Three Card Poker Basics

1 Games and Luck user rated this strategy.
This rating gives the following value:
A FLUSH

Three Card Poker is one of the hottest games available in casinos both online and offline today. Since it's introduction to the casino world in the early 1990's, it has gained immensely in popularity. When the game was first created by Poker player Derek Webb, no one thought it would catch on the way it has. In fact, the original purpose of the creation of the game was to promote the new card shuffling machines made by Shuffle Master. Who would have known that Three Card Poker would become so popular that today you can find it in almost every internet and brick and mortar casino that offers table games. Of course, every casino wants to be original, so you may find 3 Card Poker under many different names such as Tri Card Poker, Three Card Poker, Tres Poker or 3 Card Poker. Although it is common for the name to change, the rules of the game will be the same.

As you can tell from the name, 3 Card Poker is a fun Poker game variation where instead of playing against other players as you might in Texas Holdem, Three Card Poker is a table game and like other table games such as Blackjack, you will be playing against the house. Most games played against the house give the house an edge, meaning that the house is more likely to win more in the long run than the players. However, as with any skill game, if you learn the rules and apply a good strategy to the game you will take away some of the house advantage. What many players do not realize is that the house edge that the casino provides for you is the house edge if you are playing with a perfect strategy. This means that when you just play, without truly knowing the game or any strategy for it, you are actually giving the house a higher edge which means less money for you in the long run.

Before you start to wager your hard earned money at a 3 Card Poker table, you want to learn how the game is played. Mastering the game of Three Card Poker is very simple to do if you first learn all about the game and a good strategy to use. The main idea of the game is basically the same as any Poker game, in that you are looking for certain Poker hands that can be made with the 3 different cards that the dealer deals to you. When you first start playing 3 Card Poker, the best way to make sure you are only playing the best hands is to research the hand rankings because even though they are similar to regular Poker, they have a couple differences that give the game it's own unique edge. When you first get dealt your cards you should position your cards so that they are in order from highest to lowest. The first thing you want to pay attention to after positioning your cards is what the highest card in your hand is. If the highest card dealt to you is lower than a queen, you should definitely fold, unless of course you have a straight or other high ranking hand.

Once you have checked out your highest card and it is either a King, Ace or Queen you will now take a glance at the next highest card that you are holding in your hand. If the second highest card in your hand is a 6 or lower, you will want to fold your hand, of course, this is assuming that you do not have a high ranking hand as mentioned above such as a straight or a 3 of a kind. When you keep this certain rule in mind every time you sit down at a 3 Card Poker table, you will be using a good strategy, which stops the house edge from raising. Even if you went to the casino to play 3 Card Poker with just this simple rule in mind, it will help you to know which hands to play and which not to play which can save you a bunch in the end! Many players have a tough time understanding Three Card Poker, especially if they are familiar with other Poker games because although there is Poker in the name and it is played similarly to Poker as far as hands, but there are a few differences that may take a bit to get used to.

In the game of 3 card Poker a lot of beginning players will make a constant mistake of not knowing the hand rankings of the game, thus playing hands that they should have folded straight off. The thing is, even though this is a Poker variation game and the rankings are pretty much the same as well, a couple things are switched a round a bit. The biggest confusion for most new 3 Card Poker players are flushes, because in regular Poker, a flush will beat a straight and a 3 of a kind, but in 3 card Poker that is not the case. In fact, a flush in 3 Card Poker only beats a pair or a high card which is why it was mentioned above that you should never play a hand because you have a flush draw. Although there are many cards to make a flush, especially when only needing 3 cards to the flush, the flush is one of the lower hands in the 3 Card Poker hand rankings. Below are the different Three Card Poker hand rankings from the best to the worst!

3 Card Straight Flush, in other words 3 consecutive cards of one certain suit
3 of a Kind, meaning that 3 cards that are the same for example 222
3 Card Straight, 3 consecutive cards
3 Card Flush, meaning that 3 cards that have the same suit
Pair, also meaning 2 cards that are the same number for example 4,4
High Card is the highest card of the 3 that the dealer dealt!

highest rated strategies of this section

Let it Ride Basics
4.00 points