Raise 2× or check
- Two pair or better.
- A hidden pair — one of your cards pairs the board — except pocket deuces.
- Four to a flush when you hold a 10 or better of that suit.
- Otherwise check.
Hold'em Raise or Fold Trainer
4×, 2×, 1× or Fold — Practice Every Decision
Pick a strategy, choose how many hands, and watch it play out: every deal, every raise or fold, and where the bankroll ends up.
- 5ready-made strategies, plus your own
- 1–100khands per run, any number you like
- Exactoptimal play, every card worked out
- 0real money. Virtual units only
NOTHING DEALT YET
Pick a strategy, choose a hand count, deal.
Every hand is listed afterwards: your cards, the dealer's, the board, what the strategy did and what it won or lost.
HOW THE SIMULATOR WORKS
Same rules as the casino, dealt thousands of times
- Every hand is dealt fresh from a shuffled 52-card deck: your two cards, the dealer’s two and five shared cards.
- Your strategy decides at each stage: raise 4× before the flop, 2× on the flop, 1× on the river, or fold.
- The hand settles by the standard rules: the dealer needs a pair to qualify for the Ante, and the Blind pays on straights and better.
- Your bankroll moves by the result, with your betting system setting the next bet. Play stops if the bankroll can’t cover a hand.
WORKED EXAMPLE · ANTE 10
A♠ K♠, raise 4× before the flop
You put in Ante 10 and Blind 10, then raise 4× for a Play bet of 40. That's 60 units on the table.
- Flush win · dealer qualifiesAnte +10 · Play +40 · Blind +15
- +65
- Flush win · dealer doesn’t qualifyAnte returned · Play +40 · Blind +15
- +55
- Dealer wins
- −60
- Tie
- 0
Folding on the river instead always costs exactly 20: the Ante and Blind.
QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
What is the best strategy for raising 4×, 2×, 1× or folding?
Before the flop, raise 4× with any pair of 3s or better, any ace, king-two suited or better, king-five offsuit or better, queen-six suited, queen-eight offsuit, jack-eight suited or jack-ten offsuit; otherwise check. On the flop, raise 2× with two pair or better, a hidden pair (except pocket 2s) or four to a flush holding a 10 or better of that suit. On the river, raise 1× with a hidden pair or better, or when fewer than 21 dealer hole cards beat you; otherwise fold. The simulator’s Optimal strategy goes further and works out every flop and river decision exactly.
What is the house edge?
With perfect play the house keeps 2.19% of each Ante on average, about 0.53% of everything you put on the table, because raises add to the money at risk. Trips is a separate bet: 0.90% with a 9× full house paytable and 3.50% with an 8× full house.
Why does the optimal strategy sometimes fold three of a kind?
Only when the three of a kind is entirely on the board. The dealer has it too, and your own cards add at most a kicker. If raising 1× averages a bigger loss than the 2 Antes a fold costs, folding is correct. The results label these hands “on the board”.
Can doubling my bet after a win, or after a loss, beat the house?
No. Changing the bet size changes how much is at stake and how wild the swings are, not the edge on each unit bet. Martingale-style systems win small amounts often and occasionally lose big, especially when the table max stops the doubling. Run the same hands with flat betting and a progression to see it.
Why did my simulation stop before all the hands were dealt?
Each hand can cost up to six times the Ante (Ante, Blind and a 4× Play), plus any Trips bet. When the bankroll can’t cover that, play stops instead of borrowing. With a betting system the bet first drops back to your starting bet; the run ends only when even that can’t be covered.
How accurate is the simulator?
Hands are dealt from a fully shuffled 52-card deck and settled by the standard rules. Optimal flop and river decisions check every possible remaining card exactly. The hand evaluator is tested against an independent one, and the seven-card hand counts match all 133,784,560 possible hands. Independent outside verification is still to come.
Is any real money involved?
No. Everything is in virtual units. There are no deposits, no prizes and nothing to withdraw.
House edge source: Wizard of Odds, Ultimate Texas Hold’em analysis ↗. Trips edges are calculated exactly from all seven-card hands.
