How to Play Three Card Poker
Know the hand rankings., Wager on beating the dealer (or decline to)., Wager on the quality of your hand (or decline to)., The dealer gives three cards each to the players and himself., Decide whether to raise your wager against the dealer., Reveal...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Know the hand rankings.
You will be gambling on the quality of your hand, so you'd better know how to determine this! If you're familiar with ordinary poker rankings, the only difference is that a straight is worth more than a flush (due to flushes being easier to get in a 3 card hand).Otherwise, this table ranks the hands from highest to lowest:
Three Card Poker Hand Rankings Hand Name Description Tie Breaker Straight Flush Three consecutive cards of the same suit (Aces high or low) Higher ranking card wins Three of a Kind Three cards of the same rank Higher ranking card wins Straight Three consecutive cards in mixed suits (Aces high or low) Higher ranking card wins Flush Three cards of the same suit Higher of the highest card in each hand wins; if a tie, compare middle ranking cards, then lowest Pair Two cards of the same rank, and one other card Higher ranking pair wins; if a tie, higher of the third "odd card" wins High Card Three cards, not all consecutive or in the same suit Same as Flush tiebreaks -
Step 2: Wager on beating the dealer (or decline to).
Before any cards are dealt, each player decides on an Ante bet, or whether their hand will be better than the dealer's.
If you're at a casino, place the amount of poker chips you wish to bet on the space labeled Ante.
At home, you'll need a way to designate each player's Ante, Play, and Pair Plus® bets without getting them confused.
Some casinos require that each player places an Ante bet, while others allow the player to bet solely on Pair Plus® (see below).
Casinos often have a "table minimum"
requiring each bet to be at least the posted amount. , In addition to the Ante bet, you can optionally place a Pair Plus® bet, which gives payoffs according to the quality of your hand.This also occurs before cards are dealt.
This bet is named "pair plus" due to its payout on any hand with at least a pair or better. , The deck of cards is shuffled and dealt out face down.
Each player looks at his own hand.
There is no need for the dealer to do so. , Now that you've seen the quality of your 3-card hand, you decide whether to Play (or Raise) your Ante bet, or whether to Fold:
In order to have the Ante bet stand, you must place an equal amount of money on the space designated Play.
If you decide to Fold instead, the dealer takes your Ante bet and you cannot win that wager.
In some casinos, folding will forfeit your Pair Plus® bet as well, if you made one., Once all players who made an Ante bet have Played or Folded, all hands are turned face up.
If a player Folded and did not place a Pair Plus® bet, the dealer usually takes his cards before hands are turned face up, since that player has no wager left standing. , Any player who Played (Raised) their Ante bet compares his hand to the dealer and has a chance to win a payout according to the casino rules.
If playing at home, use the following typical rules:
If the dealer's hand is High Card Jack or lower ("Jack High"), the dealer pays each player equal to that player's Ante bet ("even money") and returns each player's Ante and Play bets.
If the dealer's hand is High Card Queen or better ("Queen High"), but worse than a player's hand, the dealer pays that player an amount equal to the player's Ante and Play bets combined and returns those bets.
If the dealer has Queen High or a better hand, and exactly equal to a player's hand, the dealer returns that player's Ante and Play bets but pays no money.
If the dealer has Queen High or better and beats a player's hand, the dealer keeps that player's Ante and Play bets. , Separate from the Ante Payout, each player who made a Pair Plus bet gets a reward based on their hand quality.
The dealer's hand does not matter for this prize.
If playing at home, use the following popular payout system(a 3:1 reward means the player wins 3 times their pair plus bet):
Pair Plus Reward Hand Payout Straight Flush 40:1 Three of a Kind 30:1 Straight 6:1 Flush 3:1 Pair 1:1 High Card Player loses bet -
Step 3: Wager on the quality of your hand (or decline to).
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Step 4: The dealer gives three cards each to the players and himself.
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Step 5: Decide whether to raise your wager against the dealer.
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Step 6: Reveal all hands.
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Step 7: Determine Ante/Play payout.
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Step 8: Determine Pair Plus® payout.
Detailed Guide
You will be gambling on the quality of your hand, so you'd better know how to determine this! If you're familiar with ordinary poker rankings, the only difference is that a straight is worth more than a flush (due to flushes being easier to get in a 3 card hand).Otherwise, this table ranks the hands from highest to lowest:
Three Card Poker Hand Rankings Hand Name Description Tie Breaker Straight Flush Three consecutive cards of the same suit (Aces high or low) Higher ranking card wins Three of a Kind Three cards of the same rank Higher ranking card wins Straight Three consecutive cards in mixed suits (Aces high or low) Higher ranking card wins Flush Three cards of the same suit Higher of the highest card in each hand wins; if a tie, compare middle ranking cards, then lowest Pair Two cards of the same rank, and one other card Higher ranking pair wins; if a tie, higher of the third "odd card" wins High Card Three cards, not all consecutive or in the same suit Same as Flush tiebreaks
Before any cards are dealt, each player decides on an Ante bet, or whether their hand will be better than the dealer's.
If you're at a casino, place the amount of poker chips you wish to bet on the space labeled Ante.
At home, you'll need a way to designate each player's Ante, Play, and Pair Plus® bets without getting them confused.
Some casinos require that each player places an Ante bet, while others allow the player to bet solely on Pair Plus® (see below).
Casinos often have a "table minimum"
requiring each bet to be at least the posted amount. , In addition to the Ante bet, you can optionally place a Pair Plus® bet, which gives payoffs according to the quality of your hand.This also occurs before cards are dealt.
This bet is named "pair plus" due to its payout on any hand with at least a pair or better. , The deck of cards is shuffled and dealt out face down.
Each player looks at his own hand.
There is no need for the dealer to do so. , Now that you've seen the quality of your 3-card hand, you decide whether to Play (or Raise) your Ante bet, or whether to Fold:
In order to have the Ante bet stand, you must place an equal amount of money on the space designated Play.
If you decide to Fold instead, the dealer takes your Ante bet and you cannot win that wager.
In some casinos, folding will forfeit your Pair Plus® bet as well, if you made one., Once all players who made an Ante bet have Played or Folded, all hands are turned face up.
If a player Folded and did not place a Pair Plus® bet, the dealer usually takes his cards before hands are turned face up, since that player has no wager left standing. , Any player who Played (Raised) their Ante bet compares his hand to the dealer and has a chance to win a payout according to the casino rules.
If playing at home, use the following typical rules:
If the dealer's hand is High Card Jack or lower ("Jack High"), the dealer pays each player equal to that player's Ante bet ("even money") and returns each player's Ante and Play bets.
If the dealer's hand is High Card Queen or better ("Queen High"), but worse than a player's hand, the dealer pays that player an amount equal to the player's Ante and Play bets combined and returns those bets.
If the dealer has Queen High or a better hand, and exactly equal to a player's hand, the dealer returns that player's Ante and Play bets but pays no money.
If the dealer has Queen High or better and beats a player's hand, the dealer keeps that player's Ante and Play bets. , Separate from the Ante Payout, each player who made a Pair Plus bet gets a reward based on their hand quality.
The dealer's hand does not matter for this prize.
If playing at home, use the following popular payout system(a 3:1 reward means the player wins 3 times their pair plus bet):
Pair Plus Reward Hand Payout Straight Flush 40:1 Three of a Kind 30:1 Straight 6:1 Flush 3:1 Pair 1:1 High Card Player loses bet
About the Author
Andrew Powell
Committed to making lifestyle accessible and understandable for everyone.
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