Casino 3 Card Poker Rules
3 card poker is a simple game, with simple rules, a real fun and as such, it gained great popularity among the casino players around the world. A game of 3 card poker begins with the dealer shuffling a deck of 52 cards, and dealing 3 cards to the player and 3 to himself. There are two types of bets – Pair Plus and Ante. They have different payouts and the player may place a pair plus bet, an ante bet or both.
The poker hands in 3 card poker are derived from the standard US poker ranking and have been adjusted slightly to suit the nature of the card game. The adjustment is mainly with a straight and flush. It is rather tricky making a straight in three card poker than it would be making a flush. Want to know everything there is to know about playing 3-Card Poker? CasinoTop10 has your complete guide with all you need to know about the game. There are many casino poker variants to choose from, but unquestionably, three card poker is among the most fast-paced and thrilling. This essential guide takes you through everything you need to know; we breakdown the rules of 3 card poker and explain how to play the game.
- Pair Plus – a bet for an outcome of a Pair or better. The payout would be according to the Pair Plus payout table.
- Ante – a bet against the hand of the dealer. The payout is according to the Ante payout table.
The cards of the player in 3 card poker are dealt face up and those of the dealer – faced down. If the player has placed an ante bet, he will have the opportunity to choose to raise or to fold. If the player decides to fold, he will lose his ante bet, as well as his pair plus bet (if any). If the player decides to raise and this way challange the hand of the dealer, he will place a bet equal to the amount of his ante bet. For example, if a player has placed a $100 pair plus bet and $100 ante bet, his raise would be equal to the amount of the ante bet – $100. In order to determine the winner, the dealer must first qualify. The dealer qualifies if he has a queen-high card or better, otherwise he is disqualified. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the player wins 1:1 on his ante bet, as to the raise – it is returned. In case, the dealer’s hand and the player’s one have the same rank, the highest ranking card is crucial (for example, a pair of jacks is winning over a pair of 10s). If the hand of the player wins, then the player wins both the ante and the raise. If the dealer wins then, the player loses his ante and raise bet. In case, the player’s hand ties the one of the dealer, then the ante and the raise are returned to the 3 card poker player.
The pair plus bet is a bet for an outcome of a pair or better. If the player doesn’t get a pair or better then he loses his wager, no matter what the dealer gets. In case the player has got a hand with a pair or better and the dealer doesn’t, then the player wins and the payout is according to the 3 card poker payout table in the casino. If both the player and the dealer qualify, then the winner is determined by the rank of the hands – whoever has a higher ranking hand wins. In case, the rank is the same then the higher ranking card would determine the winner.
In a game of 3 card poker, a straight has got higher rank than a flush. The reason for this is the fact that it is easier to make a flush than a straight in 3 card poker than in Texas Hold’em, for example. You may learn the hand rankings in a game by reading our 3 card poker hand rankings section.
3 card poker hand rankings
Before you ever decide to start playing any kind of poker, you must get to know the hand rankings in the game. There is no way for you to make the right decisions unless you know what your hand is and how it is compared to the others.
In a game of 3 card poker, the player compares his three-card hand to the dealer’s one and this way it is determined who the winner is. For example, a Straight hand is better than a Flush hand and therefore the player with the Straight is the winner. You can see the 3 card poker hand rankings on the picture on the right.
Below, you may see a list of the hands from best to worst – the better the position the stronger the hand:
- Straight Flush – Straight of one suit.
10 – 9 – 8
- Three-of-a-Kind – Three cards of one kind (same rank).
Queen – Queen – Queen
- Straight – Three cards of sequential rank.
8 – 7 – 6
- Flush – Three cards of the same suit.
King – 9 – 7 (same suit)
- Pair – Two cards of the same kind.
King – King – 9
Casino 3 Card Poker Rules
- High Card – If nobody has any of the above then whoever has the highest card wins.
Casino 3 Card Poker Rules Free
Ace – Queen – 8