There are many casino poker variants to choose from, but unquestionably, three card poker is among the most fast-paced and thrilling. This essential guide takes you through everything you need to know; we breakdown the rules of 3 card poker and explain how to play the game. Plus, we cover all the side bets, bonuses, and payouts; and reveal the perfect three-card poker strategy.

How to play three card poker

The important elements of creating great casino poker games are to firstly make the rules easy to understand, and secondly, the payouts have to be appealing to players. Derek Webb, the game’s inventor, combines these factors to a tee. Learning the basics of how to play three card poker only takes a minute or two.

3 pair is not a poker hand, the other player had a better 2 pair (Qs and 3s is better than 7s and 4s) Share. Improve this answer. Follow edited Jan 11 '18 at 6. In the ranking of poker hands, three of a kind is the fourth strongest type of hand, ahead of a High card, a Pair and two pair. There are six types of hands that will beat three of a Kind - a straight, a flush, a full house, four-of-a-kind, a straight flush and a royal flush. The best hand containing a pair is A-A-4-3-2. This version is sometimes called 'California Lowball'. When this form of low poker is played as part of a high-low split variant, there is sometimes a condition that a hand must be ' eight or better ' to qualify to win the low part of the pot. Official poker rankings: ties and kickers. Poker is all about making the best five-card poker hand from the seven cards available (five community cards plus your own two hole cards). That means in the event of a tie with four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, or high card, a side card, or 'kicker', comes into play to decide who wins the pot. That means in the event of a tie with four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, or high card, a side card, or 'kicker', comes into play to decide who wins the pot.

Of course, you want to refine your play with a proven strategy, but we’ll get to that part later. For now, let’s explain 3 card poker rules and guide you through the gameplay.

Three card poker rules

Once you know the rules, you’ll be well on your way to being able to play 3 card poker online. The game is played with a standard 52-card deck. Here’s a step-by-step guide to a single round.

• To begin a round, the player must place an ante bet.
• The dealer then deals three cards to the player, which are face-up, and three cards to himself, which are face down.
• Based on the three cards, the player can either fold the hand or continue by placing a play bet.
• If the player folds, he loses the original ante bet wager.
• If he continues, the cost of the play bet is equal to the ante bet.
• Assuming the player continues, the dealer turns over his three cards.
• The dealer’s hand needs to be at least Queen high to qualify.
• If the dealer’s hand doesn’t qualify, the player wins even money (1:1) on the ante bet, but the play bet is pushed (returned).
• When the dealer does qualify; the player’s hand is compared to the dealer’s hand. The winner is determined according to the order of 3 card poker hand ranks.
• If the player’s hand wins, he gets paid 1:1 on both the ante bet and the play bet.
• If the dealer’s hand wins, both bets are lost.
• It is possible for the hands to tie. In which case, the ante and play bets are pushed.
• Regardless of the outcome of the round, if the player holds a straight or higher, he wins an ante bonus (as described below).

Poker hand ranks

There’s a slight alteration in the poker hand ranks for this game (compared to most other forms of poker). The reason is that you are less likely to hit a straight draw than you are to get a flush draw. This is the ranking order, starting with the highest three card poker hand at the top:

• Straight flush: 3 cards of the same suit in consecutive order.
• Three of a kind: 3 cards of equal face value.
• Straight: 3 cards of mixed suits in consecutive order.
• Flush: 3 cards from the same suit but not in consecutive order.
• Pair: two cards of equal face value.
• High card: none of the above hands, means you only have a high card.

Three card poker odds and payouts

We described the standard 1:1 payouts in the 3 card poker rules outlined above, but those are just one part of this game. The excitement jumps up a few notches because three card poker also includes an ante bet bonus. The ante bet bonus is based purely on the player’s three cards. Therefore, you can win this bet but still lose the round.

Ante bet bonus payouts:

• Straight flush: 5 times the ante bet
• Three of a kind: 4 times the ante bet
• Straight: 1 times the ante bet

Pair Plus bet

Before the start of a hand, players can also make a Pair Plus side bet. Again, this wager is independent of the outcome of your game against the dealer. It’s based on the 3 cards you are dealt.

Pair Plus bet payouts:

• Straight flush: 40 to 1
• Three of a kind: 30 to 1
• Straight: 6 to 1
• Flush: 4 to 1
• A pair: 1 to 1

Six Card bonus

The six card bonus is another optional side bet, but not all three card poker games offer this wager. It uses the three player cards and the three dealer cards from which you must form a five-card hand that is on the pay table to win.

