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How to Play Three-Card Poker
...And those other big high-action specialty games that are sweeping the casino world
By Kimberly J. Potts
Five-card draw?
Uh, you're dating yourself, grandpa.
The old poker saws are going the way of the one-armed bandit. These days, the real action at the tables is with specialty games like Three-Card Poker, Let It Ride and Caribbean Stud Poker. They're fast-paced--and many pit players against the dealer instead of each other, building more of a sense of camaraderie during play.
Just like video poker, the new table games were initiated in the early '90s to add more choices for the ever-increasing number of casino fans. It's just taken them a bit longer to take hold. But now, says Paul Mollo, casino manager at Atlantic City's Borgata, "They're just jumping on them. And we're constantly adding different flavors. We just gave Three-Card Poker its own pit of 12 tables--and we just put Four-Card Poker in on May 14, and already its grown to four games."
Want to play? Here's a quick lesson on three of the hottest of the new games--and we've even talked to the man who creates many of the games, including Three-Card Poker; see how he does it.
Three-Card Poker
A variation on an old British game called Brag--created in the early 1990s by British poker pro Derek Webb--Three Card Poker is essentially two games in one; in most casinos, you can choose whether to play just one or both. One of the most popular table games of all time, it one of the lowest house advantages of any table game: about 2.5 percent.
How to play: There are two play options: the Ante wager, which pits a player's hand vs. the dealer's hand, and Pair Plus, which involves simply making the best hand you can.
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 | | We chatted with Shuffle Master Table Games Product Manager Roger Snow to find out why specialty games are riding a new wave of success--and how he goes about creating these hot new games. |
"So, how do you do it? Do you just get an idea and try to run with it?"
read the interview
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To play the first option, the player places a wager, and the dealer deals three cards, face down, to each player, followed by three cards, also face down, to himself. Based on his own three-card hand, a player can fold and forfeit, or he can make a bet equal to the original ante. Once all players have made their decisions, the dealer reveals his three cards. The dealer must have at least a queen high to stay in play. If he does not, the players' antes are paid even money, and their additional wagers are returned to them.
If the dealer's hand does qualify, and his hand beats a player's hand, the player loses the ante and the additional wager. If the dealer's hand is beaten by a player's hand, the player wins even money on both the ante and the additional wager.
To play Pair Plus, place a wager on the Pair Plus spot on the table. The dealer deals three cards to the player. If the player's hand contains a pair or better, he wins. The Pair Plus payouts: one pair, 1 to 1; a flush, 4 to 1; a straight: 6 to 1; three of a Kind, 30 to 1; a straight flush, 40 to 1.
To play both Ante and Pair Plus, you must make a play wager when you make the ante. The Ante and Pair Plus wagers can be different amounts, but if you fold on the Ante bet, you also lose the Pair Plus wager.
Three-Card Poker tips:
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According to gambling expert Stanley Ko, author of Mastering the Game of Three Card Poker, you will get a pair roughly one time in every four hands.
- The generally accepted minimum hand that should keep you in play: three cards with at least a Queen high.
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