Three-Card Poker
See also
Three-card poker is a poker-derived game played with a fifty-two-card deck. Instead of receiving five or seven cards, the players are dealt only three. There are no additional cards drawn after the initial three cards are dealt.
Three-card poker is actually two games in one. The first game is the base game in which the player tries to beat the dealer with the better poker hand. This is the ante wager. With the ante wager, you are only betting that your hand will beat the dealer. You are not playing against the other players.
The second game is a wager made on whether you will be dealt a pair or better. This is called the pair plus game. The player can make separate wagers on either or both games. They can bet different amounts on either game.
In some casinos, you are required to make an ante bet in order to make the pair plus bet. Your pair plus bet cannot be higher than your ante wager. You should always check the rules before you sit down to play.
The game is played on a blackjack-sized table. There are three betting spots in front of each seat. The top betting spot is labeled "pair plus", where the player puts a wager on the pair plus game. Beneath that are two spots labeled "ante" and "play" for the base game.
The Play.
Play begins with the player making a bet in the pair plus and/or ante spots. After all the players have made their bets, the dealer will give each player a three-card hand. Play begins with the first player to the dealers left and continues clockwise around the table.
If the player has made a wager on the ante game, he must now make his decision to play or fold. If the player wants to continue with his hand, he must make a wager equal to his ante bet in the spot marked play. If the player does not want to continue, he folds his hand and forfeits the original ante bet.
After all the players have made their decisions, the dealer's hand is turned over. In order to play, the dealers hand must qualify by having a Queen or better. It the dealer does not qualify, the player will be paid even money for their ante bet, but will not be paid for the play bet.
If the dealer does qualify, then the hands are compared to determine the winner.
Ranking of the hands.
Because only three cards are used, the ranking of hands differs slightly from that of traditional poker hands. Following are the rankings for the three-card poker hands from highest to lowest:
- Straight Flush: Three cards of the same suit in sequence. (Example: six, seven, and eight of spades.)
- Three-of-a-Kind: Three cards of equal rank.
- Straight: Three cards in sequence of mixed suits.
- Flush: Three cards of the same suit.
- Pair: Two cards of equal rank.
- High Card: The highest card in your hand.
Since you receive only three cards, there is no way you can make a full house, four-of-a-kind, or two pairs. A straight is higher than a flush because statistically you will be dealt three suited cards more frequently than three cards in sequence.
In the event of a tie, the player wins. This is rare because the third card can be used as a kicker to break the tie. For example, if both the player and dealer have a pair of Jacks, the one with the higher third card would win.
Three-card poker strategy.
The strategy for the ante/play game is very simple. Fold unless you have Queen (Q), six, and four or better. This strategy results in a house edge of about 2 percent for the combined ante and play bets.
To determine if your hand is better than Queen, six, and four, start with your first highest card and compare it to the Queen. If it is higher, you play. You ignore the other two cards. If your first card is a Queen and your second card is higher than six, you would still play regardless of the ranking of your third card. If it is lower than six, you don't play.
Some published strategies tell you to mimic the dealer and play if you have a Queen or better without regards to the other two cards.
Ante Bonus.
Three-card poker offers an ante bonus that is paid based on your hand for the ante game. If you have a straight, three-of-a-kind, or a straight flush, you will be paid a bonus regardless of whether the dealer qualifies.
The payout schedule for the ante bonus varies from casino to casino, but not by much. For a straight flush, you will be paid five to one or four to one. For three-of-a-kind, you will be paid four to one or three to one. For a straight, you receive one to one for your ante bet.
If the dealer does qualify and beats your hand, you are still entitled to the bonus payout. If you have three-of-a-kind and the dealer has a straight flush, you lose your ante and play bets, but still collect the ante bonus based on the payout schedule.
Pair Plus.
The pair plus bet is paid based on a set pay schedule. Like the pay table for the bonus payout, this pay schedule will vary from casino to casino. It is typical for the straight flush to pay forty to one and the pair to pay one to one. The variances come from the three-of-a-kind paying either thirty or twenty-five to one; the straight paying either six or five to one; and the flush paying either four or three to one.
You will be dealt a pair or better about 25 percent of the time, or once in every four hands. The house edge is affected by the pay schedule. With the best schedule, the house has about 2.3 percent edge over the player. Check the schedule before you sit down.
Three-card poker is one of the easiest games to play. It is a lot of fun to play and the pair plus bet is a lot better than the higher house edge you give up on the side bets for most other games.
