Game Rules

Three Card Poker

How the Game Is Played

Three Card Poker is played on a Blackjack-style table, using a single deck of cards.

Before the dealer deals, you can:

• Place a wager in the Pair Plus circle to bet that your hand will include a pair or better.

• Place a wager in the Ante circle to compete against the dealer’s hand.

• Place both a Pair Plus wager and an Ante wager.

Once everyone has placed their bets, each player and the dealer receive three cards,

face down.

Look at your cards. If you placed only a Pair Plus wager, there is nothing to do but

determine whether you are entitled to a payoff (there is no raising or discarding for

Pair Plus wagers). Pair Plus payoffs are made according to the following schedule,

regardless of the dealer’s hand:

Hand Pair Plus Payoff

Straight flush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 to 1

Three of a kind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 to 1

Straight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 to 1

Flush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 to 1

Pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Even money

If you placed an Ante wager, you can now fold–and lose your initial Ante wager as well

as any Pair Plus wager you may have made. Or you can go against the dealer’s hand,

sight unseen, by placing a wager in the Play circle equal to the Ante.

When all Ante players have folded or bet, the dealer reveals his or her cards. What

happens next depends on whether the dealer’s hand qualifies with a queen high or

better. If the dealer’s hand is not good enough to qualify, all Ante bets win even money,

all Play bets are returned, and the dealer deals again.

If the dealer’s hand qualifies, players compare their hands with the dealer’s according

to this ranking: straight flush, three of a kind, straight, flush, pair, and high card.

Players with hands higher than those of the dealer win even money on their Ante and

Play bets. Players with hands lower than those of the dealer lose both Ante and Play

bets. In case of a tie, both bets push.

Even if the dealer fails to qualify or beats your hand, you may have one more chance at

winning money: A hand with a straight or better qualifies for a bonus payout. Bonuses

are paid on the Ante bet (not the Play bet) according to the following schedule:

Hand Bonus Payoff

Straight flush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 to 1

Three of a kind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 to 1

Straight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Even money

Flush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . None

Pair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . None

Strategies for Winning at Three Card Poker

Three Card Poker attracts players because it’s fast-paced and fun to play, not because

it rewards strategy and skill. In fact, Pair Plus betting in Three Card Poker is entirely a

matter of chance. With a house advantage of 2.32%, however, Pair Plus isn’t a bad

way to sit back and enjoy the luck of the draw.

In Ante/Play it’s you against the house advantage. (The skills of the dealer and the other

players don’t matter at all.) On his Wizard of Odds Web site (www.thewizardofodds.com),

mathematician Michael Shackleford demonstrates that you can make the house

advantage as low as 3.37% by following this simple strategy: Fold with any hand less

than Q-6-4.

Some Three Card Poker players follow a mimic-the-dealer rule, by raising on any

queen or better. Shackleford notes, however, that the house advantage in this strategy

rises to 3.45%.

One final piece of advice: before folding, make sure you are not forfeiting a Pair Plus

payoff. Remember that by folding you lose both your Pair Plus wager and your Ante

wager.

Three Card Poker Strategy Highlights

• Pair Plus betting is pure chance with a 2.32% house edge.

• In Ante/Play betting, fold with any hand less than Q-6-4.

• Don’t fold a Pair Plus winner! By folding, you lose your Pair Plus bet as well as

your Ante bet, so never fold a Pair Plus winner.

Four Card Poker

Four Card Poker features head-to-head play against the dealer and an optional bonus bet. It is similar to Three Card Poker®, but with one major difference. In Three Card, the Play wager must equal the Ante; in Four Card, players may bet up to three times their Ante when staying in the game.

How To Play:

All players first make an Ante bet to compete with the dealer and have the option to also make an Aces Up bet to play against the paytable.

Each player receives five cards to make four-card poker hands. Four-card straights are straights, four-card flushes are flushes.

The Dealer’s Hand:

The dealer gets six cards to make his four-card hand. One of the dealer's cards is dealt

face-up.

Stay or Fold?

After seeing your hand, you may fold or stay in the game by making a Play wager. You may bet one to three times your Ante if you choose to stay in the game.

Winning & Losing:

The dealer reveals his hand and compares it to each player’s hand. If a player beats (or ties) the dealer, his Play and Ante bets win even money. If the dealer beats the player, the Play and Ante bets lose. Note: The dealer always qualifies.

Automatic Bonuses:

Premium hands—three-of-a-kind and higher—receive automatic payouts. These are paid on the Ante wager. Automatic Bonuses always win, even if the player loses to the dealer.

Aces Up:

The Aces Up side bet wins when the player has a pair of Aces or better.

Ranking of Hands:

Four-of-a-Kind, Straight Flush, Three-of-a-Kind, Flush, Straight, Two Pair, Pair

Paytable:

Automatic Bonus                   Aces Up

Four-of-a-Kind                       25 to 1                                     50 to 1    

Straight Flush                        20 to 1                                     40 to 1

Three-of-a-Kind                     2 to 1                                       9 to1

Flush                                                                                      6 to 1

Straight                                                                                   4 to 1

Two Pair                                                                                 2 to 1

Pair of Aces                                                                            1 to 1