Pair Plus bet payouts:

• Royal flush: 1000 to 1
• Straight flush: 200 to 1
• Four of a kind: 50 to 1
• Full house: 25 to 1
• Flush: 15 to 1
• Straight: 10 to 1
• Three of a kind: 5 to 1

These poker hand rankings are more traditional with a royal flush being the best possible hand, and the flush payout is valued higher than the straight.

3 card poker strategy

We can categorize casino card games into two types. The first are games of chance, such as baccarat and Dragon Tiger. The others are decision-based games like blackjack, Caribbean Stud, and Casino Hold’em. Three card poker drops into the second type because the player makes a decision after seeing his cards on whether he wants to fold or continue by making the play bet.

All of these decision-based games have an optimal strategy. However, some of these involve studying playing charts, which dilutes the entertainment value of the game when you first start playing. The 3 card poker strategy doesn’t bother with such complexities. In fact, you only need to remember 3 cards.

The optimal three card poker strategy for the ante and play bet is QUEEN – SIX – FOUR

This means if your hand is equal to, or stronger than, Q-6-4, you should always raise and make the play bet. What you need to remember is to look at each card separately.

• Start with your highest card. If it’s lower than a Queen – you fold the hand.
• If the highest card is a King or Ace – you raise.
• If the highest card is a Queen, you must look at the second highest card. If lower than 6 – you fold the hand. But, if higher than 6 – you raise.
• If the second highest card is 6, you move onto the third card. Lower than 4 means you fold. 4 or higher, and you raise.

House edge

When choosing what casino games to play, you should always consider the house edge. This is essentially the advantage the casino has. The good news is the three card poker house edge is competitive, which is why this game has grown in popularity.

• The house edge for the ante and play bet combination is 2.01% when using the Q-6-4 strategy described above.
• For the Pair Plus bet, the house edge is 2.32% based on the pay table used in our example. This is reasonable value for a side bet.
• The same cannot be said for the Six Card Bonus bet. It has a house edge of 14.36% using the pay table shown. Therefore, even though the royal flush pays 1000 to 1, this side bet will cripple your bankroll over the long-term.

New players should note that the term ‘house edge’ is rarely used these days. Instead, the theoretical return to player (RTP) percentage is given. The RTP can be calculated by: 100% – house edge. Therefore, the RTP for the ante – play bet is 97.99%.

Tips for playing 3 card poker

Using our experience, and from talking with other three card poker players, we’ve composed a few easy-to-follow tips to help you get more from this game.

• Follow the Q-6-4 strategy. It can be tempting to play J-10-8 because the cards are all reasonably high, but this is not smart, and you will end up losing more than you win.
• Check the pay tables before you play. Several software developers have created their own variants, and there is also live 3 card poker. Just because the title of the game is the same, it doesn’t mean the pay tables are. This has an impact on the RTP, and you want to play where you get the best value.
• Avoid the Six Card Bonus wager. The RTP for this bet is 85.64%. That means on average (over the long-term) for every $100 wagered, you win $85.64.
• Manage your bankroll. You don’t want to play $20 ante bets, and $20 play bets if you only have $100 in your casino account. Look to divide your budget so you can get 50 to 100 hands out of what you have.
• Practice by playing free three card poker games. Most online casinos, after you have registered, will allow you to play in demo mode. This allows you to practice your playing and betting strategy. Please note, you won’t be able to play live 3 card poker games for free.

Live three card poker

The award-winning Evolution Gaming, in partnership with Scientific Gaming, has created a spectacular live dealer three card poker game. This brings you all the authentic gameplay that you get in a land-based casino, but from the comfort of your own home.

It should be noted that there is usually a trade-off playing live games. Most of the time, the RTP is lower due to the extra costs involved in operating these tables. For instance, we’ve read reports that the ante bonus on Evolution’s live variant pays 5 to 1, but you need a mini royal flush to claim it.

This title also has the two side bets we talked about above. However, the pay table for Pairs Plus is not identical. Playing live, there is a maximum payout of 100 to 1 for a mini royal. This may appear more rewarding, but the payout for a straight is less, so the house edge ends up being higher. With that said, playing three card poker live is a great experience, and we think it’s worth trying even though the RTP is not as high.

Where to play online three card poker

Three card poker may not have the iconic status of roulette or blackjack, but it’s catching up in the popularity stakes. Thanks to there being both virtual RNG and live games, you can now find this poker variant in hundreds of online casinos around the world, including:

• 888casino
• PlayOJO
• Mr Green
• Ignition

The decision where to play three card poker depends on what you want from the casino. Each operator has its strengths and weaknesses. Some offer larger bonuses, while others have faster payouts or better mobile apps. If you’re looking for your first casino, we recommend checking out our online casino reviews section for an honest point of view. In terms of bonuses specific for 3 card poker; the truth is that there aren’t many. You can use a casino’s welcome bonus to play, but the wagering requirements combined with game weighting limitations means you are unlikely to score a profit from these offers.

