History of The Game
Unlike baccarat or blackjack, it is not one of the older, traditional casino games that have been around for hundreds of years. The game was invented in 1994 by a games designer named Derek Webb, who also called the game Brit-Brag or Casino Brag. Webb and his company, Prime Table Games, marketed the games to casinos until 1999, when Shuffle Master purchased the rights to the game.
In the last 15 years, the game has exploded in popularity, becoming the most successful proprietary table game in casino history. It has generated more revenue for casinos – and more money for the game’s rights holders – than any other proprietary game in the world.
Rules of the Game
3 Card Poker is really two games in one; we’ll deal with the main game first (the Ante bet), and then move on to the Pairplus bet. Players can choose to make either or both bets; neither bet is required in order to make the other bet, so neither game can be considered a “side bet.”
A hand begins with each player making either or both of the available bets. The dealer then deals out three cards face down to each player, as well as three cards to the dealer himself. Each player may examine their own cards.
If the player has made the Ante bet, they now must choose to fold – in which case they forfeit their ante bet and their cards – or to raise. If the player wishes to raise, they must make a second bet (known as the Play bet) of equal size to their initial Ante bet.
After each player has made their decision to fold or raise, the dealer will reveal his hand. The dealer needs at least a queen-high or better in order to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify, all players who are still in the hand win even money on their Ante bets, while all Play bets will push.
If the dealer does qualify, his hand is compared to each player hand. If the player’s hand is higher, then the player will win even money on both the Ante and the Play bet. If the dealer’s hand is better, then the player loses both bets. Ties result in a push on all bets in most casinos. Hands are ranked as follows, from best to worst: Straight Flush Three of a Kind Straight Flush Pair High Card
In particular, note that a straight beats a flush in, even though this ranking is reversed in most poker games. If the player has a straight or better, they will also win an Ante Bonus, regardless of whether or not they win their hand. That bonus is paid out according to a pay chart that should be available at each casino table. The most common Ante Bonus table is as follows: Straight Flush: 5-1 Three of a Kind: 4-1 Straight: 1-1
The other half bet available at most tables is known as the PairPlus bet. This bet is much simpler to play and also offers very high payouts for big hands, making it quite popular. If the player has made a PairPlus bet, they will win that bet if (as the name suggests) their hand contains a pair or better. The dealer’s hand is entirely irrelevant to the PairPlus bet; only the strength of the player’s hand matters.
The PairPlus bet pays out according to a pay table that should be posted, but varies by casino. One common pay table for the PairPlus bet is the following: Straight Flush: 40-1 Three of a Kind: 30-1 Straight: 5-1 Flush: 4-1 Pair: 1-1
Some tables also offer an additional, higher payout – sometimes a progressive jackpot – for a “mini-royal,” or ace-king-queen of the same suit.
Strategy and Odds
The strategy when playing three card poker is quite simple. The player should raise with hands of Q64 or higher, and fold with all lesser hands. Assuming you’re playing at a table with the Ante Bonus chart we outlined above, using this strategy will result in a house edge of about 3.37%. If you’re looking for an even easier strategy, you can simply raise every time you have a queen-high or better (in other words, the same strategy used by the dealer). This strategy doesn’t effect the house edge much; the casino’s advantage rises only slightly to 3.45%. Playing completely blind and raising on every hand results in a house edge of 7.65%.
As we said earlier, the PairPlus bet is extremely popular; at most tables in live casinos, you’ll see every single player at the table playing it, and in some cases, playing just the PairPlus bet instead of the Ante bet. However, if your game is using the pay table we outlined above, the PairPlus bet is actually a sucker bet, with a house edge of 5.57%!
However, that’s not the last word on PairPlus. In many online games (and some live tables), much more generous odds are offered to the player. In fact, just a slight change can turn this bet into a better one than the Ante bet! For instance, take the following (once very common pay table: Straight Flush: 40-1 Three of a Kind: 30-1 Straight: 6-1 Flush: 4-1 Pair: 1-1
This table is almost identical to the one we showed you earlier, with just one slight change: a straight offers 6-1 instead of 5-1. This one change makes a world of difference, however; the house edge is now just 2.32%, making it better than any Ante bet.
Of course, regardless of which bet is better, many players will find the game most enjoyable by making both bets. The Ante bet feels more like a standard casino game, where you can win and lose money at a reasonable pace, while the PairPlus bet feels more like a side bet, where you’ll often lose, but sometimes take home a huge jackpot.
Tournaments
Many casino games are now played out in tournament format. Poker, slots and blackjack all have hugely popular tournaments that are played both online and in brick and mortar casinos. 3 Card Poker is a newer arrival on the tournament scene. While these tournaments are not yet played online, they are offered by a number of real world casinos in the USA including the Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas and Sams Town Hotel & Casino in Tunica. With the ever increasing popularity of the game, tournaments are sure to become more popular in Vegas, Reno, Tunica and further afield as well as being a shoe in to make an appearance at online casino sites.
Other 3 Card Poker Resources
Wikipedia is a great source of information about almost any topic. Their 3 card poker page is the top ranked site on Google. You can view it here.
The Wizard of Odds is one of the most famous gambling sites on the internet. The Wiz has written incredibly detailed mathematical analysis of the majority of casino games, including a perfect basic strategy for each game. His 3 card analysis is equally in depth. You can read it in full here: Wizard of Odds 3 Card Poker Analysis.
Pagat.com is a huge card game database that outlines the rules and formats for thousands of different card games. Check out the Pagat 3 card poker page.
If you want to try playing online for free, you can check out the free 3 card poker game offered by Games.com who have a massive collection of free to play online games.
