Texas Shootout

Texas Shootout Poker (also called Texas Hold’em Shootout) is a simple poker-based game variation. Its basics are that the player and the dealer (or the house) go against each other and whoever has the highest card wins. Texas Shootout is an easy-played poker variant, not very risky, with a competitive house edge.

If you are looking for a poker-based game that is easy to play, it’s not very complicated and has a competitive house edge then you may enjoy Texas Shootout Poker, a game created by Galaxy Gaming.

What is Shootout Poker?

Texas Shootout Poker is not recognized as an official poker game, however, it uses some of the same rules that regular poker does; such as the cards, poker hand rankings and the best five cards win. The rules and strategies for Texas Shootout Poker are easy to learn and allow you to enjoy this variant to its fullest.

The Basics of the Game

The dealer will win if any ties happen. As for the players, many prefer Texas Shootout Poker to other casino games because they are given more choices, the choice being, which two cards keep, which two cards to toss, or to split and play all 4 cards as two separate hands.

The object of Texas Shootout is to achieve a higher hand-ranking than that of the dealer.

Texas Shootout Poker – Hand Rankings

Here are the hand rankings for the Texas Shootout game from highest to lowest:

• 5 of a Kind, Suited
• Royal Flush
• Straight Flush
• 5 of a Kind
• 4 of a Kind
• Full House
• Flush
• Straight
• 3 of a Kind
• Two Pair
• A Pair

House-Way Rules for the Dealer

This is the ranking of the “house way” two-card choices:

• A pair of eights or higher, suited or unsuited
• High card is an Ace and a low card is Jack or higher
• Any suited pair deuces to sevens
• Any unsuited pair deuces to sevens
• Ace high and suited card
• Both cards ten or higher and suited
• Both cards ten or higher and unsuited
• Ace high unsuited
• Face card high suited
• Face card high unsuited
• Connected cards suited
• Connected cards unsuited
• Two highest suited cards
• Two highest unsuited cards

House Edge for Texas Shootout

With the main bet, the house edge over the player is 2.7:1. The side bet – that the player gets a straight or better – has a house edge of between 7.2% and 19.8%. This gets reduced to 2.09% and 14.57% if the maximum of seven players are on the table.

Optimal Strategies for Winning in Shootout Poker

Look for Pairs – Upon receiving your four cards, look for pairs to start with. A singular pair might be good enough to win outright, depending on what the dealer must play from the “house way” pick. Splitting a two-pair or four of a kind hand is an excellent strategy. This improves your chances of one of the two hands winning out.

Suited Cards – If you don’t have any pairs, then you must look for suited cards, especially if they are connected. A suited Ace and King would be outstanding to start with for the royal flush potential, but suited connectors (5-4, 8-7, etc.) are also good for straight, flush and straight flush possibilities. If that doesn’t exist, simple connectors can be good enough to win the hand with a straight.

Pick the Best Two Cards – If these hands aren’t evident in your four-card mix (say A-J-8-4 unsuited), then you might be reserved to the fact that this isn’t a hand you’re going to win. Since you have your bet on the table, however, it would be best to follow the “house way” and choose the best two cards you have for battle. In the example, the A-J is the best two-card combo to keep (according to the “house way”) and, depending on the run of the board, could end up winning the hand for you.

Texas Shootout Game Bets

Texas Shootout Poker has 3 conventional bets, that includes mandatory and optional:

Normal Bet

The original wager placed on the Texas Shootout Hand, paying 1:1 if the player’s hand is higher than the dealer’s. If the player’s hand ranks lower or equal to the dealer’s, the wager is lost.

Shootout Bet

A Shootout Bet is an optional wager, or bonus bet, placed before the hand begins. Shootout Bets pay variable odds, depending on the player’s final hand, and the casinos particular bonus scheme.

If the Shootout Wager is $5 or more, the bet is eligible for an Envy Bonus. An Envy Bonus is paid if any other player achieves a final hand ranking at 5 of a Kind or Better. The chart below shows Winning Shootout Bet Payouts and Envy Bonuses.

Hand Rankings	Shootout Bet Payouts	Envy Bonus
5 of a Kind, Suited	Pays 1,000 to 1	$1,000
Royal Flush	Pays 200 to 1	$250
Straight Flush	Pays 75 to 1	$50
5 of a Kind	Pays 40 to 1	$10
4 of a Kind	Pays 7 to 1
Full House	Pays 3 to 1
Flush	Pays 2 to 1
Straight	Pays 1 to 1
Three of a Kind	PUSH -Tie-

Split Bet

Player’s are dealt four cards face down to start. If those 4 cards equal a 4 of a Kind or Two Pairs, the player may optionally Split the cards into two separate hands, rather than discarding 2 of the cards. When a player splits, they must place an additional wager equal to the original bet for the new, second hand.

Steps to Playing Texas Shootout

Texas Shootout Poker begins with a six-deck shoe of cards shuffled for the game. The number of decks allows up to seven players, plus the dealer. In a shift from the normal game of poker, the players aren’t competing against each other, but playing one-on-one against the dealer. Although they don’t play against each other, there are opportunities to bet on what your opponents will do.

Step 1: Each player in the game puts out one bet at the minimum and has the option of putting a similar bet on the side. The first bet is for the player’s hand against the dealer’s hand, whereas the second (optional) side bet is for how good the hand is.

• If the player makes a straight or better, they get paid based on the odds chart of the table.
• This side bet also allows a player to collect what is called an “envy bonus”; if the bet is larger than $5. The bonus pays out if one of your fellow players hits five of a kind or better.

Step 2: Each player is dealt four cards, which then presents another option for the player.

• If the player wants to continue, they must choose at least two cards to continue with the game.
• The player does have the option of throwing all four cards, but they also sacrifice their bet(s) that are on the table for the hand.
• If a player is dealt four of a kind or two pairs, the player then has the option of playing all four cards but must put a second bet on the table for the other two-card tandem.

Step 3: Once all the players have made their choices, the dealer then shows their four cards. No matter what happens, the dealer MUST choose two cards to play from the four cards they received. Those two cards are determined through what is called a “house way” method, a 14-tiered system of determining what to hold.

Step 4: Once the dealer has determined the two cards the house will play, the five-card board that is common in Texas Hold’em is dealt. Using those five cards, the players use their two cards – or their two sets of two cards, if they split their four cards – to make the best five-card combination.

• The dealer does the same, designating what their best five-card combination is.
• If a player’s best five card hand is bigger than the dealer’s five card hand, they double their initial bet.
• If their hand is a straight or larger and they put out a side bet, they win based on the pay table.

Texas Shootout Poker is a fun poker game when waiting until your seat opens in the poker room. Going in with a strategy such as the one above could help it to be profitable. Be prepared…with a six-deck shoe, the house edge is still very high and the odds are against you.