3 Card Poker

Despite its name, the 3 Card Poker is more of a casino game than a traditional poker game, although it follows the standard poker hand ranking order.

Over the years, the 3 Card Poker has gained popularity due to its easy-to-learn game rules, plus it gives players a wide range of betting options and strategies, allowing them to play against the dealer and win at the same time based on how good their cards are.

The object of this game is to have the best poker hand possible with just three cards.

How Is It Played

• To start the game, players make an ante wager, or a pair plus wager, or both; their objective is to have a hand of at least a pair or better.
• Three cards are dealt face down to the dealer and players. (Note: The players don’t compete against each other; they only play against the dealer.)
• After checking his hand, the player can decide if he wants his play wager, which is equal to the amount of his ante wager, to play against the dealer.
• If the player folds, the hand is over and the dealer can collect the player’s ante wager and pair plus wager.
• But if the player bets on a play wager, the cards will be turned over to find out if he has a better hand than the dealer.
• In case that the dealer has a Jack-high hand or worse, the player gets back his play wager. But if the dealer has a Queen-high hand or better, the ante wager and the play wager are paid out one to one in case the player has a better hand.
• In the event that the dealer’s hand is better, both the ante and play bets are collected. Meanwhile, the dealer’s hand does not affect the Pair Plus bet.

Different Ways to Bet and Win

The 3 Card Poker has different betting and winning options that are explained below:

1. Ante wager. Before the start of each game, each player has an option to put a bet in the Ante spot, meaning he is betting against the dealer. To win this bet, his final poker hand must be superior to the dealer’s.
2. Play wager. If the player betting on the Ante spot likes his hand, he must also make a wager on the Play spot that should be equal to the Ante bet. On the other hand, if he declines the wager on the Play spot because he doesn’t like his hand, his ante is waived. The player with the best poker hand who goes against the dealer wins.
3. Ante bonus. The players who bet on the Ante and Play wagers may qualify for a bonus payout even if the dealer’s hand wins or doesn’t qualify. To win this bonus wager, a Straight, Three of a Kind, or Straight Flush is needed.
4. Pair Plus. To win this bet, the player’s hand should equal a Straight, Straight Flush, Pair, Flush, or Three of a Kind.
5. Play both. The players can bet on both the ante and the Pair Plus. In order to win both bets, they must make a pair (or better) and beat the dealer’s three-card poker hand.

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