For all new players looking to take up 3 card poker, here you can get all the information you need regarding the 3 card poker rules. We take you through the basics, the odds, the payouts and everything in between so you’re fully prepared to play this great card game.

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.

• +How to Play 3 Card Poker
  • Why Play 3 Card Poker
• +3 Card Poker Rules
  • Standard Game Rules
  • Online Machines
  • Live Dealer Three Card Poker
• 3 Card Poker Hands
• 3 Card Poker with Bonus Feature
• 3 Card Poker Payouts
• What is the House Edge of Three Card Poker?
• +What are the Odds of Winning in 3 Card Poker
  • Taking the Next Step
• Summary

Introducing you to the casino game and how to play 3 card poker inside the best online casinos

So here you have it, the 3 card poker rules that will introduce you to the game and all that it can offer you whilst playing. For new players wishing to know how to play 3 card poker, we strongly advise that you use this guide in conjunction with our selection of free games so you know just how to play the very games you will face inside of the online casinos.

Why Play 3 Card Poker

For any variant of a traditional casino game, the choice of playing an adapted version can come with additional benefits which were not thought of at the time of its original creation. Now with alternative gaming titles of classic games, a player can experience additional perks, faster gameplay, bonus rounds and new ways to win. For 3-card poker, the game does, in fact, offer these three things, unlike standard poker and all with a lesser hand to win from.

Presenting the 3 card poker rules and how the games found online work from machines to live casino

We now look at the 3-card rules covering the machine-based games and the live tables hosting the three card game of poker. Being a virtual pastime, you won’t need to learn certain things which the ‘actual’ hands-on game offers, to learning how to deal 3 card poker won’t be necessary.

Standard Game Rules

If you have never placed a bet on poker or see it play before, then have no worries, this game is all about one thing, getting a better hand or pair than the dealer. For those who have dabbled in some card poker before, nothing has seriously changed in the game. Your hands have reduced from 5 to 3 cards, there if you require a straight flush win, you now only need three cards in sequence with the same suit.

We will further explain what the hands are to look for in the game in our next section.

How Online Machines Work

There are a number of games within a casino supplying this alternative to your classic poker game. When you find a virtual 3-card poker machine you simply click on the title to start the game up. You will be faced with the table which is marked with Queen High or Better. This is what it takes to win the game, think Jack or Better with video poker. This is your base marker for a win.

First, you select the chip value, the game will often start from as low as a 0.10 chip and can climb as high as 200.00, once decided, you then click on ante play to confirm your bet.

The machine will deal six cards, three for you and three for the dealer. Your three cards will be face up, the dealer hand won’t be revealed until you press DEAL.

Automatically, the result is shown, win or lose once DEAL is pressed, revealing the hand of the dealer. Then you select a new game to restart betting.

Live Dealer Three Card Poker

The live dealer option retains the same rules of play. Your table options will vary in the value you can stake. There are some low wagering tables, medium and high to suit a players budget.

The host will ask you to place your bet, after which they will deal the cards. The house edge

Remains constant as there are no bonus features but we’ll discuss more of this in our section regarding the odds and the house edge below.

Rules For 3 Card Poker At A Casino Free

Some games will play as a single deck where the cards are reshuffled after each round, others can play with up to eight decks.

3 Card Poker Hands

There are SIX main hands which determine your win or loss. The odds are effected given there are only six cards in total during a single game. Here are the 3 card poker hands to look for and memorize

In order of Strongest hand to Weakest in Three Card Poker:

3 Card Poker with Bonus

3 card poker with bonus specifically relates to the ANTE BONUS or also known as the 6-Card Bonus. If you come across a game with the ante bonus option you can claim an extra win regardless of the base game outcome. You firstly make an ante wager on the Pair Plus option prior to the cards being dealt by either machine or dealer. The bonus option uses all six cards to collectively make a new hand, if this hand matches any on the bonus table then you can expect a 5 to 1 payout relative to the hand that has been fashioned from the current cards in use.

Not every Three card poker machine or live card poker game has this option. Some also offer the Full house hand option, so there are a number of alternatives of haves and have nots to look through.

