GamingTips

Here’s another one for the math nerds.

Below are the aproximate probabilities of getting any given hand in three card poker.  We’ll save the discussion of what these mean in terms of a hold/house advantage for a later post.

Straight flush-48 combinations, >1%

Three of a kind-52 combinations, >1%

Straight-720 combinations, just over 3%

Flush-1096 combinations, just shy of 5%

Pair-3744 combinations, just shy of 17%

Nothing-1644o combinations, just over 74%

So, here’s the basic strategy for the ante/play side of three card poker.  It’s pretty easy, and straight forward.

You should play if you have a Q/6/4 or better.

A few tricky points:  Any pair counts, even if your top card is lower than a Q.  Remember, we’re going by overall hand rank.

That being said, assuming that you don’t have a hand, hand rank goes by top card, then second  card, then third card.  S any hand containing a King is better than a Q/6/4.  A hand containing a Q/7/? is better than a Q/6/4.  And a hand with a Q/6/5 is obviously better than a Q/6/4.

On the other hand, a hand with a J/10/7 is lower than Q/6/4 even though two of the three cards are better.  Have fun, and good luck!

Alright.  The other half of Three Card Poker.  We’ve already gone over Pair Plus.  The other two bets, which are related, is the Ante and Play.  The ante must be placed before the cards are dealt.  The cards will be dealt, and the player given an opportunity to look at their cards.  They may then either place money in the “play” spot, or fold their hand, sacrificing the ante and the pair plus bet (if one is made).  The bet in the play must be equal to the bet in the ante.

This is essentially a bet that the player will have a better three card hand than the dealer.  If the dealer has a queen or above, the hand qualifies, and any hand which beats the dealer’s will be paid even money on the ante and the play.  Keep in mind that, as listed on the layout, the hand order is different than in traditional poker.  If the dealer has a jack high or lower hand, the hand does not qualify.  In this case, if a player beats the dealer, they will be paid on the ante and push on the play.

Some casinos offer bonuses for certain winning hands as well, and this information will be listed on the table layout.  Remember, other than when folding a hand, the pair plus and ante/play bets are really separate games.  It is possible to win one and lose the other.  For instance, a player could have an A high, and lose the pair plus, but beat the dealer’s Q high, thus winning the ante and play.

Alright.  Three Card Poker is another poker-based carnival game.

It is exactly what it sounds like.  It is a poker game with three cards.  Because it is a carnival game, there is no bluffing, no raising, etc.  And there is no drawing in three card poker.  There are two ways to play the game.  A player may play either one, or both, for the same, or different, amounts.  Because the two ways to play are not dependent on each other, and are totally different, I’ll address them separately.

This post will focus on the first bet, that farthest from the player and closest to the dealer.  That game is called Pair Plus.  And it’s exactly what it sounds like.  It is a bet that the three cards, regardless of the dealer’s hand, will contain a poker hand consisting of a pair or higher.  If the player does not have a pair or higher, the dealer takes the entire bet.  If the player has a pair or better, the dealer pays the bet according to a pay table printed on the table.  A typical pay table (although I’m not sure, I think it may vary from casino to casino) will pay 1:1 for a pair, all the way up to 40:1 for a straight flush.  Note that a flush comes immediately after a pair, easier to get and paying less than either a straight or three of a kind.  For traditional poker players, this may be tough to get used to.  And the Pair Plus bet is just that easy.