How Do I Play Three Card Poker? This Guide Will Tell You How.

Posted by The Marksman at 5 July, at 13 : 28 PM Print

Three Card Poker is one of the fastest growing and most popular table games at casinos around the world, that is primarily because the game is easy to play and relatively fun.  If you can play long enough to get lucky and hit one of the big bonuses it can be well worth playing on your next trip to the Casino.  As with regular poker it is played with a single deck of 52 cards, and depending on how you like to play you play against the dealer and for one of the bonuses.

Some people do not believe in playing the bonus as they consider it a “sucker bet”, but it is gambling the whole concept is a “sucker bet”.  If you are going to play you need to play the bonus, what if you hit it one of these times and miss a 50 – 1 payout?  You never know when it is coming, so trying to guess and only play it sometimes is a waste of time.

There are three betting circles in front of each seat. The top betting circle is labeled Pair Plus where the player puts a wager on the pair plus game. Beneath that are two circles labeled Ante and Play for the base game. The game starts with the player making a wager in the Pair Plus and or Ante circle equal to the table minimum.  After all the players have made their bets the dealer will give each player a three card hand that is dealt by the Shuffle Master machine. Play begins with the first player to the dealer’s left and continues clockwise around the table.

If a player has made a bet on the Ante they must make their decision to fold or play after looking at their hand. If the player folds he forfeits their Ante wager. If the players want to continue they must make an additional bet in the Play circle equal to their Ante bet.  Once all decisions are made by the players the dealer, must then turn their hand over.  The dealer needs to qualify, which means meet a predetermined minimum hand value in order to be eligible to play their cards against the players at the table.  This minimum qualification is a Queen or higher in order for the dealer to be able to play against your cards.  If the dealer does not qualify then players get their money back with the exception of the bonus play which, is determined on if t he player made one of the bonus hands or not.

Because you are only playing with three cards the hand rankings are a little bit different, and they are as follows:

1. Straight Flush
2. Three of a Kind
3. Straight
4. Flush
5. Pair
6. High Card

The strategy for three card poker is relatively simple, you should fold if you have a hand lower than Queen – 6 -4 and you should continue and make the Play bet if you hand is higher.  That is the most common strategy used by people starting out, but you can modify that strategy any way you want and come up with your own style of play.

You will very often hear of the bonus referred to as Pair Plus, and in a simple sense if your hand has a pair or better you win. If it does not have at least a pair you will lose. On average you will be dealt a pair or better about 25 percent of the time.  Here are common payout structures for the Pair Plus, they can differ a bit depending on the casino.

Straight flush -   40 -1

3 of a Kind –        30 -1

Straight –              6-1

Flush –                   4-1

Pair –                      1-1

Lastly the house edge on this game with that structure is 2.32.  Three Card Poker is a fun game, and next time you are in the casino you should give it a shot.  It is a change if you are getting tired of playing Black jack, or one of the other games you may frequent.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Featured Articles Poker & Casino 52 cards, bets, bonus, Casino, casinos, dealer, Las Vegas Casino Games, sucker bet, table games, Three Card Poker, wager