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Three Card Poker (also called Tri Card Poker) is played on a standard Blackjack-sized table. It’s a very simple game with a comparably simple strategy [bottom right]. There are two types of wagers in Three Card Poker: Ante wagers and Pair Plus wagers. Players can make a Pair Plus wager without having to make an Ante wager. The opposite is also true. Three Card Poker follows an unusual hand ranking that is based on the likelihood of drawing particular 3-card hands. The Poker hand rankings for Three Card Poker are below, from highest to lowest.
1. Straight Flush
2. Three-of-a-Kind
3. Straight
4. Flush
5. Pair
6. High Card
THE ANTE WAGER
The object of the Ante wager is to beat the dealer’s 3-card hand with your own 3-card hand. Players place an Ante wager before the cards are dealt. The dealer gives each player 3 cards face down and also deals herself 3 cards face down. A player can only touch his cards with one hand and is not allowed to look at other player’s cards. At this point the player can either Fold and forfeit the initial Ante bet, or play out the hand by making a Play bet equal in value to the original Ante bet. After all Play bets have been placed the dealer reveals his 3 cards. One of 3 things can occur:
A. If the dealer does not have at least a Queen high, she doesn’t qualify. Player’s Ante bets are paid even money and their Play bets are returned to them.
B. If the dealer has at least a Queen high and the dealer’s hand beats the player’s hand, the player loses both Ante and Play bets.
C. If the dealer has at least a Queen high and the player’s hand beats the dealer’s hand, both Ante and Play bets are paid at even money.
There is also a Bonus Payoff for certain hands. The Bonus Payoff is paid on the Ante wager based on the table at top right. (The Bonus is paid even if the dealer’s hand beats the player’s hand.)
THE PAIR PLUS WAGER
The Pair Plus wager is a separate wager made before the deal. If a player is also making an Ante wager, the Pair Plus wager can be for a different amount. The payout for a Pair Plus wager is solely based on the player’s hand and is paid out on a prescribed schedule [above right].
If a player is making both an Ante wager and a Pair Plus wager and decides to Fold instead of Play, he forfeits his Pair Plus wager. However, a player using solid strategy would never Fold if he had a Pair or better.
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ANTE WAGER BONUS PAYOFF
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Straight Flush
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5 to 1
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Three-of-a-Kind
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4 to 1
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Straight
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1 to 1
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