While the new poker room is being built at Hard Rock (still another 9 months away), Royal Hold'em made its debut last weekend.

From a company called New Poker, Royal Hold'em takes the standard Texas Hold'em but uses just 10s, Js, Qs, Ks, and As in the deck.

That leaves 20 cards, and with a max of 6 players and 3 burn cards, the entire deck will be used.

The game is played in the pit at a regular table with autoshuffler. Dealers are still adjusting to learning to deal poker (like regular poker, the game is played against other players, not the house), but the game has already proved popular at 5/10 limit.

What we found interesting is that it completely changed our view and strategy of hold'em. No flush is possible except for a royal flush. Full houses are much more common. And practically everyone played every hand. If you hit something big, you'll be called down.

You can download and play the game at this link.