Three Card Poker Tips And Tricks
- Three Card Poker Tips And Tricks
- Three Card Poker Tips And Tricks Games
- How To Win In Three Card Poker
Crucial 3 Card Poker Tips for Winning
The Optimal Strategy for Three-card Poker The optimal strategy is quite easy, with three card poker. First of all, it is recommended to bet only Ante and therefore Play bet. The PairPlus bet has a significantly higher house edge, as much as 7.28%. In tri-card poker, it is possible to play both the Ante and Play option and the Pair Plus mode at the same time. A player can wager both the Ante and Play bets to start the game, and once the cards are dealt the player will know whether or not he has won at least one of his bets if he has a pair or better. Unlike blackjack or a traditional poker game, there’s not a huge amount of strategy that goes along with optimal 3 card poker play. Instead, the basic strategy for the ante-play involves betting whenever the player’s hand consists of a Q-6-4 or better, folding if their hand ranks any lower.
Three Simple Cards, Oh So Fast
Three Card Poker is not about winning pots. It’s about winning as much money as you potentially can using the hands you determine to play.
The dynamics are different in 3 Card Poker since it’s just you versus the dealer. This game is more like a combination of blackjack and poker. The following techniques will give you an edge when playing 3 card poker.
How do you Play 3 Card Poker?
Before learning winning techniques, it is more important you get a brief overview of how to play 3 Card Poker.
First, the goal is to create the best poker hand with three cards. To start, you place an ante wager and/or a pair plus wager. This means you expect making at least a pair or better. Three cards are then dealt face down to each player including the dealer. At this point, you are only playing the dealer and NOT the other players at the table. After looking at your hand, you then determine to place another bet (this is the play wager, and is equal to the amount of your ante wager) to pit your hand against the dealer’s hand.
If you fold, the hand is over and the dealer will collect your ante wager and/or pair plus wager. If you place a play wager, all cards will be turned over to determine if you have a better hand than the dealer. If the dealer has a Jack or worse, your play wager is given back. If the dealer has a Queen or better, both the play wager and the ante are paid out at 1 to 1 if your hand beats the dealer. If the dealer’s hand wins, he keeps both the ante and play bets. The pair plus bet outcome is completely independent to what the dealer has.
Top 7 questions when playing 3 Card Poker
Of course reading answers to the most popular 3 Card Poker questions are the best way to get ahead of your opponents.
What are Some Tips Playing 3 Card Poker?
The general guideline is you should ‘play’ all hands better than Queen, Six and Four. You should fold anything worse than those cards.
What is The Lowest House Edge Bet?
You immediately learn the Ante bet returns the lowest house edge when playing 3 Card Poker. As a result, placing solely Ante bets and staying away from the Pairs Plus betting options will help you optimize your wins when playing 3 Card Poker.
When do I Raise my Ante Bet?
Only raise your Ante bet when you have at least a Queen, Six, and a Four (or any higher value hand) when playing the Ante bet option in 3 Card Poker. Similarly, fold any card combinations with a lower value.
What are ‘Pairs Plus’ Bet Winnings?
Most casinos fluctuate their payouts when you win the Pairs Plus bet option in 3 Card Poker. In either case, it is always the highest payout. Keep in mind if you come across a site or casino who offers cheaper payouts for the Pairs Plus bet, then that game entraps players to make income for the dealer (or house).
How Much Money do I Need in Reserve?
You will forcibly fold a possible winning hand simply because you do not have enough cash to continue to play your cards. In order to avoid this, you need to have plenty of cash in your bankroll when you play the Ante bet option in online 3 Card Poker.
What if I Tie The Dealer’s 3 Card Hand?
A tie is when both you and the dealer get the same hand combo value when playing the Ante Bet. As a result, each separate casino will have separate rules. In most cases, the casino classifies a tie in 3 Card Poker as a push. The best case scenario is when a casino looks at your tie (with an Ante Bet) as a win!
What are 3 Card Poker Tournament Strategies?
The goal of a 3 Card Poker tournament is for you to win as much as you can in the shortest amount of time. Consequently, many players use a higher risk strategy when playing 3 Card Tournament Poker. At this point, the best thing to do is place Ante Bets solely. Next, figure out how many rounds you can play in the tournament with your amount of bankroll.
Get Excellent Playing Experience Free of Risk
One final 3 Card Poker playing tip is to set up your own mock table and play for FREE. Just Google search for a ‘3 Card Poker Table image’ enlarge it, and print it out. Finally, you can get an excellent understanding of how to play this game without risk and embarrassment. Once you get comfortable perfecting your greatest strategy, you can then start using your real money!
