Royal Poker Advice

Poker Strategy
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Hi everyone,

Today I thought I’d take some time to talk about and share some strategy about a game that isn’t talked about much: Royal Poker.

For those who don’t know what Royal Poker is let me explain. Royal Poker is almost the same as Hold’em Poker goes as far a procedure goes: Preflop , Flop , Turn and River. However games are 6 handed in Royal and the only cards that are used in Royal are 10’s , Jacks , Queen’s , Kings and Aces of all four suites. This makes for very different strategy card strength wise In Royal Poker.

Dealt pocket Aces in Royal and you think it’s a good hand? Preflop yes. However with the limited flops , turns and river’s that can come your almost never good after the flop with Aces. In Royal you will see more Straights , Straight Flushes , Full Houses and Royal Flushes then you normally would In Hold’em.

Don’t get me wrong a pocket pair pre-flop is always good you just gotta be aware of what’s likely to come on the flop , turn or river with the limited deck.

The point I’m trying to get across Is you got to recognize hand strength and gotta try to put your opponents on a range of hands to make the correct reads and know that your opponents are typically strong when they play a hand when it comes to Royal Poker.

I don’t play nearly as much Royal than I do Hold’em but I find it’s best to try to win hands preflop to avoid seeing flops where your opponents can hit more than they would in Hold’em.

For example let’s say the blinds are 50/100 and I’m the big blind dealt pocket 10’s and only the small blind calls. Let’s say the small blind has Jacks. In this spot I’d actually re-raise with the pocket 10’s because I’m figuring the small blind would have a better hand then just calling with the pocket Jacks. I raise to anywhere from 425 - 500 chips preflop representing a hand stronger then the pocket 10’s and the small blind folds. Basically I’m representing Kings or Aces which is the top of my range and my opponent may or may not know that depending on a few things: Their knowledge of Royal , Chip Stack size and if they are a tight or loose player.

I could always see a flop but I think most likely I’d be at a disadvantage. Lets say the flop comes Ace , Ace , Queen. My opponent could easily represent an Ace or Queen which is why I like winning a hand preflop In Royal.

I hope this little piece of advice is helpful. If you have advice when It comes to Royal Poker! Feel free to share!

-Marc

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Hi Marc and thanks for your post. I think it’s very helpful.
I sent a message to a friend giving him tips about royal poker a while ago, and your post reminded me of that message, so I will copy and paste it here as well for further information.

Here it is:
As you know the cards are ten to ace only, so the deck is 20 cards. When there are 6 players, almost all cards are in play, so everyone is meant to have a great hand, it’s a matter of who has the best one.

  • 2 pair is almost never a winning hand. If you only have 2 pair, better fold.

  • Straight ten to ace is the weakest hand. It does occasionally win, or split, but it’s never a solid hand to count on.

  • If the 5 community cards on board are straight ten to ace (without chance for a royal flush) then it’s always a split no matter what you have. The pot is split between all players.

  • FH is a good hand but also very common. So you better have the higher full house to win the hand. Example: if the cards on board are KKQQJ, if you have a queen you’re most likely gonna lose, because almost always someone has a K.

  • Also pay attention to the kickers when betting on a FH. If the board has KKQJA and you have KQ, make sure no one has AK because it’s very common for others to have it. However, if you’ve got AK then you know the hand is yours (unless of course someone has AA)

  • Pocket pairs are usually good, especially if the same card shows up in the flop. The higher the better. Example, if you get pocket aces, and the flop is AKQ, you can raise or even go all in, knowing that you’re most likely to get a boat, or in the worst case it will be a straight on board and you will split with everyone. If you get KK and the flop is KQJ, that’s also a great thing and you can easily raise. But be careful of higher cards, for example if you get QQ and the flop is AKQ, even though you are most likely gonna get a full house, but if another A or K comes then you will have a lower full house.

  • Quads are a very good hand. They’re frequent too. So it’s very common to get quads. If you see trips on board then almost always someone has the 4th one. So don’t get your hopes high if the board has QQQAJ and you have an ace. Someone else likely has the 4th queen. However, I’m sure you already know this but, if there are quads on board, you need the highest kicker to win. So if the board has QQQQJ, anyone with an ace wins the pot. Unless the board is QQQQA then it’s a split pot between all players. for aces you need the king AAAAK.

  • Finally, Royal Flush is of course the best hand, and it’s more common to be seen in royal than in any other poker game. if the board has 4 suited cards, someone almost always has the 5th and wins with RF. If there are 3 suited cards on board, it’s not very frequent but you need to make sure you don’t bet too high just in case someone has it. One of the rare occurrences but also the best ones, is when there is a straight ten to ace on board, with 3 suited cards. Everyone thinks it’s gonna be a split but if one player has the other 2, everyone goes all in thinking they’re gonna split, and the RF gets them all :slight_smile:

I hope it helps anyone interested in this game and good luck to everyone.
Maya

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I agree with everything you said, Maya. The perfect summary of a long experience.
You forgot to mention, though, that with a straight on board, and no possibility of a RF (therefore a certain split), there will often be a “tricky” player who will go “all-in”, hoping the others didn’t notice the straight. LOL

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lol miri yes :joy:

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Excellent information! Thanks, Marc, Maya, and Miri. I just printed the whole string for future use. Good luck.

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Good posts by all.

I just wanted to make one point of clarification for players new to this game. I am thinking paragraph 3 in Marcs post might be a little confusing to some.

There is only ONE flush that cane be made in this game. That is a straight flush. So, if you make a flush, bet the farm, you cannot lose, cannot be tied.

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Royal flush to be specific :wink:

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Royal Straight Flush :wink:

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and a royal in royal doesn’t count as a royal.

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A royal is a royal whether in a royal or not in a royal :joy:

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on the “levels” or “achievements” ( giggles )… you didn’t get credit for a Royal, if you got it in Royal… group hug… or on your “best hands” in your profile.

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That’s true. But that doesn’t de-royalize it. It’s still a royal :wink:

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De-royalize it hahahahaha :joy:

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A royal by any other name would smell as sweet…

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Marc…I played royal before but do not like it. There is a flush which is only a royal flush. No other could there be. Right? Newbies appreciate telling them what it is all about…,

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Hi Rob,

I just looked this up though the Knowledge Base to make sure and yes the only flush you can have In Royal Is the Royal Flush.

-Marc

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Royal Straight Flush ?

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From the Knowledge Base under Royal Hold’em

"Hand Strengths

The difference in hierarchy from standard Texas Hold’em is that the only flush possible is a Royal flush, therefore it is always the best hand."

-Marc

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So they dropped the “straight “ . Sounds so much more Royal when you say I got a “ Royal Straight Flush “ … but I understand the game is Royal so it’s redundant.

Now I don’t feel like playing Royal lol :joy:

Thanks Marc :+1:t2:

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My advice is when you’re dealt pocket aces in Royal, lay back and trap with them. Often times you’ll end up aces full while someone else will have a lower full house. Nearly always pays off for me and if you do flop with no help, you can get away from the hand without too much damage by over betting preflop. :slight_smile:

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