WHAT EACH BET PAYS
Blind and Trips payouts
The Blind pays on your winning hand. Trips pays on your own hand, win or lose. Choose the Trips paytable in step 3.
| Your hand | Blind | Trips · 9× full house | Trips · 8× full house |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 500 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 50 to 1 | 40 to 1 | 40 to 1 |
| Four of a kind | 10 to 1 | 30 to 1 | 30 to 1 |
| Full house | 3 to 1 | 9 to 1 | 8 to 1 |
| Flush | 3 to 2 | 7 to 1 | 7 to 1 |
| Straight | 1 to 1 | 4 to 1 | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | Push | 3 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| Lower hands | Push | Lose | Lose |
- Blind: the same table across US casinos. It pays only when you beat the dealer; a loss loses it and a tie pushes it.
- Trips · 9× full house: Full house 9×, flush 7×, straight 4×. House edge 0.90% of the Trips bet.
- Trips · 8× full house: Full house 8×, flush 7×, straight 4×. House edge 3.50% of the Trips bet — check which one your casino posts.
- Canada: we have not yet confirmed a published Ontario or British Columbia paytable. Check the table card at your casino.
PRACTICE MODE
Play the decisions yourself
Get dealt a hand and make the call. Each decision is graded against the best play. Keys: R raise C check F fold N next.
HOLD’EM · DECISION TRAINER1 ANTE = 1 UNIT
DEALER
SHARED CARDS
YOUR HAND
Deal a hand, then make the call. Every decision is checked against the exact best play.
HOW YOU ARE GRADED
Every call, checked against the best play
- You decide raise, check or fold at each stage.
- We grade it against the exact best play for those cards — not against whether you happened to win.
- You see the cost of each mistake in Antes, so you know which errors actually matter.
THE STRATEGY YOU ARE GRADED AGAINST
When to raise 4×, 2×, 1× — or fold
Before the flop: raise 4× or check
Raise 4× with any hand shaded below. Everything else checks. The 4× raise is the biggest bet in the game, so it goes in while your edge is largest.
AAAKsAQsAJsATsA9sA8sA7sA6sA5sA4sA3sA2s
AKoKKKQsKJsKTsK9sK8sK7sK6sK5sK4sK3sK2s
AQoKQoQQQJsQTsQ9sQ8sQ7sQ6sQ5sQ4sQ3sQ2s
AJoKJoQJoJJJTsJ9sJ8sJ7sJ6sJ5sJ4sJ3sJ2s
AToKToQToJToTTT9sT8sT7sT6sT5sT4sT3sT2s
A9oK9oQ9oJ9oT9o9998s97s96s95s94s93s92s
A8oK8oQ8oJ8oT8o98o8887s86s85s84s83s82s
A7oK7oQ7oJ7oT7o97o87o7776s75s74s73s72s
A6oK6oQ6oJ6oT6o96o86o76o6665s64s63s62s
A5oK5oQ5oJ5oT5o95o85o75o65o5554s53s52s
A4oK4oQ4oJ4oT4o94o84o74o64o54o4443s42s
A3oK3oQ3oJ3oT3o93o83o73o63o53o43o3332s
A2oK2oQ2oJ2oT2o92o82o72o62o52o42o32o22
Raise 1× or fold
- Raise with a hidden pair or better.
- Without one, raise if fewer than 21 of the dealer's possible hole cards beat you.
- Otherwise fold — it costs exactly 2 Antes.
These rules of thumb are close to perfect. The trainer grades flop and river calls exactly, by playing out every card still unseen, so on rare hands the grade can differ from the rule of thumb. Preflop uses the published raise boundary from Wizard of Odds.
KNOW YOUR TABLE
Three stages. One Play bet.
Raise 4× or check
Start with equal Ante and Blind wagers. See your two cards, then decide whether to raise or wait.
Raise 2× or check
If you checked, three community cards open the next decision. A raise goes straight to showdown.
Raise 1× or fold
After checking twice, use all five community cards to make your final decision.
Settlement rules & Blind payouts
Best five cards out of seven. Dealer qualifies with a pair or better. Ante pushes if the dealer does not qualify; Play and Blind still settle by hand comparison. Ties push all bets. Folding loses Ante and Blind.
On a winning hand, Play pays 1:1 and Ante pays 1:1 when the dealer qualifies. Blind payouts are in the table above. Losing hands lose Play and Blind, plus Ante if the dealer qualifies. The simulator supports optional Trips with a selectable paytable; the trainer excludes Trips.
Rules reference: Maryland Lottery and Gaming ↗Virtual units only. Grades show long-run expected value, not a promise about any single hand. Independent mathematical verification is still to come.