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At first glance, Poker may seem like an intimidating game. Whether it’s the fun once enjoyed on riverboats (and often ending in a battle) or the high stakes world of the World Series of Poker, this fast-paced Xgtiger Casino game has a unique twist. about it. After all, if the competitors are not playing with money bales, they are taking advantage of the wisdom of human psychology. How does anyone compete with this?
Well, there is a form of Poker that is very easy to learn and can be mastered in minutes. We will introduce you to the rules of 3 card poker, a game to play with friends or for real money in our online casino. Let’s find out how to play this pared-down version of the world’s favorite card game without further ado.
Three Card Poker Rules
First of all, forget everything you know about Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo, and the many other variants of standard Poker. 3-card Poker is a simple matching game unlike blackjack and baccarat. Put another way, it’s a showdown between player and dealer as to who has the better hand, albeit with a few twists and turns. Most people will pick up the basics in five minutes.
Like blackjack, the action begins with a bet. This can take several forms, as discussed in the next section. However, at this stage, your choice is an ante bet (your hand is better than the dealer), a pair plus bet (you have a pair or better), or both. The croupier deals the player and themselves three cards, which are dealt face up. Now, deciding whether you want to play or fold is time.
As a quick primer, let’s review hand rankings in 3-card Poker so you know when it’s best to play or fold. From most to least important –
- Mini Royal Flush: A, K, Q, same suit, usually spades*
- Straight Flush: Three cards in a row, same suit.
- Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same number, any suit.
- Straight: Three cards in a row, any suit.
- Flush: Three cards, same suit.
- Pair: two cards of the same number, any suit.
- High card: anything denoted by the card with the highest value, e.g., 9-high, ace-high.
*Games with progressive jackpot only.
Note that each of the cards has an individual value, too. This is to ensure a win in situations where the player and the dealer have a flush (for example) or both have a high card hand. These are, from most to least important: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. In 3-card Poker, all suits have same value, so a 7 of clubs equals the value of a 7 of hearts, and so on.
The high card vs. high card scenario is the most likely outcome for most 3-card poker rounds, occurring about 75% of the time.
Returning to action – if you decide to continue, you must place a play bet, which is the same size as the ante bet you already placed on the table. Alternatively, if you decide to fold, the dealer will take your ante and pair plus bet. You’re probably wondering why you folded when you immediately lost your chance. This is so you don’t have to waste a bet playing a loser.
Experts recommend that players only play with a hand better than Q, 6, 4, or queen-high. Once the play bet is made, all cards are turned over and the best hand wins. There are a few game quirks that come into play here. It is, a) that a dealer hand of jack-high means that the player’s ante is returned, and b) a dealer hand of queen-high returns both ante and bets if the player wins.
That’s it for 3-card Poker. So, to summarize –
- Make an ante-bet and a pair plus bet.
- All cards are dealt face up.
- Decide whether to play or fold.
- Make a play bet.
- All cards are returned.
Types of Bets in 3-Card Poker
As we have already discussed, 3-card Poker involves an interaction between the ante bet, pair plus bet, and the play bet. Unfortunately, with most tables found online, there is still very little available in terms of legal bets. There are many bets that are exclusive to individual casinos, countries, and game variants, however, which can add a bit more complexity to the standard gameplay.
Let’s start with the ante bonus, which is not so much a bet as a reward for a certain outcome. If a player has placed both an ante bet and a play bet, an ante bonus will be awarded if they receive a Straight, Three of a Kind or Straight Flush. This bonus can be paid even if the dealer has a better hand than the player. Be aware that the ante bonus is not always in play. It also has odds of about 1 in 27.
Two other options are the basic bet, which is an alternative to pair plus and pays when the player has three cards of the same suit, and the six-card bonus bet. This rare option involves making the best five-card hand possible from you and the dealer’s hand. Basically, you’re trying to make a standard poker hand in 3-card Poker. The hand ranks for the bonus bet are:
- Royal Flush: A, J, Q, K, A, same suit.
- Straight Flush: five cards in sequence, same suit.
- Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same number, any suit.
- Full House: three of a kind and a pair, any suit.
- Flush: five cards, same suit.
- Straight: five cards in sequence, any suit.
- Three of a Kind: three cards of the same number, any suit.
Since 3-card Poker is designed to be a pick-up and play version of the original game, the number of bets that can be placed is limited.
Payouts and Losses
Before we leave this section, it is worth mentioning the fact that 3-card Poker is subject to the house edge, the advantage that the casino has over all games played under its roof. This flying start comes from players who have a chance to lose before the dealer even makes a decision, as they can fold, end the game and give up their ante bet.
The house edge in 3-card Poker is 3.37% but it can be reduced to as low as 2.01% with the best hand, that is, anything better than Q, 6, 4. There is no way to force this scenario other than being lucky in the deal so many of your opportunities for strategy will revolve around knowing when to play or fold. There’s still a lot to learn about 3-card Poker so let’s move on to odds and payouts.
- Player wins: 44.91%
- Dealer win: 55.03%
- Tie: 0.06%
All payouts are 1:1 in 3-card Poker, making special bets even more valuable. Now, the odds for each possible bet or side bet, ie pair plus, ante bonus, and the six card bonus:
Bet, Hand, Payout
Pair Plus, Straight Flush, 40:1
, Three of a Kind, 30:1
, Straight, 6:1
, Flush, 3:1
, Pair, 1:1
Ante Bonus, Straight Flush, 5:1
, Three of a Kind, 4:1
, Straight, 1:1
Six card Bonus, Royal Flush, 1,000:1
, Straight Flush, 200:1
, Four of a Kind, 100:1
, Whole House, 20:1
, Flush, 15:1
, Straight, 9:1
, Three of a Kind, 8:1
Finally, as we mentioned earlier, most 3-card poker games are fought between two high-card hands. The probability of each happening is –
Straight Flush (0.21%)
Three of a Kid (0.23%)
Straight (3.2%)
Flush (4.9%)
Couple (16.9%)
Conclusion
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