Just what is it? Three Card Poker is also known as Tri Card Poker, Trey Poker and Poker Three but why all the names for the same game? Well, it all started out as a name protected casino table game called 3 Card Poker that became very popular. Then it seems that others wanted to offer the game without paying the royalties due so they just renamed it. So whether it's called 3 Card, Tri Card or just plain Tri Poker, the rules are the same, the optimal playing strategy is the same and a lot of players love it.
Three Card Poker is two gambling games in one. You are usually allowed to play either one or both games at the same time, but some casinos will require you to play both. The two games are 'ante/play', where you compete against the dealer, and 'pair plus' that has different bonus payouts for hands of one pair or better. When both games are played at the same time, players may wager different amounts on each game.
The games are played with a standard 52 card deck. The cards are distributed to the dealer in groups of three by an automatic shuffling machine. The player's table layout is shown at the right. The rules are also printed on the table at each player spot, just like this: (note :) The rules listed below are FULL PAY. Always look for these!
- Play MUST EQUAL Ante
- Dealer Plays With QUEEN High or Better - At some casinos dealers play with a King High or Better. The result is a much higher house advantage.
- When Dealer Does Not Play:
- Play Pays: PUSH
- Ante Pays: 1 to 1
- When Dealer Plays:
- Play Pays: 1 to 1
- Ante Pays: 1 to 1
3 card hand values: The first thing you will probably notice from the hand rankings list below is that a straight has a higher ranking than a flush. That's simply because there are fewer ways to make a 3 card straight than a 3 card flush. As in most poker games, aces play both high and low to a straight. An ace high straight flush is the highest hand you can get and some casinos have also added a mini-royal flush to the ante bonus and pair plus pay table.
Rules - Ante/Play & Pair Plus
This game starts with the players placing bets in the 'ante', 'pair plus' or both spots on the table layouts. The ante and pair plus wagers can be any amount within the posted table limits. The players and the dealer all get three cards, face down. The players all look at their hands and either fold by giving their cards back and losing their ante bet, or play by placing a bet, equal to the ante, in the 'play' spot on the layout. Note that even if the player folds, pair plus wagers are still paid on any pair or better.
| Hand Rankings | Full Pay Pair Plus Table | Full Pay Ante Bonus Table |
|---|---|---|
| Mini-Royal | - | - |
| Straight Flush | 40 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 30 to 1 | 4 to 1 |
| Straight | 6 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
| Flush | 4 to 1 | - |
| Pair | 1 to 1 | - |
| High Card | - | - |
The dealer then turns over his cards. If he does not have queen high or better, he doesn't 'qualify' to play and pays the active players even money on their ante bets and those with a straight or better are paid the additional ante bonus shown above. These players get a 'push' on their play bets. If he does have a qualifying hand, those who cannot beat it lose their antes and their play bets, but can still win the ante bonus with a straight or higher. Those who can beat the dealer win even money on their ante and play bets plus the ante bonus, if any.
Strategy - Ante/Play
In Three Card Poker ante/play, the only thing the expert player needs to know is how high his or her hand should be to produce the best possible long term results, if played. The answer to that question is Q-6-4 or higher.
High card hands between Q-6-4 through K-Q-10 are loss limit plays. These are hands with negative expectations. They will lose less if played than they will in ante forfeiture losses if they are not played. Ace high hands and better have positive expectations. The house advantage for ante/play, against the optimal strategy shown below is a comfortable 3.37%. Not too bad for the player.*
Three Card Poker Tips And Tricks
Optimal Three Card Poker Strategy
- Always play Q-6-4 or higher
- Never play anything lower
* Note: The house advantage percentages referred to are based on the full pay schedules shown above. Be aware that lower payouts, especially in pair plus, are used in many places that double and triple the house advantage against the player. Avoid games with a pair plus payout of only 3-1 for a flush instead of 4-1 etc. and look for full pay games.
Pair Plus 'Non-Strategy' and Unequal Bets Play
Since the only decision the player has to make in pair plus is how much to bet, there is no optimal strategy involved. However, at full pay the low house advantage of 2.3% makes it about as attractive as any table poker game you can find. You can't bet five dollars and win a house here, but the payouts are very generous and you should get a pay hand of some sort about 25% of the time. This is a good game but you want to remember that the win/loss swings are much more volatile in pair plus than in ante/play.
| Poker Hand | AB1 | AB2 | AB3 | PP1 | PP2 | PP3 | PP4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Straight Flush | 5 | 5 | 4 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
| Three of a Kind | 4 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 25 | 30 | 30 |
| Straight | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Flush | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | |||
| Pair | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| House Advantage | 3.37% | 3.61% | 3.83% | 2.3% | 3.5% | 5.6% | 7.3% |
| AB = Ante Bonus, PP = Pair Plus | |||||||
Most places allow you to make unequal bets on the two games. A conservative bet would be two units on ante/play and one unit on pair plus, or equal bets. A more aggressive approach is to place more on pair plus than on ante/play. Many good players prefer to keep their pair plus to ante play ratio on the conservative side and try to get a little ahead before they get aggressive and load up on the pair plus.
