Three Card Poker Odds
This table game is one of the simplest types of casino poker. Unlike many other types of poker, both the dealer and the player are dealt only three cards. In BetVoyager’s version of this poker game, we have altered the standard rules in order to increase payouts when the player wins (see table 1). Furthermore, the player can play on four boxes at once and view all his cards as soon as they are dealt. The basic rules of casino poker are described in our Guide section.
3 Card Poker Trainer
BetVoyager online casino features our conventional version of 3 Card Poker and a version of this casino game with no house edge.
Rules of 3 Card Poker. The following are the traditional rules for a game of Three-Card Poker: Play begins with the player making up to two wagers. The first is known as the Ante, and the second is known as the Pair Plus wager. Both of these are optional bets in some casinos, while others require the Ante wager to be made. Three card Poker might seem a very complicated game for a newbie in comparison with Hold’em with all this stuff about 3 card Poker odds. However, if you start playing it, with time, you will like this entertainment and understand how to make money even when the hand is not as good as it was expected. Three Card Poker is becoming one of the most popular new table games. Players are discovering that Three Card Poker is not only easy to play but it is a lot of fun. The game is played with a single deck of 52 cards. We’re going to talk about Three Card Poker odds in more detail in a moment. Online 3-Card Poker Odds And Probabilities. To fully appreciate the odds for Tri-Card Poker (as the game is sometimes called), it’s important to understand the probabilities behind making a paying hand. This odds calculator determines the house advantage for the Pair Plus bet from the casino table game of Three Card Poker. Enter a floating point number between -1 and 1000 for each outcome which represents the amount the player wins or loses assuming a bet of 1 unit.
Main Features of 3 Card Poker
The player can play on up to four boxes in three card poker. The player can place an ANTE bet and/or a bet on the bonus (called Pair Plus) on any box.
Each box in play is dealt three cards. The cards on all boxes are turned face-up immediately after the deal in 3 Card Poker. The dealer also receives three cards, which are dealt face-down.
Poker hands are not ranked in the same order as 5-card poker. 3-card poker hands are ranked in the following order of seniority:
- Straight Flush
- Three of a Kind
- Straight
- Flush
- Pair
- Ace High or Less
The hand A-K-Q is the highest straight and the hand 3-2-A is the lowest one in three card poker.
If the player made his ANTE and has a straight or higher, he receives an ANTE Bonus (table 1). This payout is made regardless of the strength of the dealer’s hand.
On each box, the player can either fold and lose his ANTE, or continue the game by making a BET equal to the ANTE.
The dealer needs a queen high or better to qualify. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the ANTE pays out 1:1 while the BET doesn’t pay anything. If the dealer has a qualifying hand but the player’s hand is better, both bets pay out 1:1.
If you play more than one box, the ante amounts cannot be 5 times more or less than each other.
Basic Rules of 3 Card Poker
Before the cards are dealt, the player chooses which boxes he wants to play on and makes his ANTE. In addition to this basic bet on the box (or instead of it), the player can also make a Pair Plus bet. With this bet, the player is betting on receiving a pair or higher in his original hand.
A sign on the table indicates the range of bets permitted (minimum and maximum). The size of a Pair Plus bet is independent of the size of the ANTE, but both of these bets must fall within the table’s range.
Each box has the following three figures: a square, an ellipse, and a rectangle. The ANTE is placed on the ellipse and the Pair Plus bet is placed on the square. The rectangle is intended for the BET (see paragraph 7).
To make a bet in three card poker, it is first necessary to choose a chip with the desired face-value. At the beginning of the game, this chip is chosen by default, and the chip with the minimum face-value fixes itself onto the cursor. If the player wants a chip with a different face-value, he can select it by clicking on that chip with the cursor. The player can also use the scroll wheel on his mouse to change the chip’s value. After the chip is selected, the player can place a bet by clicking the mouse on the desired part of the game table and his bet will appear there. Each subsequent click adds another chip of the selected face-value to the bet. If the player wants to remove the last chip from his bet, he can remove the chip fixed onto the cursor by clicking the cursor on any empty part of the game window and then clicking on this bet.
The 'Clear' button can be pressed to remove all the bets from the table. If the player wishes to repeat his bets from the previous hand, he can press the 'Rebet' button. The 'Deal' button will begin the game after all bets have been made.
After the cards have been dealt, successive play on boxes begins. First, the Pair Plus bet is settled. The payouts for this bet are shown in table 1. If the player made his ANTE and has one of the three best hands — a straight flush, three-of-a-kind or a straight — he immediately receives an ANTE Bonus.
The player has two options on each box:
- raise the initial wager by making a BET equal to the ANTE (the Bet button)
- fold and lose the ANTE (the Fold button)
When the player has made a decision on his boxes, the dealer’s cards are turned over and the final results are determined. The dealer qualifies with a queen high or better, and his minimal qualifying hand is Q-3-2 in 3 Card poker. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the ANTE pays out 1:1 and the BETS are not paid.
If the dealer qualifies and his combination is better than the player’s, the player loses his ANTE and his BET. If the player and the dealer have hands of equal value, the game ends in a draw and the ANTE and BET are returned to the player. If the player has the better hand, both his bets pay out 1:1.
