If you want to learn how to play 3 card poker, then look no further. Here we discuss the poker variant which has become one of the world’s most popular card games. 3 card poker is played with the pace of a blackjack game, combining hands that will be familiar to players of the poker family of card games.

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History Of 3 Card Poker

3 Card Poker is a fast playing variant of regular poker, which was first played in America in the 19th century and quickly became one of the world’s best loved card games. Bluffing card games have been with us a long time however, from the 17th century Persian game of As-Na to the game of Poque which was popular in early 19th century France. All can lay claim to be part of the ancestry of modern poker. One story says the game was named after pickpocketing and if you’ve ever bluffed your way to a win you’ll know exactly what stealing the pot means. The word bluff is said to be derived from the German verbluffen which means to mislead. That however, is by no means the end of the story. In 1994 an Englishman named Derek Webb traveled to Vegas but found the games he played there to be a little slow for his taste. He set about to create a game which had easily understandable rules, with a familiar feel and a faster pace than regular poker games. To do this he combined American Poker with a British game known as Brag. Since both games shared a common ancestor in the game Primero, the combination worked incredibly well. The success of these new 3 card poker rules (originally named Brit-Brag) was certainly not overnight but a few years later Webb had poked $3 Million dollars in intellectual property rights. That might sound like one hell of a scoop but later he claimed the game was worth far more than the $3 million he sold it for. After a threat of legal action the buyer paid him an extra $20 million in an out of court settlement.

Play For Free Or Money

One of the best ways to learn the ropes of 3 card poker is to play online for free. In fact, 3 card poker online is an incredibly satisfying and enjoyable experience that keeps players coming back for more. That is why it has spread from Vegas to become a global sensation. Because the game plays swiftly it is possible to get through a great number of hands incredibly quickly, allowing an understanding of the game to develop simply through trial and error. Signing up for a free online account will get you up and running in no time. Since 3 card poker rules are not excessively difficult to grasp you may not need to seek out a phone app to put in any extra practice, but they are available just the same. 3 card poker tips are also in abundance so feel free to seek out more after reading this guide. Once you have had your fill of playing 3 card poker free and feel you are ready to remove the training wheels a variety of options are available for real cash players. It must be said that the cash games do look a lot more polished than their free counterparts, but you get what you pay for. Just be sure to check the cashout terms and timescales of the casino you play with so you know exactly how long it will take before you can collect all of your winnings. Also, pay attention to any sign-up offers and bonuses as these can really give you a head start in your cash balance.

Play Three Card Poker

In front of each seat there are three betting circles. The very top circle is labeled Pair Plus. Below this are another two circles labeled Ante and Play. For now let’s focus on the bottom two circles. The game begins with the players paying into their ante, which is a wager at least equal to the table minimum. How much this is varies from casino to casino, with $5 being fairly standard, but online this figure may be much lower. Essentially this is a blind bet as it occurs before any cards have been dealt. The dealer then deals 3 cards to each player starting with the player on their left. From here each player then decides whether to play or to fold. If a player decides to fold their ante is lost to the house, but if the player choses to play then they must make a bet equal to the ante in the play circle to continue. At this stage the dealer turns over their cards. The dealer needs to qualify with a hand of a Queen or higher. If they do not then the play bet is returned and the ante wager will pay out at even money. If the dealer does qualify then the dealer’s hand is compared to the gambler. If the gambler’s hand beats the dealer both the ante and the play bet is paid out at even money.

Getting Started

3 card poker rules are reasonably easy to learn and won’t baffle regular poker players. One of the most important points to note is that 3 card poker is played against the house rather than against other players and, as the name suggests, is played with only 3 cards. The game is played with a standard 52 card deck with no wild cards or jokers. The first thing you need to understand is that there are two types of bets you can place when playing 3 card poker. The ante followed by the play is the first type, while the pair plus is the second. It is important to understand how and when to place each of these bets and how this will tie into your 3 card poker strategy. It is also important to know that the ante and play bets follow on from the other while the pair plus is a side betting game.

Hand Ranks

3 card poker hands can be ranked as follows with probabilities of 3 card poker odds as follows: Straight flush (three suited cards in sequence – 0.22%) Three of a kind (three cards of same rank – 0.24%) Straight (three cards in sequence – 3.26%) Flush (three suited cards – 4.96%) Pair (two cards of same rank – 16.94%) High card (best high card – 74.39%) It really is that simple, with only three cards to contend with the variations of

Three Card Strategy

Since 3 card poker is a simple game, the strategies involved are fairly simply as well. If you have a hand lower than Q-6-4 you should fold, for anything higher than this you should play. If your best card is higher than a Queen you should play and if your best card is a Queen you should examine the next highest card. If your next highest card is anything over a 6 you should play, but if it is a 6 you should look to the next card. Anything over a 4 you should play and so on. It goes without saying that anything under Q-6-4 should not be played. It’s a very simple strategy but one which maximises your win potential and minimises the opportunity for the house to take your money. The ante and play sections of the game are the highest RTP, but 3 card poker also has an interesting side game. This is the aforementioned pair plus where things really begin to get interesting. If you are only interested in playing percentages you should avoid this part of the game, but if you are prepared to take the extra gamble there are some interesting aspects to pair plus. When you bet on pair plus you are only betting upon whether you have a pair or better, and the dealer doesn’t come into it. If your cards in that particular deal are better than a pair you win, if not, you lose. Further to this the better your hand the bigger the payout. For pair plus the payouts may vary but a good guide is as follows: Pair = 1:1 Flush = 3:1 or 4:1 Straight = 6:1 or 5:1 3 of a kind = 30:1 or 25:1 Straight flush = 40:1 Because of this the casino edge in pair plus varies between 7.3% to 2.31% depending or the version of the game. A pair or better is expected roughly 25% of the time, so if you are looking for 3 card poker tips here is an incredibly simple one: if you’ve had more than a few hands in a row below a pair, it might be time to stake on pair plus. By the law of averages you’d have to guess that the odds would be in your favour. Those who dare don’t always win, but at least they dare. If you are an experienced gambler you will also know that in some casinos high value hands may pay an extra bonus on ante bets as well. So what does this mean to you the player? Quite simply this: 25.6% of all hands are winning combinations of a pair or better. Pay tables vary from casino to casino but they all start with a 1:1 payout on a pair. You gain more with larger payouts on more frequent hands, so look for larger payouts on straights rather than flushes.

Three Card Poker Conclusion

There’s a reason why 3 card poker is a mainstay on casino floors the world over. 3 card poker rules are easy to learn, whilst the game itself is fast paced and instantly gratifying. It is a game for entry level players as well as more experienced gamblers; easy to pick up but with enough wrinkles and intricacies for strategies and tactics to develop. It is true that the house edge in 3 card poker is higher than in some games, but it isn’t the money hole that some floor games can become. Despite the fast pace of the game it is easy enough to set limits because of the game structure. The game also creates a wonderful sense of camaraderie you don’t get in a regular game of poker. Unlike blackjack one really bad player in the group won’t ruin the chances of a win for everyone else in the game, so you don’t have to be 3 card poker cheats to wish your neighbour well. The fact is that in 3 card poker you are all playing against the house and none of the other players successes or failures affect your game. If you have yet to play 3 card poker, then play 3 card poker online and hone your skills. You may well find that this American-British collaboration is your very next favourite poker variant.