6 Card Bonus
The 6 card bonus side bet is an optional wager that gives players one more chance to win. To play, place a bet within table limits inside the 6 card bonus betting circle. Depending on the casino you may also be required to place a wager on the ante and/or pair plus betting spots. You then combine your three card hand with the dealer's three card hand to form the best five card hand. A 6 card bonus winning hand is paid regardless of the outcome on the ante/play bet. Some of the more popular pay tables are listed below and will vary by casino.
| Poker Hand | Pay Table 1 | Pay Table 2 | Pay Table 3 | Pay Table 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 1,000 to 1 | 1,000 to 1 | 1,000 to 1 | 1,000 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 200 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 200 to 1 | 200 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 100 to 1 | 100 to 1 | 50 to 1 | 50 to 1 |
| Full House | 20 to 1 | 20 to 1 | 25 to 1 | 25 to 1 |
| Flush | 15 to 1 | 15 to 1 | 20 to 1 | 15 to 1 |
| Straight | 9 to 1 | 10 to 1 | 10 to 1 | 10 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 8 to 1 | 7 to 1 | 5 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| House Advantage | 6.74% | 8.56% | 10.23% | 15.28% |
| Hit frequency | 7.2798% | 7.2798% | 7.2798% | 7.2798% |
Even the best pay table gives the house a larger than acceptable advantage of 6.74%, which makes the 6 card bonus side bet a bad gamble.
Progressive
The progressive side bet, developed by Shuffle Master in 2008, adds a jackpot element that is popular with many players. The rules are simple: Place a bet, within table limits, on the progressive betting sensor and play your hand as usual. If your hand is a mini-royal AKQ of spades, you win the jackpot. The pay tables below show typical payouts and house edge numbers.
| Poker Hand | Pay Table 1 | Pay Table 2 | Envy |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKQ Spades | 100% | 100% | $100 |
| AKQ Hearts/Diamonds/Clubs | 500 for 1 | 500 for 1 | $25 |
| Straight Flush | 70 for 1 | 100 for 1 | |
| Three of a Kind | 60 for 1 | 90 for 1 | |
| Straight | 6 for 1 | - | |
| Seed Amount | $1,000 | $1,000 | |
| House Advantage | 22.33% | 22.85% | |
| Hit Frequency | 3.72% | .45% | |
| Probability of top payout | 22,100 to 1 | 22,100 to 1 | |
| Top payout average ($1 wager) | $4,000 | $5,000 |
Note that the payouts are listed as odds-for-1 which means the original wager is not returned. With a house advantage of 22% you should stay far away from this game unless the jackpot is very, very high.
Envy Bonus Payout
If you place a wager on the progressive side bet and another player seated at the table has AKQ suited (a mini-royal), you are eligible for the envy bonus payout. Here are a few rules to be aware of:
- Players with AKQ suited are paid according to the pay table and are not eligible to receive their own envy bonus.
- Dealer with AKQ suited does not trigger the envy bonus.
- If you are playing multiple hands and hit a mini royal, the other hands are eligible for the envy bonus. (the hands are considered independent of each other)
Prime
Prime is an optional side bet that was invented by Derek Webb, the same man who invented three card poker. To play you must put a wager on the prime betting spot, ante/play and/or pair plus as required by the casino. If all three of your cards are the same color or your cards and the dealer's cards are all the same color, you win.
Three Card Poker Tips And Tricks Games
| Hand | Pay Table 1 |
|---|---|
| Your three cards and the dealer's three cards are all the same color | 4 to 1 |
| Your three card hand is the same color | 3 to 1 |
| House Advantage | 3.62% |
How To Win In Three Card Poker
If your three cards are not the same color, the prime bet is lost and collected by the dealer. The ante/play and pair plus games are played out as usual.
The house advantage on prime is 3.62%... not too bad for a side bet.
| Rank | Casino | Sign Up Bonus | Bonus Code | Full Pay Games | Visit Casino |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% up to $/€/£ 250 | Ante/Play Pair Plus | ||||
| €200 Free or 200 Free Spins | Ante/Play Pair Plus |