet will push.
- If the dealer qualifies and beats the player, then the player will lose both the Ante and Call.
- If the dealer qualifies and the player beats the dealer then the Ante will pay according to the Ante pay table below and the Call bet will pay 1 to 1.
- If the dealer qualifies and the player ties the dealer then both Ante and Call bets will push.
- The Progressive Jackpot side bet pays based on the player's final seven card hand only, even if the player folded or loses to the dealer. More on this bet at the bottom of the page.
Ante Pay Table
| Hand | Table 1 | Table 2 | Table 3 | Table 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 20 | 25 | 100 | 100 |
| Straight flush | 20 | 25 | 20 | 49 |
| 4 of a kind | 10 | 12 | 10 | 17 |
| Full house | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Flush | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| All other | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Caribbean Hold 'Em Warning
Be warned that Realtime Gaming has an imitation of this game called Caribbean Hold 'Em. However, they pay 1 to 1 on the Ante if the dealer doesn't qualify, as opposed to the full Ante Bonus pay table. Nowhere is this rule change disclosed in their game rules, I might add.
Analysis
The following table shows the number of combination, probability, and contribution to the return of all possible outcomes under ante pay table 3, which I'm told is the most frequently used. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 2.16%.
Return Table — Pay Table 3Expand
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player wins with royal flush | 102 | 736259040 | 0.000026 | 0.002700 |
| Player has royal flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 100 | 119892960 | 0.000004 | 0.000431 |
| Player wins with straight flush | 22 | 6001122284 | 0.000216 | 0.004747 |
| Player has straight flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 20 | 1089672828 | 0.000039 | 0.000784 |
| Player wins with four of a kind | 12 | 41419896552 | 0.001489 | 0.01787 |
| Player has four of a kind, dealer doesn't qualify | 10 | 909499320 | 0.000033 | 0.000327 |
| Player wins with full house | 5 | 589505037660 | 0.021195 | 0.105973 |
| Player wins with flush | 4 | 505131419580 | 0.018161 | 0.072645 |
| Player wins with straight or less | 3 | 6426670016572 | 0.23106 | 0.693181 |
| Player has full house, dealer doesn't qualify | 3 | 24601676832 | 0.000885 | 0.002654 |
| Player has flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 2 | 168883536432 | 0.006072 | 0.012144 |
| Player has straight or less, dealer doesn't qualify | 1 | 5521376219148 | 0.198512 | 0.198512 |
| Tie | 0 | 678596916580 | 0.024398 | 0 |
| Player folds | -1 | 5009067102600 | 0.180093 | -0.180093 |
| Player loses | -3 | 8839701755612 | 0.317817 | -0.953451 |
| Total | 27813810024000 | 1 | -0.021576 |
The following return table is four pay table 4. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 0.35%. This pay table can be found at Internet casinos using Gamesys N.V. software titled 'Casino Hold 'Em with Zero House Edge.' As you can see, the 'Zero House Edge' part is a misnomer. The player must pay a 10% commission on any net gambling win per session. A 'session' ends after a period of one hour with no bet or 24 hours, whichever happens first.
The owner of Casino Hold 'Em wishes for me to state that Gamesys N.V. is using his game without permission.
Return Table — Pay Table 4Expand
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player wins with royal flush | 102 | 736,259,040 | 0.000026 | 0.002700 |
| Player has royal flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 100 | 119,892,960 | 0.000004 | 0.000431 |
| Player wins with straight flush | 51 | 6,031,161,932 | 0.000217 | 0.011059 |
| Player has straight flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 49 | 1,096,758,936 | 0.000039 | 0.001932 |
| Player wins with four of a kind | 19 | 41,421,337,056 | 0.001489 | 0.028295 |
| Player has four of a kind, dealer doesn't qualify | 17 | 909,634,104 | 0.000033 | 0.000556 |
| Player wins with full house | 5 | 589,638,417,816 | 0.021199 | 0.105997 |
| Player wins with flush | 4 | 505,727,272,920 | 0.018183 | 0.072730 |
| Player wins with straight or less | 3 | 6,429,871,396,516 | 0.231175 | 0.693526 |
| Player has full house, dealer doesn't qualify | 3 | 24,601,738,176 | 0.000885 | 0.002654 |
| Player has flush, dealer doesn't qualify | 2 | 169,051,416,912 | 0.006078 | 0.012156 |
| Player has straight or less, dealer doesn't qualify | 1 | 5,526,154,486,512 | 0.198684 | 0.198684 |
| Tie | 0 | 679,763,871,140 | 0.024440 | 0.000000 |
| Player folds | -1 | 4,984,375,678,920 | 0.179205 | -0.179205 |
| Player loses | -3 | 8,854,310,701,060 | 0.318342 | -0.955027 |
| Total | 27,813,810,024,000 | 1.000000 | -0.003511 |
I would like to thank Stephen How of Discount Gambling for supplying the combinations in pay table 4.
The only pay tables fully analyzed are 3 and 4, because it takes my computer about a month to cycle through all possible combinations. However, assuming the player was following optimal strategy under pay table 3 but playing under pay table 1 or 2, the house edge under pay table 1 would be 2.40%, and under pay table 2 would be 1.96%. The actual house edge under pay tables 1 and 2 would be slightly less or equal to these figures.
