Basic Strategy for 3 Card Poker

Three Card Poker is becoming a more popular game in Las Vegas. It's a table game that is based on the value of poker hands. It has no other relation to the poker games where you are playing against a group of players to make the best hand.

In 3 card poker you are playing directly against the dealer only and in some situations the dealers hand may have no bearing on your ability to win or lose.

It can be a very volatile game, there can be violent swings for both the better and worse. You can see players sit down at a table and triple or quadruple their starting chip stack in 10 minutes or they can sit down and lose all their chips in 5 minutes.

This game can be classed as one of those 'give it a shot and hope' type games so as always, don't gamble with more than you can afford to lose.

Basic bank roll management.
With the wild swings it is critical that you pick a table limit that suits your bankroll. There are multiple bets involved in the game. The smallest table bet you will find on the Las Vegas Strip will be $ 5, most will be $ 10 and some of the top end Casino's starting at $ 15. This will all depend on the day and time.

Assuming the lowest $ 5 table, you will see that you are actually betting a lot more. Typically 2 or 3 bets per hand, so assuming you need $ 15 to play a hand you can soon see that sitting down with $ 100 could go in 6 or 7 hands. The hand speed is pretty quick, so expect 6 or 7 hands to go in about 5 minutes or less depending on the number of players in the hand.

Playing a Hand
Before the cards are dealt you have the basic decision to play. If you decide to play then you need to place at least the table minimum into the 'Ante' circle on the table.

You next decision is to decide if you wish to play the 'Pairs Plus' this is the circle past the 'Ante' bet you just made.

Assuming you have placed 2 lots of chips on the table then you now have 2 distinct bets in play. The 'Play' bet is you trying to beat the dealer's hand. The 'Pairs Plus' bet has no relation to the dealers hand, you are betting that you have a pair or better in your hand. More on the 'Pairs plus' shortly.

After all the players at the table have placed their bets the dealer will deal out 3 cards to each active player. Do not pick up your cards until the dealer has given you the indication you can. Different Casino's have different rules, but if the card shuffle machine malfunctions or the hand is voided in some other way then your hand will be taken back. If you have already seen that you had the best hand possible it will not matter, so wait until the all clear then take a look.

So now you are looking at your cards, if you have played the 'Pairs plus' and have at least a pair then you have won that part of the bet. You do not need to do anything. The dealer will sort out the payment shortly.

Now comes the main decision in 3 Card Poker, Does your hand contain a queen, six, four or better? If the answer is yes, then place another bet on the 'Play' circle that is the same amount as the 'Ante' bet. That is the basic strategy. You do not need to do any more then that!

If you do not have Queen, Six, four or better then you can fold your hand. Place the cards on the table in front or on top of the Pairs plus bet you made.
If you do make the 'Play' bet then put the cards in the 'Play' Circle with the bet on top.

Dealer Qualification.
Now comes the interesting part, the Dealer will be classed as 'Qualified' if their hand contains a Queen or better.

Why is this important, because let's assume your hand is a pair of 4's and a king. You would have played the hand as you have a pair, so your hand is better than queen, six, four. If the Dealer does not qualify then you do not win on all 3 bets, you will win on the 'Pairs Plus' as this is independent on the dealers hand, you will win on the Ante bet as you played, but you will not collect on the 'Play' bet as the dealer did not qualify. The Ante bet pays 1: 1, so you win the same as you bet.

If the Deal did qualify, and you beat their hand then you get paid on the 'Play' Bet at 1: 1 as well. For example, the Dealer has Ace King and 7. They qualify as they are better than a Queen. You have the paid of 4's and a King. You get paid on the 'Pairs Plus' as both the Ante and Play bet as your hand is better than the dealers.

Why Queen, six, four or better? why not play every hand in case the Dealer does not qualify? We will get to that in a later article for more advanced 3 Card poker concepts.

Pairs Plus
Now you understand how the 'Pairs Plus' works, let's look at the payout. Remember this bet pays if you have a paid or better, there are more than just pairs available if you have 3 cards.

Here is the payout table based on what you have in your hand. Some Casino's make have different odds or payouts, so make sure to check the payout table before playing. These are the standard odds you will see in Vegas.

Pair 1 to 1
Flush 4 to 1
Straight 6 to 1
3 of a Kind 30 to 1 (If you are also playing against the dealer with the play bet it will also pays your ante bonus if you win at 4 to 1 instead of 1 to 1)
Straight Flush 40 to 1 (As above, it will also pays your ante bonus if you win at 5 to 1 instead of 1 to 1)

So if you place the $ 5 'Pairs Plus' wager and turn over 3 Kings then you win $ 150 just from that bet.

Most Casino's will allow you to just play the 'Pairs Plus' bet if you want. This means you are not playing against the dealer or concerned what they may have, you are betting solely on if your hand will have a pair or better.

Conclusion.
Just remember the basic strategy, play your hand with Q64 or better! Its simple to play and if you hit a hot streak remember to walk away as the down streak can come just as quick!

Ask the dealer if you need help, you can learn this game very quickly, it only take a few hands or watching others to see it's a very non-thinking kind of gamble.

Watch out for our future articles around the more advanced concepts of 3 card poker, subjects like 'Should you play Pairs Plus or just the Ante / Play bet', what is the smartest approach ....

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Source by Alexander Diego