Table 1. Bonus payout for the ANTE and the Pair Plus in 3 Card Poker
| Hand | ANTE | Pair Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Straight Flush | 9:1 | 40:1 |
| Three of a Kind | 8:1 | 32:1 |
| Straight | 1:1 | 6:1 |
| Flush | — | 4:1 |
| Pair | — | 1:1 |
3 Card Poker with No House Edge features a slightly different payout scheme. It can be viewed in the game window of this poker game. The casino doesn’t have an advantage on either the ante wager or the Pair Plus bet.
3-Card Poker features all the excitement of traditional poker, but at a much faster pace. Invented by Derek Webb in 1994, the game has slowly gained in popularity at brick-and-mortar casinos over the decades, and it is now available online at a wide array of virtual establishments.
Please note, however, that the game is often found at leading casinos such as Bovada Casino, Bet365 Casino and 32Red Casino under the name 'Tri-Card Poker.'
Three-Card Poker Rankings
Before you dive into the game, it's a good idea to know the hand rankings in a game of 3-Card Poker. They are listed below, from highest to lowest.
Straight Flush - This hand is comprised of three cards of the same suit (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) in consecutive order. An example would be a 4-5-6 of diamonds. Aces may count as high or low when determining the value of a straight. Out of 22,100 hands, it's estimated that a straight flush will occur 48 times.
Three of a Kind - To achieve this hand, a player needs three cards of the same rank.
Straight - To get a straight in this game, you'll need three cards in consecutive order. The suit of the cards may vary, and an ace may count as high or low.
Flush - A hand made up of three cards from the same suit.
Pair - This hand is comprised of two cards with the same rank. If both the dealer and player have the same value pair, then the third card in their hand (the 'kicker') breaks the tie.
High Card - This is the lowest 3-card combination in the game. If a player has no other viable hand, then their highest card is compared to the dealer's hand.
Rules of 3-Card Poker
Now that you're familiar with the various hands, let's look at how Three Card Poker is played. Please note that the game uses a standard 52-card deck without jokers. Since there can be slight variations between the land-based and online versions, I'll be basing the information in this section on the details provided by Bovada (where the game is known as Tri-Card Poker).
There are two betting areas on the playing surface: Pair Plus and Ante. If you choose the Pair Plus circle, you're wagering that your three-card hand will contain a pair or better. In the Ante area, meanwhile, the player bets that his hand can beat the dealer. One or both of these options must be chosen before the cards are dealt, and the wagers do not have to be in equal amounts.
Once all bets are made, three cards are dealt to each participant. The dealer's cards are dealt face-down, while the player's cards are face-up.
Ante Bet
If the Ante option was chosen, the player looks at their hand and decides whether to fold or raise an amount equal to their initial ante. The fold option results in the end of the hand, with the player losing his ante bet.
Assuming a raise is made, the dealer checks their hand to see if they have a queen or better. If they do not, the player immediately receives even money on their ante and the raise is returned as a push. Pair Plus payouts must also be settled prior to the end of the hand.
A dealer hand that does meet the queen-or-better qualification is turned over and compared to the player's cards, with the highest hand being declared the winner. A win by the dealer results in the player losing both their ante and raise.
A win by the player results in the ante and raise being paid at even money. In the case of a tie, there is no action on the ante or raise.
If the player's winning hand contains a straight or better, the Ante Bonus pay table goes into effect and rewards the following payout for the ante wager (but not the raise):
- Straight - even money
- Three of a Kind - 4 to 1
- Straight Flush - 5 to 1
Pair Plus Bet
If the player chose the Pair Plus option, they should immediately check to see if they have a pair or better. If they do, the payout at the end of the hand is as follows:
- One pair - even money
- Flush - 4 to 1
- Straight - 6 to 1
- Three of a Kind - 30 to 1
- Straight Flush - 40 to 1
House Edge on 3-Card Poker
The overall house edge for the Pair Plus wager is 2.32%. This rises to 2.70% in the United Kingdom, as the straight flush payout for Pair Plus only delivers 35 to 1 instead of 40 to 1.
For the ante bonus, the house holds an average edge of 3.37%. However, this can rise to as much as 4.28% based on the payout percentage.
As the above information indicates, the astute player should choose the Pair Plus option in order to receive the best statistical chance of winning. Of course, the lower edge still means that the house has an advantage over the player. Keep this in mind before playing, and never gamble with money that you can't afford to lose.
Three-Card Poker Strategies
Since the house has an inherent advantage, there's no existing strategy that allows the player to consistently come out ahead. For this reason, I recommend choosing the method of play that provides you with the most enjoyment. Here are a few options to consider:
- Wager the same amount of money on both the Ante and Pair Plus options.
- Play both the Pair Plus and Ante options, but make one wager twice as much as the other.
- When deciding whether to fold or play, the most frequent suggestion is to proceed only if your hand has at least a Queen-6-4 combination. This is known as 'optimal strategy.'
- If you play at a land-based casino and happen to see one of the dealer's cards, always choose the raise option if the card is a 2 through Jack. On a dealer Queen, raise if you have at least a Q-9-2. For a King, raise with a K-9-2 or better. If the dealer shows an ace, you should raise with an A-9-2 or better. If you can find a dealer who's inexperienced or sloppy enough to provide you with consistent peeks, then you'll enjoy a 3.48% advantage over the house.
3 Card Poker Odds Vegas
The Game of the Future?
Three Card Poker Odds
With the rise of the Internet and social media, the attention span of the average adult has become increasingly limited. This makes 3-Card Poker an ideal game for the online generation, as it provides the same thrills as regular poker but takes far less time. While some might scoff at the idea of it becoming the casino game of the future, think about the Texas Hold'em boom and how many people saw that coming.