Blog Posted on 21/09/2022 | Author: Karen Macarthur

Beginner’s Guide to Playing Three Card Poker

Three Card Poker is an interesting Poker variant that has gained immense popularity in recent times, all thanks to its relatively easy-going rules and exciting nature. While being easy to get started with as a beginner, it’s important to know the basics and gameplay rules of Three Card Poker if you want to get the most out of it. As such, here’s a Three Card Poker guide that covers everything you’ll need to play the game effectively and efficiently.

Three Card Poker basics and objective

In land-based gambling venues and at live casino sites, Three Card Poker is played using a standard deck of 52 cards and Poker chips. Here, Poker betting chips of varying colours are used to represent different values of money. Also, an automatic card shuffling machine is in place to ensure that the cards are drawn randomly.

When playing online, the basic premise of Three Card Poker is basically the same as its land-based counterpart. However, the online version makes use of digital chips and virtual cards. Also, you’ll find numerous helpful in-game features when playing Three Card Poker at the best mobile casino.

As with many other online casino games, the main objective of Three Card Poker is pretty simple. In Three Card Poker, your aim is to make the best three-card hand possible.

How to play Three Card Poker

Each Three Card Poker gameplay round starts with the players placing the Ante wager (before the dealing of the cards). The Ante bet means the player is betting that he has a hand of at least a Pair or better.

After this, each player and the dealer receive three cards face down. As Three Card Poker is played against the dealer, you don’t need to worry about what cards other players have.

Then after viewing your cards, you can go with either of the two options:

• Raise – In Three Card Poker, to raise means to place an additional wager that is equal to the ante bet. Players need to opt for this option if they want to stay in the game.
• Fold – To fold means to forfeit your hand and surrender your ante wager to the dealer. Many professional Poker players suggest that one must fold all hands that are worse than Queen, Six and Four.

Once all players decide what to do with their hands, the dealer reveals his three cards and compares them with the players’ hands. At this point, any of the following three things can happen:

If the dealer doesn’t have a Queen High or better in his three-card Poker hand, he gets disqualified from the game. Here, players with a winning hand are paid 1:1 on their ante wager.

If the dealer’s hand contains a Queen High or better but is unable to beat the player’s hand, both the ante bet and the play bet of the player is paid out at 1:1.

Finally, if the dealer’s hand is able to beat the player’s hand, the player needs to surrender both his ante and play wager.

Three Card Poker hand rankings

As Three Card Poker is played using just three cards, its hand rankings are somewhat different than the standard Poker rankings given in our Video Poker guide. The Three Card Poker rankings, from highest to lowest, are as follows:

Straight Flush – This Three Card Poker hand contains three cards of the same suit. Also, the cards are in consecutive ranks here. Example: 9C, 8C, 7C.

Three of a Kind – This Poker hand is made up of three cards of the same rank. The suit type doesn’t matter here. Example: 6H, 6C, 6D.

Straight – The Straight hand is made up of three cards in consecutive ranking, irrespective of the suit. Example: 9C, 8D, 7H.

Flush – Three cards of the same suit (irrespective of the rank) make the Flush hand. Example: 10D, 6D, 4D.

Pair – As the name implies, this Poker hand is made up of two cards of the same rank. The suit of the cards doesn’t matter here. Example: 8C, 8H, 3C.

High Card – A hand with cards that aren’t a part of any of the hands mentioned above.

Three Card Poker strategy

As with any other casino game online, there’s no real strategy when it comes to winning at Three Card Poker. Once you know the basic rules and hand rankings in Three Card Poker, it’s all a matter of knowing when to fold and knowing when to raise your wager. But if you still want to use some kind of playing strategy, you can take the help of our best Poker tips and use a good bankroll management system.