Three card poker – F.A.Q.

To summarize the main points of this article, we’ve included this general three card poker FAQ.

Is there any strategy to 3 card poker?

Yes, and it’s very straightforward. The strategy is Queen – Six – Four. If your hand value is lower than that, you fold. If equal or higher, you make the play bet.

What is the highest hand in 3 card poker?

The highest hand is Ace – King – Queen of the same suit. This is known as a mini royal. There are no trump suits in three card poker.

Do I play against other players?

No, three card poker is a player vs dealer game. If you play live, you can play alongside other players although each of you has to take on the dealer.

Can I play free 3 card poker?

Yes, nearly all online casinos that offer an RNG version will allow you to play free 3 card poker in practice mode.

Brian Alspach

18 January 2000

Abstract:

One of the most popular poker games is 7-card stud. The way hands areranked is to choose the highest ranked 5-card hand contained amongst the7 cards. People frequently encounter difficulty in counting 7-card handsbecause a given set of 7 cards may contain several different types of5-card hands. This means duplicate counting can be troublesome as canomission of certain hands. The types of 5-card poker hands in decreasingrank are

• straight flush
• 4-of-a-kind
• full house
• flush
• straight
• 3-of-a-kind
• two pairs
• a pair
• high card

The total number of 7-card poker hands is .

We shall count straight flushes using the largest card in the straightflush. This enables us to pick up 6- and 7-card straight flushes. Whenthe largest card in the straight flush is an ace, then the 2 other cardsmay be any 2 of the 47 remaining cards. This gives us straight flushes in which the largest card is an ace.

If the largest card is any of the remaining 36 possible largest cards ina straight flush, then we may choose any 2 cards other than theimmediate successor card of the particular suit. This gives usstraight flushes of the second type, and41,584 straight flushes altogether.

In forming a 4-of-a-kind hand, there are 13 choices for the rank ofthe quads, 1 choice for the 4 cards of the given rank, and choices for the remaining 3 cards. This implies there are 4-of-a-kind hands.

There are 3 ways to get a full house and we count them separately. Oneway of obtaining a full house is for the 6-card hand to contain 2 setsof triples and a singleton. There are ways tochoose the 2 ranks, 4 ways to choose each of the triples, and 44 ways tochoose the singleton. This gives us fullhouses of this type. A second way of getting a full houseis for the 7-card hand to contain a triple and 2 pairs. There are 13ways to choose the rank of the triple, ways tochoose the ranks of the pairs, 4 ways to choose the triple of the givenrank, and 6 ways to choose the pairs of each of the given ranks. Thisproduces full house of the secondkind. The third way to get a full house is for the 7-card hand tocontain a triple, a pair and 2 singletons of distinct ranks. There are13 choices for the rank of the triple, 12 choices for the rank of thepair, choices for the ranks of the singletons,4 choices for the triple, 6 choices for the pair, and 4 choices for eachof the singletons. We obtain full houses of the last kind. Adding the 3 numbers gives us3,473,184 full houses.

To count the number of flushes, we first obtain some useful informationon sets of ranks. The number of ways of choosing 7 distinct ranks from13 is .We want to remove the sets of rankswhich include 5 consecutive ranks (that is, we are removing straightpossibilities). There are 8 rank sets of the form .Another form to eliminate is ,where y is neither x-1 nor x+6. If x is ace or 9, thereare 6 choices for y. If x is any of the other 7 possibilities, thereare 5 possibilities for y. This produces sets with 6 consecutive ranks. Finally, the remaining form to eliminateis ,where neither y nor z is allowed totake on the values x-1 or x+5. If x is either ace or 10, theny,z are being chosen from a 7-subset. If x is any of the other 8possible values, then y,z are being chosen from a 6-set. Hence, thenumber of rank sets being excluded in this case is .In total, we remove 217 sets of ranks ending upwith 1,499 sets of 7 ranks which do not include 5 consecutive ranks.Thus, there are flushes having all 7 cards in thesame suit.

