Casino 3 Card Poker Rules

Posted : admin On 4/11/2022

The poker hands in 3 card poker are derived from the standard US poker ranking and have been adjusted slightly to suit the nature of the card game. The adjustment is mainly with a straight and flush. It is rather tricky making a straight in three card poker than it would be making a flush. Want to know everything there is to know about playing 3-Card Poker? CasinoTop10 has your complete guide with all you need to know about the game.

The game of 3 Card Poker uses a Standard English deck of 52 cards and is played on a blackjack-style, half-moon shape table with a layout made specifically for the game. Regular casino chips are used to signify bets. To receive cards each player must place a wager in the Ante and/or the Pair Plus wager circles. Want to know everything there is to know about playing 3-Card Poker? CasinoTop10 has your complete guide with all you need to know about the game. However, the poker hand rankings in Three Card Poker are a little different than the standard rules you may be used to in other poker based games. In normal poker games, the ranking of hands are decided by 5 cards.

Invented in 1994, Three Card Poker is a fun and simple poker variant. The clue to the twist in the game is in the title; instead of a five-card hand, players are dealt three cards. This relatively new version of poker quickly became a favourite at brick-and-mortar casinos and is equally popular online. Three Card Poker is a deceptively simple game to play, but to master it online you’ll need some knowledge about the game, some tips for the best strategy, and a little bit of skill.

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The Basics: How to Play 3 Card Poker Online

The layout of any Three Card Poker table is the same; online, offline, wherever you go. The table includes three card spots in front of the dealer, a circular betting spot marked ‘Pair Plus’, a diamond betting spot called ‘Ante’, and the card spots labelled ‘Play’. There are two basic bets in three hand poker: Pair Plus and ante-play. In ante-play, players make their first bet in the ante spot and predictably in Pair Plus, players make their first bet in the ‘Pair Plus’ spot. The Pair Plus bet is a side bet that you don’t have to play. The Ante Bet is the main bet in.

The dealer then deals three cards to the players and him- or herself. If you’re playing Pair Plus, there’s nothing else to do. If playing ante-play then you’ll need to decide whether to bet or fold. To play, you must match your ante. To place a bet, players simply click or touch the betting spots on the computer screen or touch-screen device. Generally, your credits will be displayed in a virtual chip stack at the bottom of the screen. You can then select the size of the bet you want to place and click in the betting spot. Each click will add additional bet of the same size as your first selection. To change the size of your bet you can change the amount of the bet increments you add.

Despite being based on stud poker, the odds in 3 Card Poker are different, largely down to the extra card. Consequently, the hand rankings in 3 card poker are slightly different. Straights, for instance, are less frequent than flushes and are higher ranked as a result. The ranking of hands in 3 Card Poker runs: straight flush, three of a kind, straight, flush, pair, and finally high card.

The pay out on both the ante and Pair Plus side bet is 1-to-1, so you double your money on both bets if the dealer’s hand qualifies. The dealer’s hand qualifies if the dealer holds a queen high or better. A hand lower than a queen high doesn’t qualify and will pay out on the ante bet only. Pairs and flushes will always win out over any hand with a single high card. There additional bonuses for antes which are paid out for straights (1-to-1), three of a kind (4-to-1) and straight flushes pay out at 5-to-1. These bonuses are paid out even if you lose to a dealer’s hand. Independent of the dealer’s hand, pair plus bets are paid out at 1-to-1 for a pair all the way up to 40-to-1 for a straight flush, so whilst the pair plus bet is optional it can make all the difference between a big win and a huge one.

Why Play Online? The Advantages of Playing Three Card Poker Online

Aside from the obvious advantages of being able to play from home in your pyjamas, there are plenty of other advantages to playing 3 Card Poker online. The following are some of the best reasons to play 3 Card Poker online. One distinct advantage of three card poker online is that there are plenty of social casinos and instructional sites where you can practice with the help of free online three card poker games. These kinds of sites will often provide new players with tips and free credits to help improve their game and learn the game rules. The opportunity to learn and improve your gameplay before risking any money is one that players should relish and take advantage of. The learning curve in competitive card game play can be steep, so it’s a good idea to get some practice in before you put real money on the table.

Of course, 3 Card Poker also has the advantage that you can play it pretty much anywhere and at any time. Many live casinos have a chat function that enables players to not only talk with one another but also with the dealer. Players from around the world come together to compete in virtual tournaments and form social clubs online. The social aspect of online gambling is often undersold, but it’s there and is one of the advantages of playing games like 3 Card Poker online. Though you might get teased a bit, you can always ask the dealer for a reminder of the 3 Card Poker rules or to explain the basics. If you want to try out other live casino games, check out our live casino games page here.

Three Card Poker Rules & Tips: Everything You Need To Master The Game

As you’ve seen above, 3 Card Poker is easy to play. In the following, we’ll provide you with an overview of the rules and some tips to improve your game strategy. There’s only a moderate house edge in 3 Card Poker which means that players have a better chance of winning in 3 Card than in most poker variants. Given the two betting styles, the chances of winning big can be a lot higher than in some other poker games.

Casino 3 Card Poker Rules

Depending on if you opt for a Pair Plus bet, strategies can wildly differ in this game. Whenever you bet on Pair Plus, you win whenever your three cards include a pair, flush, straight, three of a kind or straight flush. Given that the player’s focus is on pairs, Pair Plus strategy is relatively straightforward. You can’t change the odds of the hand you’re dealt in Pair Plus so much is out of your hands.

