Hi there, friends who also love casinos! Are you prepared to enhance your gaming experience? You need not search any farther because we are about to dive headfirst into the thrilling realm of three card poker. So take a seat, and together we’ll delve into the specifics of this thrilling game that blends strategy, chance, and a ton of excitement—all waiting for you at casino games.
Once the name of a more prevalent form of poker, Three Card Poker is now most generally associated with a fast-paced, straightforward casino game that shares a name with poker because of its hand ranking system, which is comparable but not exact. Three Card Poker is played differently from traditional poker in that players do not compete with one another; instead, they aim to beat the dealer or just get dealt a solid hand. It’s easy to play both games at home with very little setup required.
3 Card Poker Rules For Beginners
When making your Vegas bucket list, don’t forget to leave time for learning how to win at three card poker in addition to booking time for the incredible shows, eating at some of the best restaurants in town, and saving some energy for the world-class nightlife.
the sexiest game of table tennis Three card poker is getting more and more popular not only because it’s exciting but also because it’s easy to learn. Playing Three Card Poker in Vegas is like getting to play two casino games for the price of one. In addition to competing with the dealer, you can also win based on the caliber of your cards.
The object of the game is to make the best poker hand possible with just three cards.
How to Play 3 Card Poker
- To start, the player places an ante wager and/or a pair plus wager, betting that they will have a hand of at least a pair or better.
- Three cards are then dealt face down to each player and to the dealer. You are only playing the dealer and not other players at the table.
- The player will then look at his hand and determine to place a play wager (equal to the amount they put as the ante wager) to pit his hand against the dealer’s hand or not. Optimum strategy says the player should “play” all hands greater than Queen, Six and Four and fold all hands worse.
- If a player folds, the hand is over and the dealer will collect the player’s ante wager and pair plus wager. If the player places a play wager, the cards will be turned over to determine if the player has a better hand than the dealer.
- If the dealer has a hand of Jack-high or worse, the play wager is returned to the player. If the dealer has a hand of Queen-high or better, both the play wager and the ante are paid out at 1 to 1 if the player has a better hand than the dealer.
- If the dealer’s hand is superior, both the ante and play bets are collected. The pair plus bet is determined completely independent to what the dealer has.
3 Card Poker Payouts
Pair plus payouts:
- Straight Flush 40 to 1
- Three of a Kind 30 to 1
- Straight 6 to 1
- Flush 3 to 1
- Pair 1 to 1
Ante bonus payouts:
- Straight Flush 5 to 1
- Three of a Kind 4 to 1
- Straight 1 to 1
What makes three card poker the best game? The six card bonus paytable offers the potential to earn $100,000 if the player’s and dealer’s cards meld nine through Ace in a royal suit of diamonds.
Also Read : Exploring Spanish 21: Rules & Winning Techniques
How to Play Three Card Poker
Three Card Poker (Casino Game)
Know the hand rankings
You had better know how to judge the quality of your hand because you will be betting on it! The sole exception, if you’re familiar with standard poker rankings, is that a straight is valued more than a flush because flushes are simpler to obtain in a three-card hand. If not, the hands are ranked in this table from highest to lowest:
Three Card Poker Hand Rankings
| Hand Name | Description | Tie Breaker |
|---|---|---|
| Straight Flush | Three consecutive cards of the same suit (Aces high or low) | Higher ranking card wins |
| Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank | Higher ranking card wins |
| Straight | Three consecutive cards in mixed suits (Aces high or low) | Higher ranking card wins |
| Flush | Three cards of the same suit | Higher of the highest card in each hand wins; if a tie, compare middle ranking cards, then lowest |
| Pair | Two cards of the same rank, and one other card | Higher ranking pair wins; if a tie, higher of the third “odd card” wins |
| High Card | Three cards, not all consecutive or in the same suit | Same as Flush tiebreaks |
Wager on beating the dealer (or decline to)
Before any cards are dealt, each player decides on an Ante bet, or whether their hand will be better than the dealer’s.
- If you’re at a casino, place the amount of poker chips you wish to bet on the space labeled Ante.
- At home, you’ll need a way to designate each player’s Ante, Play, and Pair Plus® bets without getting them confused.
- Some casinos require that each player places an Ante bet, while others allow the player to bet solely on Pair Plus® (see below).
- Casinos often have a “table minimum”, requiring each bet to be at least the posted amount.
Wager on the quality of your hand (or decline to)
In addition to the Ante bet, you can optionally place a Pair Plus® bet, which gives payoffs according to the quality of your hand.
- This also occurs before cards are dealt.
- This bet is named “pair plus” due to its payout on any hand with at least a pair or better.
The dealer gives three cards each to the players and himself
The deck of cards is shuffled and dealt out face down.
- Each player looks at his own hand. There is no need for the dealer to do so.