Now suppose we have 6 cards in the same suit. Again there are 1,716sets of 6 ranks for these cards in the same suit. We must excludesets of ranks of the form of which thereare 9. We also must exclude sets of ranks of the form ,where y is neither x-1 nor x+5. So if x is aceor 10, y can be any of 7 values; whereas, if x is any of the other8 possible values, y can be any of 6 values. This excludes 14 + 48= 62 more sets. Altogether 71 sets have been excluded leaving 1,645sets of ranks for the 6 suited cards not producing a straight flush.The remaining card may be any of the 39 cards from the other 3 suits.This gives us flushes with 6 suitedcards.

Finally, suppose we have 5 cards in the same suit. The remaining 2cards cannot possibly give us a hand better than a flush so all we needdo here is count flushes with 5 cards in the same suit. There arechoices for 5 ranks in the same suit. We mustremove the 10 sets of ranks producing straight flushes leaving us with1,277 sets of ranks. The remaining 2 cards can be any 2 cards from theother 3 suits so that there are choices for them.Then there are flushes of this lasttype. Adding the numbers of flushes of the 3 types produces 4,047,644flushes.

We saw above that there are 217 sets of 7 distinct ranks which include5 consecutive ranks. For any such set of ranks, each card may be anyof 4 cards except we must remove those which correspond to flushes.There are 4 ways to choose all of them in the same suit. There areways to choose 6 of them in the same suit. For 5of them in the same suit, there are ways to choosewhich 5 will be in the same suit, 4 ways to choose the suit of the 5cards, and 3 independent choices for the suits of each of the 2 remainingcards. This gives choices with 5 in the samesuit. We remove the 844 flushes from the 4⁷ = 16,384 choices of cardsfor the given rank set leaving 15,540 choices which produce straights.We then obtain straights when the 7-cardhand has 7 distinct ranks.

We now move to hands with 6 distinct ranks. One possible form is,where x can be any of 9 ranks. The otherpossible form is ,where y is neither x-1nor x+5. When x is ace or 10, then there are 7 choices for y.When x is between 2 and 9, inclusive, there are 6 choices for y.This implies there are sets of 6 distinctranks corresponding to straights. Note this means there must be a pairin such a hand. We have to ensure we do not count any flushes.

As we just saw, there are 71 choices for the set of 6 ranks. Thereare 6 choices for which rank will have a pair and there are 6 choicesfor a pair of that rank. Each of the remaining 5 cards can be chosenin any of 4 ways. Now we remove flushes. If all 5 cards were chosenin the same suit, we would have a flush so we remove the 4 ways ofchoosing all 5 in the same suit. In addition, we cannot choose 4 ofthem in either suit of the pair. There are 5 ways to choose 4 cardsto be in the same suit, 2 choices for that suit and 3 choices for thesuit of the remaining card. So there are choices which give a flush. This means there are 4⁵ - 34 = 990choices not producing a flush. Hence, there are straights of this form.

We also can have a set of 5 distinct ranks producing a straight whichmeans the corresponding 7-card hand must contain either 2 pairs or3-of-a-kind as well. The set of ranks must have the formand there are 10 such sets. First we supposethe hand also contains 3-of-a-kind. There are 5 choices for the rankof the trips, and 4 choices for trips of that rank. The cards of theremaining 4 ranks each can be chosen in any of 4 ways. This gives4⁴ = 256 choices for the 4 cards. We must remove the 3 choices for whichall 4 cards are in the same suit as one of the cards in the 3-of-a-kind.So we have straights which alsocontain 3-of-a-kind.

Next we suppose the hand also contains 2 pairs. There are choices for the 2 ranks which will be paired. There are 6choices for each of the pairs giving us 36 ways to choose the 2 pairs.We have to break down these 36 ways of getting 2 pairs because differentsuit patterns for the pairs allow different possibilities for flushesupon choosing the remaining 3 cards. Now 6 of the ways of getting the2 pairs have the same suits represented for the 2 pairs, 24 of themhave exactly 1 suit in common between the 2 pairs, and 6 of them haveno suit in common between the 2 pairs.

There are 4³ = 64 choices for the suits of the remaining 3 cards.In the case of the 6 ways of getting 2 pairs with the same suits, 2of the 64 choices must be eliminated as they would produce a flush(straight flush actually). In the case of the 24 ways of getting 2pairs with exactly 1 suit in common, only 1 of the 64 choices need beeliminated. When the 2 pairs have no suit in common, all 64 choicesare allowed since a flush is impossible. Altogether we obtain

straights which alsocontain 2 pairs. Adding all the numbers together gives us 6,180,020straights.

