Three Card Poker Rules

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Three Card Poker is a very popular casino game that was invented by poker player, Derek Webb in the 1990’s! Three Card Poker is not only easy to play but it is also a lot of fun! Three Card Poker is also known as Tri-Card Poker at some casinos. Both Three Card Poker and Tri-Card Poker bring together the strategy of poker with the excitement of jackpot style bonuses! In Three Card Poker you are playing against the dealer not the rest of the players at the table. The concept of the game is very simple, all you have to do is get a better three card hand than that of the dealers and then you will win! Based on the three cards you see you decide whether to fold or whether to bet against the dealer’s facedown cards.

How to Play Three Card Poker

Three Card Poker is played on a table a lot like blackjack except there are three betting circles in front of each seat. The top betting circle is known as the pair plus where the player places a wager on the pair plus game. Underneath that circle there are two more circles that are 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 tables minimum. Once all of the players have made their bet the dealer will give every player a three card hand that is dealt by the shuffle master machine, play will start with the first player to the dealer’s left and then it will go on clockwise around the table.

Three Card Poker - Ante/Play

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, and if the player decides to continue they must make another additional bet in the play circle equal to their ante bet! Once every single player has made there choice in bets the dealer will turn over his three card hand, the dealer does need a hand with a Queen or higher for the playing to continue. If the dealers hand doesn’t contain a queen or higher all the players at the table will still active in the hand will then be paid even money for the ante wager and the bet on the play will also be returned to them.

If the dealer's hand doesn’t qualify then the hand is compared to each players hand and if your hand beats the dealer's hand, you will be paid even money for your ante and play bets.

The Hand Rankings in Three Card Poker

Since you are only given three cards, the hand rankings are a bit different than the traditional five card hand most people know! This is because of the math probabilities of making certain hands, the hands are then ranked for the highest to the lowest as follow:

  • Straight Flush: Three cards of the same suit in sequence.
  • 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.

Three Card Poker Strategy

The strategy is very simple for Three Card Poker. You should fold if you have a hand lower than a queen, six, or four and you should continue and make the play bet if your hand ends up being higher. To check if your hand is better than a Q-6-4 start with the biggest card and compare it to the queen if it is higher then play it. You have to ignore the other two cards at this point, if your first card is a queen and your second is higher than a 6 you will want to play no matter what your third card is, but if it is lower than a 6 do not play!

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