3 card poker online is an interesting and popular game played at many online casinos. The rules are similar to Caribbean poker, with the dealer in opposition. Around the table can be a maximum of six participants. But it is possible to play at more than one table at a time, and this is allowed. While playing poker, partners are encouraged to talk and exchange ideas.
In three-card stud poker, the dealer uses a regular deck of 52 cards with an Ace as the strongest card. Only three cards are available to players to build combinations. The winning combinations are not the same as in the five-card game. Let’s look at their types in order, starting with the strongest.
Building combinations
- Straight Flush. Playing cards of the same suit with an alternating increase in value. For example, a diamond ten, Jack, Queen.
- Three. This winning hand draws three of any suit; three Kings, three Nines, etc.
- Straight. In third place in value, it includes cards of different suits with increasing values in order: Jack of Diamonds, Queen of Spades, Ace of Clubs.
- Flush. Formed from three single-suit cards of different values. Examples: Jack, Sixes and Nines of Clubs.
- Pair. Here you are dealt two cards of the same face value; the third card may be of any face value. For example: two sevens and a king.
- High card. Here the winner is determined by the highest of all his cards.
Winning combinations in this type of poker are not complicated and easy to memorize. Simply memorise the card combinations and read the rules of 3 card poker, and you are ready to try your luck.
The rules of the game
The Online 3 Card Poker game starts with an Ante, which is a mandatory deposit for each of the players at the table. Then the dealer dealt three cards each. The players look through them, estimate their chances and decide whether to quit the game by quitting or raise the bet. If the game is abandoned, the player forfeits the bet. The bet can be increased by the amount of the original bet.
Exchanges and additional cards are not included in the rules of this type of poker. Therefore, the participant must rely only on the cards received initially. The winner is determined when the cards are dealt. An important condition is that the dealer must hold cards of at least the value of a queen, otherwise there is no game. In such a situation, the casino loses, and the cards are not checked. If the participant has not discarded his cards after being dealt, then he wins in this case.
Two ways to play
In many online casinos, you can practice playing 3 card poker for free before playing for real money. There are two ways to play 3 card poker free, depending on the amount you choose to bet:
- With an ante bet
The first method involves only one bet before the cards are dealt. Then the dealer deals three cards to the players, as in the rules described above. Participants either discard their cards or increase their initial bet by an equal amount. If the player refuses to continue and discards the cards – his bet goes to the casino account, if he raises – everything is opened and the winner is determined.
The dealer is the first to reveal the cards. If he does not have a card higher than a queen, the player does not show his hand and takes his money. If the dealer has an ace, king or queen, it is necessary to compare the cards. If the player has one of the three strongest combinations, he gets a bonus, calculated according to a special table of winnings. Each casino may have its own winning table.
- Pair Plus: a game with an extra bet
In the second game, the player must place an extra bet, Pair Plus. The contestant can build Pair and stronger combinations, but only after this additional bet. The player will either forfeit the bet or win. The exact amount won is also determined by the table. What cards the dealer has does not affect the winnings in this case. Then the combinations are compared as in the first classic method with “Ante”.
Three Card Poker Strategy
There is no strategy for playing Pair Plus. In this game, your winning or losing depends solely on luck.
There is only one optimal 3 card poker strategy for Ante. You should only bet if you have a queen, a 6 and a 4 or a stronger card combination. Using this strategy reduces your casino advantage.
What do I need to know about betting?
To understand how to play 3 card poker in the casino, it is important to understand how to make your bets:
- Ante – the initial bet required to get the contest started.
- Ante Bonus – The bonus contribution, which is an optional contribution made by a participant for the purpose of taking additional winnings in circumstances where a straight, square or straight-flush hand is gathered. This contribution is made before the hand is dealt, as is the initial ante. When competing in casino games, it is possible to win:
- At a straight – 1:1;
- With a square – 3:1;
- At a straight flush – 4:1.
- A Pair Plus is a bonus bet, which is paid if the poker player has a set of pairs or a combination higher. And this type of bet is made before the hand. What can a poker player expect to receive? Pair plus is paid as follows:
- a pair – 1:1;
- flush – 4:1;;
- a straight – 5:1; a flush – 4:1; a straight – 5:1;
- a carre – 20:1;
- A straight flush – 40:1.
An example of a three-card stud poker game
Once the cards are dealt and the poker player is familiar with them, he has two choices: either respond with a bet, which is an ante in this contest, or simply discard the cards. In turn, the dealer opens his set. He compares the combinations shown by the two sides, and that’s how the winner is determined.
All winning combinations are paid 1:1 by the dealer. You can count on a decent prize if you make not only an initial deposit (ante), but also a couple of “+” and an ante bonus.
Next, we propose to deal with an example, then the strategy of playing three-card poker will become clearer.
Suppose, before starting, the poker player puts in ante in the amount of 1 chip. Then an additional pair of plus is put, which, according to the rules, cannot exceed the initial bet or be less than it.
The dealer shows his own set of cards. He then reveals the cards of the table’s representative, making a comparison to determine which bets took the upper hand and which ones lost.
Three-card stud poker does not involve an exchange. If a player has a pair or higher combination received in a hand, he will be paid a pair ‘+’ bet in accordance with the established rules.
Other actions with a player losing or winning depend directly on the dealer’s cards and the participant himself. The comparison is made according to seniority.
There is another point that cannot be overlooked. The poker player can only put up a payout of a pair plus. In such a situation, the dealer deals the cards and then checks to see what’s up. If the player has a pair or higher combination, then the bonus is rewarded according to the established scheme, and the cards are taken away. If the hand is less than a pair, the betting fee goes into the casino’s capital and the next hand starts.