Strategy
Unfortunately, there is no easy way to quantify optimal strategy for this game. I can say that the optimal strategy player will raise 82% of the time. So only in the worst 18% of hands should the player fold. In general these are when the player has two singletons in the hole that are low compared to the flop, with little or no chance for a straight or flush.
Side Bets
The only side bet I am aware of for this game is known as the AA+. It pays based on the poker value of the player's hand after the flop. There are three known pay tables, as follows:
AA+ Pay Tables
| Hand | Pay Table 1 | Pay Table 2 | Pay Table 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 25 | 100 | 100 |
| Straight flush | 25 | 50 | 50 |
| 4 of a kind | 25 | 40 | 40 |
| Full house | 25 | 30 | 30 |
| Flush | 25 | 20 | 20 |
| Straight | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| Three of a kind | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Two pair | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Pair of aces | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| House edge | 6.40% | 6.26% | 2.97% |
Pay tables 1 and 2 can be found in land casinos. Pay table 3 is used by Internet casinos using Gamesys software.
As an example, following is the full return table for Pay Table 1.
AA+ Side Bet — Pay Table 1
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 25 | 4 | 0.000002 | 0.000038 |
| Straight flush | 25 | 36 | 0.000014 | 0.000346 |
| 4 of a kind | 25 | 624 | 0.000240 | 0.006002 |
| Full house | 25 | 3744 | 0.001441 | 0.036014 |
| Flush | 25 | 5108 | 0.001965 | 0.049135 |
| Straight | 7 | 10200 | 0.003925 | 0.027473 |
| Three of a kind | 7 | 54912 | 0.021128 | 0.147899 |
| Two pair | 7 | 123552 | 0.047539 | 0.332773 |
| Pair of aces | 7 | 84480 | 0.032505 | 0.227537 |
| Other | -1 | 2316300 | 0.891241 | -0.891241 |
| Total | 2598960 | 1 | -0.064023 |
Progressive Jackpot
The Progressive Jackpot bet shall pay based on the player's two hole cards and the five community cards only. It does not matter whether or not the player folds or loses to the dealer. In the event of a straight flush or royal flush on the board, all players who made the Progressive Jackpot bet shall split the win.
The following table shows the probability and contribution to the return for each event. Obviously, the return from the top two awards will depend on the jackpot size, so are treated as unknowns.
Progressive Jackpot
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | Jackpot | 4,324 | 0.000032 | x |
| Straight flush | 10% of Jackpot | 37,260 | 0.000279 | y |
| 4 of a kind | $100.00 | 224,848 | 0.001681 | 0.168100 |
| Full house | $10.00 | 3,473,184 | 0.025961 | 0.259610 |
| Other | $0.00 | 130,044,944 | 0.972047 | 0.000000 |
| Total | $0.00 | 133,784,560 | 1.000000 | 0.487931+x+y |
The table above shows the fixed wins return 42.77% of the amount bet. Assuming the player is playing alone, for every $1,000 in the meter the return will increase by 6.02%. Under the same assumption, the break-even point is $9,503.22. Due to jackpot sharing, the return will go down slightly according to the number of other players making the bet.
Jumbo Jackpot
There is another progressive jackpot called the 'Jumbo Jackpot.' The following table shows the wins, probabilities and the contribution to the return for each type of winning hand.
Jumbo Jackpot
| Hand | Pays | Combinations | Probability | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-card straight flush | ? | 32 | 0.00000024 | x |
| 6-card straight flush | $5,000.00 | 752 | 0.00000562 | 0.028105 |
| 5-card straight flush | $250.00 | 40,800 | 0.00030497 | 0.076242 |
| 4 of a kind | $50.00 | 224,848 | 0.00168067 | 0.084034 |
| Full house | $5.00 | 3,473,184 | 0.02596102 | 0.129805 |
| Flush | $4.00 | 4,047,644 | 0.03025494 | 0.121020 |
| Straight | $2.00 | 6,180,020 | 0.04619382 | 0.092388 |
| Other | $0.00 | 119,817,280 | 0.89559871 | 0.000000 |
| Total | $0.00 | 133,784,560 | 1.00000000 | 0.531593 |
The return for the top award depends on the amount in the jackpot. I can say that all the other wins return 53.16% of money bet. For every 100,000 bet units in the meter the return increases by 2.39%. At a jackpot of $1,958,300.75 the return reaches 100%.
Progressive Jackpot Side Bet
There is yet another side bet based on the player's first two cards and the three-card flop. I put information about it in my page titled Casino Hold Em Progressive Jackpot Side Bet'.
Casino Razz Bonus
I believe this side bet pays according to the poker value of the player's two hole cards and the three cards on the flop -- the lower the poker value, the more it pays. For all the rules and analysis, please see my page on Casino Razz Bonus.
Methodology
The above analysis was performed using a brute force combinatorial program that analyzed all 27,813,810,024,000 possible outcomes, and played every hand according to optimal player strategy. It took my computers about a month to crank though the 27.8 trillion hands.
External Links
The web site for Casino Hold'em, as well as other games, is www.casinopokergames.com.
There is a good Casino Hold 'Em calculator at beatingbonuses.com.
Written by:Michael Shackleford