The basic strategy for an ante-play approach is to bet when you hold a Queen-6-4 or better. If your hand isn’t as high then you should fold. This means betting on any pair or better. Without a pair or better, then you can make a bet only when your high card is an Ace or a King. In such an instance, the value of your other two cards is irrelevant. With a Jack or lower as your high card then you should fold. This Three Card Poker strategy comes down fundamentally to whether or not your highest card is a Queen or higher and whether or not you have a pair or better.

Check Out These Variants and Our Best Three Card Poker Casino!

Ultimate Three Card Poker is probably the most popular and readily available variant of 3 Card Poker online and with good reason – the play bet can be up to three times the ante instead of equal to it, so the stakes and consequently the wins can be a lot greater. There’s no ante bonus to Ultimate 3 Card Poker, but the game does add a blind bet bonus in the ante play. Generally the usual game strategy will work just as well in Ultimate Three Card, though the risks are higher. Instead of just starting with an ante, you have start with both an ante and a blind bet equal to the ante. Only after seeing their cards can players make a bet equal to their ante if they don’t have a pair or better. If the player does have a pair or better, then they can make a play bet that’s between one or three times the ante. No matter which variant you’ll, go for, you’ll be well entertained with Three Card Poker. You can play it for real money in our recommended Three Card Poker casino below, or check out our selections of the best casino operators on our homepage!

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Usually, when someone mentions poker, we think about one of the game variations played against other players. Whether it’s Hold’em, Omaha, or some other variant, and whether you play it in a poker room or at home, your goal is to win chips off of other players at the table.

However, casinos have come up with several games that have its roots in popular poker variants, but are played against the house instead. Like all other table games, these have an inherent house edge so your skills can only help you so much. 3-Card Poker is one of the most popular options in this group.

3-Card Poker is a very simple and straightforward game that doesn’t force you to make any complicated decisions. It’s a great choice if you’re just looking to blow off some steam or have a bit of fun in the casino pit as the house edge is around 2%, provided you stick to the rather simple basic strategy for the game.

3-Card Poker Rules

While there can be several players playing at the table at any given time, your only goal in 3-Card poker is to beat the dealer. Whether you win or lose in a hand has nothing to do with what other players are dealt or what decisions they make.

To start with, you’ll place the Ante wager and, optionally, the Pair Plus wager.

Once all bets are in, the dealer will give all players three cards, face down, and they’ll take three cards for themselves, also face down, so you won’t know what you’re up against.

Once you’ve had a chance to check your hand, you’ll decide whether you want to keep on playing or fold. If you fold, you’ll give up on the chance to win the hand and the dealer will collect your ante bet.

If you want to play on, you’ll need to place the Play bet, which is equal to the size of the Ante bet. After all players have made their decisions, the dealer will turn over their hand and there will be a showdown.

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Payouts in 3-Card Poker

When you get to a showdown, your hope is to have beaten the dealer’s qualifying hand. If they have a hand that’s Queen-high or better and you beat them, you’ll get paid even money on both your Ante bet and your Play bet.

If their hand is Jack-high or worse, the dealer doesn’t qualify, and you’ll only get paid even money on the Ante bet, while the Play bet is pushed back to you (i.e., no profit or loss).

There are also bonus payouts if you win the Ante bet with a straight or better.

The Pair Plus bet is optional and it’s not tied to the outcome of the hand. You’re basically betting that you’ll get dealt a pair or better. If that happens, regardless of whether you win or lose the actual hand, you’ll get paid on the Pair Plus bet according to the separate payout table, which usually looks something like this:

  • One pair: 1 to 1
  • Flush: 4 to 1
  • Straight: 5 to 1
  • Trips: 30 to 1
  • Straight flush: 40 to 1

Playing 6-Card Bonus

Another type of side bet usually available in 3-Card Poker is the 6-Card Bonus wager. For this one, you’ll need to combine all six cards, your own and the dealer’s, to make a hand.

Payouts for 6-Card bonus start from three of a kind and go up to a 6-card straight flush (9 through Ace of the same suit), which usually pays 1,000 to 1.

In some casinos, there is also a progressive jackpot that can be won if you get lucky and make the 6-card straight flush in diamonds, often paying six-figure amounts.

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Basic 3-Card Poker Strategy

You don’t get to make many decisions in any individual hand of 3-Card Poker. The only thing which you have control over is whether you’ll continue in a hand or not once you receive the three cards.

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As the general rule of thumb, if your hand is Q64xx or better you should continue. Otherwise, you should fold and give up your Ante bet. By sticking to this strategy, you’ll ensure the house doesn’t have the bigger edge than 2%.

Of course, like with almost all table games, side bets have worse odds than the actual game, so they’re a bad idea from the purely mathematical perspective. On the other hand, they definitely make 3-Card Poker a much more exciting and dynamic game with the potential for big scores, so it boils down to what you’re looking for when you sit down to play.

Casino 3 Card Poker Rules Card Game

Either way, 3-Card Poker is a fairly reasonable table game that’s not hard to learn and you can play a decent number of hands without digging too deep into your wallet. Plus, if you go on a bit of a lucky run and get dealt a few strong hands, you can still win big without risking crazy amounts of cash.

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