Do you know how to play three card poker like a professional player? It is impossible to believe that 3-card poker has entertained casino players for over 30 years now. The reason it has such amazing success is simple.
Three-card poker is sure to be enjoyable for both those searching for large jackpots and those wanting lower payments that will enable them to play for longer. Keep reading this article, where we will explain everything from the ins and outs of the game itself to where players can play it online for real money.
Understanding What is Three Card Poker?
Unlike regular types of poker, three-card is a poker variant in which players play against the dealer. You may also hear people refer to it as a carnival game that is a part of table games based loosely around other parts of Caribbean Stud and Pai Gow Poker. The game has changed a bit since its inception in Biloxi, Mississippi, 1994.
While how to play three card poker retains the original bets of pair plus, ante, and play, much of the action now turns around the six-card side bet as well as the wide-area progressive.
How to Play Three Card Poker for Beginner
We will walk you through a general hand and explain how to play three card poker, so you can have a better understanding of the game and its disadvantages.
1. Place a Bet
Three card poker has several available bets, however, you will start by making an ante bet. If you expect to throw $1 or $5 on the progressive, another $10 on the Pair Plus Bet, and another $10 on the 6-card bonus, that will be up to you. However, you will be disappointed if you win a large sum of money but do not play it, which is the hook of all side bets.
2. Get the Three Cards
All will get 3 cards dealt to them, however, the dealer cards are face down. In a game with the progressives linked to other five card poker type games, the dealer might deal an extra two cards off to the side that will be used to determine the player’s five card progressive hand after play is finished on the 3-card poker hand and any 6-card bonuses.
3. Decide to Play
The next step on how to play three card poker, we now need to decide if we want to play our poker hand. If we throw it away, we will lose our ante bet. However, if we want to keep it, we need to match our first bet.
Based on the math, we need at least a Queen, 6, and 4 in hand to raise the play bets and stay in the game. Therefore, the optimal strategy is only to make the play bet when we have a Queen high and at least a 6 and a 4.
4. Watch the Reveal
Now on how to play three card poker, it is time for the showdown. The dealer will turn over their hand first before tunning every player’s cards from the dealer’s right to left. We have to beat the dealer’s hand to win both the ante and the play bets.
5. Collect the Potential Winnings
The dealer needs to have at least a Queen high to qualify. If not, we will win on the ante bet but only push on the play bet. Keep in mind that on how to play three card poker, a straight beats a flush. It is because it is simpler to make a 3-card hand of the similar suit than to create one with 3 consecutive cards.
If our hand is better than the dealer’s, we will win even money on both the ante bets and the play bets. If you hold a straight or higher hand, your ante bet will get paid the ante bet bonus regardless of whether you won the hand or not.
Ante Bonus Payouts
Is there another way that how to play three card poker has changed from its original form? Well, the ante bet bonus.
The original paytable was very simple, even money on a straight, four to one on a three of a kind and five to one on a straight flush. This traditional paytable has a reasonable house edge for a carnival game of only 3.37%.
Over the years, some other paytables appear for the ante bonus on 3-card poker. Some will pay 50 to 1 on “mini royals”, which are straight flushes consisting of an Ace, King, Queen of the similar suit, and don’t pay on the straights at all. Others will pay the mini royal 10 to 1 and keep everything else the same, lowering the house edge down to 3.28%.
Yes, there are many other payables out there on how to play three card poker. You can try to look for either the classic or the mini royal added with everything else similar.
If you are not able to find these, make sure to Google the paytable to check just how bad the house edge is. Anything much over 4% means it is probably time to play something else.
Pair Plus Payouts
While the damage to the original how to play three card poker on the ante side was mostly hit and miss, the damage to the Pair Plus Payout has been brutal. The original paytable was:
- Straight Flush 40 to 1
- Three of a kind 30 to 1
- Straight 6 to 1
- Flush 4 to 1
- Pair 1 to 1
You will need at least a pair to get paid even money, and you get paid based on the dealer’s hand. This version of the poker had 2.32% house advantage, however, is unfortunately long gone.
Finding a pair plus paytable with a RTP over 95% on how to play three card poker is hard, and some are much worse. Probably the most common now lowers the three of a kind to 25-to-1 and the straight to 5-to-1 for a house edge of 6.75%.
Six-Card Bonus Bet
One of the most popular changes on how to play three card poker over the last 10 years is the six-card bonus bet, which is wild since it has an astronomical house advantage. The best 6-card poker hand is created from the player’s 3 cards and the 3 cards from the dealer’s hand. The paytables are:
- Royal Flush 1000 to 1
- Straight Flush 200 to 1
- Four of a kind 100 to 1
- Full house 20 to 1
- Flush 15 to 1
- Straight 10 to 1
- Three of a kind 7 to 1
This is the best paytable available, and it has a house advantage around 8.5%. Some casinos often pay 50 to 1 on the four of a kind, raise the full house to 25 to 1, and drop the three of a kind to 5 to 1, resulting in a house edge of 14.3%.
Conclusion
In conclusion, 3-card poker is a variant in which players play against the dealer. On how to play three card poker, you can start by placing a bet, get the three cards, choose to play, watch the reveal, and lastly collect the potential winnings.
With these basic knowledge, you can have a better chance of winning to beat the dealer.