Three Card Poker is the invention of Brighton Deric, who has created the game a long time ago, in the 1995.
Nowadays this game is very popular and it is widely acknowledged that Three Card Poker contains two types of bet at the same time. The reason for such opinion is that a player has the opportunity to make two bets simultaneously for one deal. The benefit of casino is only 3.36% and 2.32% for “Ante and play” and “Pairplus” respectively.
Game process
You can make one bet or two at once. The croupier deals three cards to each gambler and, of course, to himself. One of the made bets wins or loses at the very beginning of the game. The players are able to double the second bet. In the final, all who play have to open their hands – winners are determined by cards’ precedence.
Advice for beginners
The game is super simple; you will learn its rules very fast. You may start playing by making bet in so-called “Pairplus” game in order not to lose anything in “Ante and play”.
How to play Three Card Poker
The game implies using the standard deck of 52 cards, which is shuffled carefully before the game and before each new deal. Everyone can play one or two games at the same time. The two bets for the games may be different.
Pair Plus
The name of the game was given to it by the start of the payments – you need to have at least one pair in your hand. At the beginning, all the players put the chips to a special box saying “Pairplus”. The croupier deals the cards immediately. After the opening, he takes his win or pays to players. The calculations of payments are made according to this table:
Combination (hand): Win:
“Straight Flush” 40:1
“Three of a kind” 30:1
“Straight” 6:1
“Flush” 4:1
“Pair” 1:1
Absence of pair Player loses
Ante and play
You have to make a bet (ante) before dealing the cards. To do that, the gambler takes his chips to the respectively named box. The croupier deals 3 cards to each player and to himself. The gambler has to make a choice: he either makes a bet or folds (refuses to play the deal). This moment is similar to the game “Holdem” – if the player sees that his hand leaves much to be desired, he just folds and loses his chips of ante (initial bet). On the contrary, if you are satisfied with what you have, click on the button “BET”.
After all the bets have been made, the dealer opens all the hands and compares them. If the player has stronger hand than a dealer, he wins. If not – the ante and the second bet belong to the bank. In the case of equal combinations, the dealer declares PUSH and returns all the bets to their holders.
The winning sum may vary and depends on croupier’s cards as well as on you own hand’s strength. If dealer does not have any Queens, his hand is not taken into account and the gambler wins 1:1 for ante, so he takes his money back. If the croupier has a Queen or higher card, his hand plays and the player may win according to the system 1:1 for ante and bet.
If your hand contains Straight, Tree of a Kind or Straight Flush, you get an obligatory payment. The dealer can not prevent the player from getting this money or influence the game.
Combinations (hand): Win:
“Straight Flush” 5:1
“Three of a kind” 4:1
“Straight” 1:1
NOTE! If you play both bets together and choose to fold in “Ante and play”, you lose your bet irretrievably for the benefit of “Pairplus”. Therefore, if you have a winning combination in “Pair Plus”, you would better to call “BET”.
Remember that the advantage of online casino in “Pairplus” is around 2.32%. If you want to have a higher chance of winning, click on the button “BET” only if you have a Queen, 4, 6 or stronger card in your hand. By using this strategy the player can minimize the benefit of casino to 3.37%, which is quite low.
Three Card Poker is a very dynamic and exciting type of poker. After learning basic principles, the gambler can amazingly spend his free time and also win certain sum of money.