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The objective of Let-It-Ride Poker is to make a winning poker hand (in this case a pair of tens or better) from a player’s three-card hand plus two community cards. The (composite) 5-card hand is dealt with no redraw. Once all cards are revealed, whatever bets remain on the table are paid according to a hand chart [top right].
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1 & 2:
FIRST AND SECOND PULLABLE BETS
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Let-It-Ride is played on a table very similar to Blackjack. Instead of Blackjack’s one betting circle per hand, Let-It-Ride has three. Before the cards are dealt each player must place an equal bet in each circle. After bets are placed, each player is dealt 3 cards face down. Two community cards are also dealt face down in front of the dealer.
Players must wait for the dealer’s signal before they pick up their cards. Players are allowed to use only one hand to look at their cards and it is not permitted to look at other players’ hands.
PLAYER’S CARDS
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COMMUNITY
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INITIAL DEAL
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1
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2
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The game starts with the player to the dealer’s left. After a player looks at his 3-card hand, he has the option to either take down bet number 1 or “let it ride”. If a player wishes to take back a bet, they signal the dealer by scratching their cards on the felt towards them. (A player is not allowed to touch a bet once it is in the betting circle.) The dealer will return that bet to the player, and it is thus taken out of play. If a player wishes to let bet number 1 ride, he slides his cards face down under his bet in circle number 1, or says “Let it Ride”.
PLAYER’S CARDS
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COMMUNITY
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INITIAL DEAL
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1
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2
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After all players have made a decision on their first bet, the dealer turns over the first community card [example above]. This represents the fourth card for each player. Based upon his four-card hand, each player decides whether to take down bet number 2 or let it ride.
PLAYER’S CARDS
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COMMUNITY
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INITIAL DEAL
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1
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2
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At this point, the dealer turns over the second community card [above], which becomes the fifth card in each player’s hand. If any player has a poker hand of a pair of tens or better, all of their remaining bets are paid according to the payout table. Players without paying hands lose whatever bets still remain in play.
Let-It-Ride also offers a side bet for each hand. Players can wager $1.00 and win a bonus payout for certain hands [see side bet payout table at right]. If a player wishes to place a bonus bet the dealer issues special metal $1 chips. These chips are placed in the red circle above the 3 betting circles. The side bet in Let-It-Ride is always a sucker bet [bottom right].
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COMMON PLAYER’S HAND PAYOUT
(SOME CASINOS DIFFER)
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Royal Flush
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1,000 to 1
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Straight flush
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200 to 1
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Four of a kind
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50 to 1
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Full House
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11 to 1
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Flush
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8 to 1
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Straight
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5 to 1
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Three of a kind
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3 to 1
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Two pair
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2 to 1
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Tens or better
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1 to 1
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ADVANTAGES
• Let-It-Ride Poker is easy to learn and play optimally.
• It is one of the few casino games where you can remove bets from the table when you are not in a good position.
• There is a sense of camaraderie among players (particularly in sharing community cards).
• There is a possibility of large payouts.
DISADVANTAGES
• The house advantage [see below] of 2.8% does not compare to Blackjack.
• As it is trademarked by Shuffle Master, this game can be hard to find at casinos — many online casinos don’t include it at all.
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HOUSE ADVANTAGE: A house advantage of 2% means that
on average the casino will retain 2% of the players bet. So, the lower the
house advantage the better. All house advantages on this site are expressed
in terms of average bet amount using strategies we recommend.
» GLOSSARY
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SIDE BET PAYOUT
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Royal Flush
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$20,000
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Straight flush
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$2,000
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Four of a kind
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$100
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Full House
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$75
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Flush
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$50
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Straight
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$25
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Three of a Kind
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$9
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Two Pair
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$6
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SUCKER BET
The progressive side bet: The side bet payouts for Let-It-Ride vary from casino to casino. The table above is one of the most generous we have seen, and it still has a House Advantage of almost 14%.
» SUCKER BETS
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