A hand which is a 3-of-a-kind hand must consist of 5 distinct ranks.There are sets of 5 distinct ranks fromwhich we must remove the 10 sets corresponding to straights. Thisleaves 1,277 sets of 5 ranks qualifying for a 3-of-a-kind hand. Thereare 5 choices for the rank of the triple and 4 choices for the tripleof the chosen rank. The remaining 4 cards can be assigned any of 4suits except not all 4 can be in the same suit as the suit of one ofcards of the triple. Thus, the 4 cards may be assigned suits in 4⁴-3=253 ways. Thus, we obtain 3-of-a-kind hands.

Next we consider two pairs hands. Such a hand may contain either 3pairs plus a singleton, or two pairs plus 3 remaining cards of distinctranks. We evaluate these 2 types of hands separately. If the hand has3 pairs, there are ways to choose the ranks ofthe pairs, 6 ways to choose each of the pairs, and 40 ways to choosethe singleton. This produces 7-card hands with 3 pairs.

The other kind of two pairs hand must consist of 5 distinct ranks andas we saw above, there are 1,277 sets of ranks qualifying for a twopairs hand. There are choices for the two ranksof the pairs and 6 choices for each of the pairs. The remaining cardsof the other 3 ranks may be assigned any of 4 suits, but we must removeassignments which result in flushes. This results in exactly thesame consideration for the overlap of the suits of the two pairs asin the final case for flushes above. We then obtain

hands of two pairs of the second type. Adding the two gives 31,433,4007-card hands with two pairs.

Now we count the number of hands with a pair. Such a hand must have6 distinct ranks. We saw above there are 1,645 sets of 6 ranks whichpreclude straights. There are 6 choices for the rank of the pair and6 choices for the pair of the given rank. The remaining 5 ranks canhave any of 4 suits assigned to them, but again we must remove thosewhich produce a flush. We cannot choose all 5 to be in the same suitfor this results in a flush. This can happen in 4 ways. Also, wecannot choose 4 of them to be in the same suit as the suit of eitherof the cards forming the pair. This can happen in ways. Hence, there are 4⁵-34 = 990 choices for the remaining 4 cards.This gives us hands with a pair.

We could determine the number of high card hands by removing the handswhich have already been counted in one of the previous categories.Instead, let us count them independently and see if the numbers sumto 133,784,560 which will serve as a check on our arithmetic.

Great Two Pair Poker Hand

A high card hand has 7 distinct ranks, but does not include straights.So we must eliminate sets of ranks which have 5 consecutive ranks.Above we determined there are 1,499 sets of 7 ranks not containing 5consecutive ranks, that is, there are no straights. Now the card ofeach rank may be assigned any of 4 suits giving 4⁷ = 16,384 assignmentsof suits to the ranks. We must eliminate those which resulkt in flushes.There are 4 ways to assign all 7 cards the same suit. There are 7choices for 6 cards to get the same suit, 4 choices of the suit to beassigned to the 6 cards, and 3 choices for the suit of the other card.This gives assignments in which 6 cards end upwith the same suit. Finally, there are choices for5 cards to get the same suit, 4 choices for that suit, and 3 independentchoices for each of the remaining 2 cards. This gives assignments producing 5 cards in the same suit. Altogether wemust remove 4 + 84 + 756 = 844 assignments resulting in flushes. Thus,the number of high card hands is 1,499(16,384 - 844)=23,294,460.

If we sum the preceding numbers, we obtain 133,784,560 and we can beconfident the numbers are correct.

Poker Hand 2 Pair

Here is a table summarizing the number of 7-card poker hands. Theprobability is the probability of having the hand dealt to you whendealt 7 cards.

hand	number	Probability
straight flush	41,584	.00031
4-of-a-kind	224,848	.0017
full house	3,473,184	.026
flush	4,047,644	.030
straight	6,180,020	.046
3-of-a-kind	6,461,620	.048
two pairs	31,433,400	.235
pair	58,627,800	.438
high card	23,294,460	.174

How Many One Pair Poker Hands Are There

You will observe that you are less likely to be dealt a hand withno pair (or better) than to be dealt a hand with one pair. Thishas caused some people to query the ranking of these two hands.In fact, if you were ranking 7-card hands based on 7 cards, theorder of the last 2 would switch. However, you are basing the rankingon 5 cards so that if you were to rank a high card hand higher than a handwith a single pair, people would choose to ignore the pair in a7-card hand with a single pair and call it a high card hand. Thiswould have the effect of creating the following distortion. Thereare 81,922,260 7-card hands in the last two categories containing5 cards which are high card hands. Of these 81,922,260 hands,58,627,800 also contain 5-card hands which have a pair. Thus, thelatter hands are more special and should be ranked higher (as theyindeed are) but would not be under the scheme being discussed inthis paragraph.

Best Pair In Poker