Learn what the 3 card poker payouts are from the various games you can wager on live and virtual

The 3 card poker payouts are relative to the wagers you place on three card poker.

If you play three card via the machine format, your payoff will match that of the live tables.

The largest payouts come from progressive card poker online which are linked to a network of matching games synched to the same jackpot value, usually $1,000,000.

The function of this often comes as an additional side bet. Your wager is usually only $1 and is selected by the display button, which is noticeable in a progressive jackpot game. Your hand determines the percentage of the jackpot which can be won. A player, for example, striking the jackpot with a pair will win a lower percentage of the prize, whereas, a straight flush would recoup a higher jackpot prize, if not all of it.

When it comes to standard games, the pay table can be found within the details of the machine by selecting the marker ‘?’ for more information.

What is the house edge of three card poker? Highlighting the different gains the house has over the game

To understand the house edge, you need to also look at the percentage and chances of claiming the differing hands you hope to land to beat the house edge.

First, we look at the percentage of the hands before we look at the house edge.

The higher the strongest hands are, the less the combination exists for it, the lower, the more likely they will occur. This adds to the factor of the house edge which can vary depending on the bet, it can run from 4.49% up to 7.28% within a standard game.

What are the odds of winning in 3 card poker? Here we highlight the different odds relating to possible hands

How you know the basics of how to play 3 card poker at a casino, you’ll now want to know what gains there are to make from the poker hand you hold.

Player Hand Odds:

Straight Flush = 40/1

3 of a Kind = 30/1

Straight = 5/1

Flush = 4/1

Pair = 1/1

High Card = bet becomes pushed as no wins in a tie, wager returned.

Taking the Next Step

With your knowledge of the 3 card poker rules in casino platforms firmly embedded into your memory; you can now focus on your 3 card poker practice. We only advise that once you feel you are competent enough to play for real money in some Las Vegas washed online casino you can then head to our top listings to experience Tri card poker for real money payouts.

Best of luck and we hope you enjoy the game as much as us.

Rules Summary: Now you know the rules it’s time to place some bets inside the top online casinos

With the rules now embedded into your mind, you are now able to move onto the strategy of the game. This looks at how bets are paid and how to raise your knowledge up a level.

Strategy obviously works in unison with the rules and from this you can adapt into all areas of what this game offers. You’ll raise what is paid back to you, you’ll be able to hit more royal flushes and make better use of your bets especially if you play the bonus strategy where the operator will pay for your bets.

It pays to extend you knowledge in all areas and it pays literally. The best of luck playing going forward and thank you for using CasinoBonusesIndex.com

Learn more about your favourite poker game thanks to our articles below:

• Pair Plus^®

Introduction

Three Card Poker was invented in England in the mid 1990's by Derek Webb. It was originally called Casino Brag, since it was inspired by 3-card Brag, adapted to create a casino game in which players bet against the house rather than against each other. The name Three Card Poker was adopted when this game was introduced to America; it is sometimes also known as Tri Poker. The game was initially marketed to casinos by Derek Webb's organisation Prime Table Games, but in 1999 the rights to the game were acquired by Shuffle Master, later renamed SHFL Entertainment, Inc. In 2012 SHFL took steps to emphasise their ownership of the game by registering the name of the 'Pair Plus' side bet as a service mark (trade mark).

An older game, also called Three Card Poker, is described in several 20th century American card game books. This was a Draw Poker game played with three-card rather than five-card hands, where players bet against each other in normal poker style.

Note. Gambling can be dangerously addictive. You can find information and advice on our Responsible Gambling page.

Cards and Initial Bets

The modern casino game of Three Card Poker is played with a 52-card pack at a special table on which the cards are dealt and bets placed. There are two bet types available.

• Ante and Play - a bet that the player's hand will beat the dealer's
• Pair Plus^® - a bet on the quality of the player's hand, paid independently of what the dealer is dealt.

Before the deal, in order to receive cards each player must place an Ante bet, and in addition may place a Pair Plus^® bet.