Decide whether to raise your wager against the dealer
Now that you’ve seen the quality of your 3-card hand, you decide whether to Play (or Raise) your Ante bet, or whether to Fold:
- In order to have the Ante bet stand, you must place an equal amount of money on the space designated Play.
- If you decide to Fold instead, the dealer takes your Ante bet and you cannot win that wager.
- In some casinos, folding will forfeit your Pair Plus® bet as well, if you made one.
Reveal all hands
Once all players who made an Ante bet have Played or Folded, all hands are turned face up.
- If a player Folded and did not place a Pair Plus® bet, the dealer usually takes his cards before hands are turned face up, since that player has no wager left standing.
Three Card Poker (Casino Game)
Determine Ante/Play payout
Any player who Played (Raised) their Ante bet compares his hand to the dealer and has a chance to win a payout according to the casino rules. If playing at home, use the following typical rules:
- If the dealer’s hand is High Card Jack or lower (“Jack High”), the dealer pays each player equal to that player’s Ante bet (“even money”) and returns each player’s Ante and Play bets.
- If the dealer’s hand is High Card Queen or better (“Queen High”), but worse than a player’s hand, the dealer pays that player an amount equal to the player’s Ante and Play bets combined and returns those bets.
- If the dealer has Queen High or a better hand, and exactly equal to a player’s hand, the dealer returns that player’s Ante and Play bets but pays no money.
- If the dealer has Queen High or better and beats a player’s hand, the dealer keeps that player’s Ante and Play bets.
Determine Pair Plus® payout
Separate from the Ante Payout, each player who made a Pair Plus bet gets a reward based on their hand quality. The dealer’s hand does not matter for this prize. If playing at home, use the following popular payout system (a 3:1 reward means the player wins 3 times their pair plus bet):
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Straight Flush | 40:1 |
| Three of a Kind | 30:1 |
| Straight | 6:1 |
| Flush | 3:1 |
| Pair | 1:1 |
| High Card | Player loses bet |
Also Read : How to Win at Pai Gow Poker: Success Strategies and Advice!
Three Card Poker (Old Fashioned Poker Variant)
Learn the Hand Rankings
The hand ranking system is the same as in the casino game. If you know ordinary poker hand rankings, the only difference is that a straight is worth more than a flush. Here are the full rankings from highest to lowest:
- 3 of a Kind. All 3 cards have the same point value or the same face printed on the card.
- Straight Flush. The 3 cards are in sequential point value and of the same suit.
- Flush. The 3 cards are all of the same suit.
- Straight. The 3 cards are in sequential point value.
- Pair. Any 2 of the 3 cards have the same face point value.
- High Card. The 3 cards do not match any of the groupings above. The highest value card is the value of the hand.
Agree on the rules of play
Decide whether the Ace will only be used as the highest card in the deck, or whether it may be alternately be used as a 1 when forming a straight.
- In order to play with any other additional “house rules”, every player must agree to them before the game begins.
Deal one card to each player
You can decide who deals first randomly or through mutual agreement.
- Deal these cards face down and clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
- Players may look only at their own card.
The player on the dealer’s left may place a bet
Play moves clockwise from that player. Before the first bet has been made, each player has three options:
- Open the betting. The player places any amount of money (or other wagered items) in the center of the table (in the pot).
- Check. The player does not bet at this time but is still in this round.
- Fold. The player withdraws from the current round. She takes no more actions until the next hand is dealt.
- Note: If every player checks, skip straight to dealing the next card.
- You may wish to agree on a minimum or maximum bet.
Once a bet has been made, play continues clockwise
The players now have three options:
- Call. The player matches the amount of the previously made bet, placing that amount in the pot.
- Raise. The player matches the amount of a previously announced bet, and adds an additional amount of money to it (their choice).
- Fold. As before, the player withdraws from this round.
Once all remaining players have Called, deal a second card
Deal the cards face down to each player, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.
- Each player should add the new card to their (now 2-card) hand and keep them secret from other players.
Bet again
Repeat the wagering process until all of the remaining players have called or checked.
Deal a third card
This final card is added to each player’s hand.
Repeat the betting
Each remaining player has the option to Call, Raise, or Fold until a full circuit of the table has Called.
- If all but one player decides to Fold, the remaining player wins the pot.
Reveal all hands
Players lay their cards face up on the table. The winner is determined by the hand ranking. (See hand rankings listed earlier).
The winner takes the pot
The player with the highest hand is be the winner. If two players have the same type of hand, whoever has the highest ranked card wins.
- The one exception comes up when comparing two hands of pairs. In this case the highest pair wins, not the highest cards. (For example, a 4-4-6 beats 2-2-10).
Rotate dealers and play another round
The player to the previous dealer’s left shuffles together all the cards and begins the next round.
Play rounds until the players decide to stop
A player may walk away at any time or the players may mutually decide to stop. There is no required number of hands that must be played.
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