The ranking of hands for Three Card Poker from lowest to highest is:

• High Card - three cards of different ranks, not consecutive and not all the same suit, such as Q-J-9. When comparing two such hands, the highest cards are compared first; if they are equal the middle cards are compared and finally the lowest cards. For example K-4-2 beats Q-10-9, which beats Q-10-7.
• Pair - two cards of equal rank and one of a different rank, such as 6-6-Q. When comparing two hands with a pair, the rank of the pair decides; if both hands have the equal pairs, the hand with the better odd card ('kicker') wins.
• Flush - three cards of the same suit. These are compared in the same way as 'high card' hands.
• Straight - three consecutive cards of mixed suits. Between two straights the one with the higher ranked cards wins. Ace can count high or low: A-K-Q is the highest type of straight and 3-2-A is the lowest. 2-A-K is not a straight.
• Three of a Kind - three cards of the same rank, higher ranks beating lower ranks.
• Straight Flush - three consecutive cards of the same suit. These are compared in the same way as straights, ace counting high or low.

Note that there is no ranking among suits. Hands that have the same combination and equally high cards, differing only in suit, are tied.

Ante and Play

Three cards are dealt to each player who has placed an ante bet and three cards to the dealer. After viewing his three cards the player must decide to either:

1. make a play bet, placing an additional amount equal to the ante bet, or
2. fold, losing the ante bet.

Following this decision, the dealer's hand is revealed and there is a showdown.

• If the dealer does not have Queen high or better, the ante bet is paid even money and the play bet is returned.
• If the dealer does have Queen high or better and the player's hand beats the dealer's hand the ante bet and play bet are paid even money.
• If the dealer does have Queen high or better and the player's hand is equal to the dealer's hand the player's ante and play bets are returned.
• If the dealer does have Queen high or better and the player's hand is worse than the dealer's hand the ante and play bet are lost.

An additional bonus is also payed on the ante bet irrespective of dealer's hand or outcome of the hand if the player holds a strong hand

• Even money for a straight
• 4 to 1 for three of a kind
• 5 to 1 for a straight flush

Pair Plus^®

The name of this special side bet, which has been a part of the game since its invention in the 1990's, was registered as a trade mark of SHFL Entertainment, Inc. in 2012.

The result of a Pair Plus^® bet depends only on the three cards dealt to the player - the dealer's cards are irrelevant. The Pair Plus^® bet is lost if the player does not hold a pair or better. Winning hands are paid as follows:

• Even money for a pair
• 4 to 1 for a flush
• 6 to 1 for a straight
• 30 to 1 for three of a kind
• 40 to 1 for a straight flush

A winning Pair Plus^® hand is paid out even if the player folds, though in fact this situation rarely occurs, since with any such hand the correct strategy is to place a Play bet.

Alternative Names

Many online casino software providers have taken to calling this game by different names, presumably in an effort to avoid paying licensing fees for offering Three Card Poker. Some names that are currently in use are Poker Three, Trey Poker, Fast Poker, High Speed Poker, Triple Edge Poker, Trey Card Poker and Tri Card Poker.

Optimal Strategy and House Edge

The optimal strategy for Three Card Poker is far more straightforward that many other casino card games. The player should not place the Pair Plus^® wager and should place the Play wager with any hand of Q, 6, 4 or better.

Rules For 3 Card Poker At A Casino Play

According to the Three Card Poker Guide at The Pogg, the house edge when playing Three Card Poker using optimal strategy is 2.01% where the game offers the standard paytable detailed above. If you decide to place a Pair Plus^® bet, the House Edge is 2.32% if the paytable detailed above is used.

Variants

In some places a player is allowed to place only a Pair Plus^® bet without placing an Ante. It is to the player's disadvantage to exercise this option.

Some casinos both on- and offline have started to vary the paytables for the Ante and Play bet. Where this is the case the house edge will vary accordingly.

There is significant variation in the paytables being offered for the Pair Plus^® bet both on- and offline. In general these variations have a detrimental impact on the House Edge.

Other Three Card Poker Sites and Software

Three Card Poker Free Rules

The Three Card Poker Guide at The Pogg provides rules, analysis, advice and odds calculators.

Steve Cross has written a page on Three Card Poker.

Casino Three Card Poker

Wizard of Odds offers a free Three Card Poker game that can be played online in a browser.