Home Articles 3-Card Poker: A Style Of Play That Grows Day By Day

3-Card Poker: A Style Of Play That Grows Day By Day

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Poker is undoubtedly one of the most famous card games ever played. This can be quickly concluded after checking the number of variants that you can spot in any casino, one of them is 3-Card Poker, a game introduced almost 30 years ago that has become popular worldwide.

What is the history of the game, and why has it become so popular? Learn about it here.

History

Unlike other card games, 3-Card Poker is a relatively new invention. It was designed in 1994 by Derek Webb, a businessman who wanted to mix the best of Caribbean Stud and Let It Ride. Three years later, he patented his invention, and nowadays, major casinos like 888-Poker offer it on their online platforms, and you can find a 3-Card Poker table in almost every brick-and-mortar casino.

Rules

One of the key success criteria for 3-Card Poker is that the game is incredibly easy to learn and play. There are no complicated rules or terms, and betting is straightforward.

  1. The first step is to place the ante bet, a mandatory wager, for everyone at the table.
  2. Each player gets three cards, including the croupier. Recall that 3-Card Poker is played against the house and not against other players.
  3. After checking their cards, each player decides whether to continue by calling another bet or folding his hand.
  4. All players and the croupier unveil their cards, which are compared as follows:
    • If the croupier has a Jack high or worse, players recover their ante bet, and the hand ends.
    • In all other cases, the best pair of cards wins the hands.
    • The dealer pays to win players and starts a new hand.

Hand rankings

There are five possible hands in 3-Card Poker (six, if we consider “high card” a hand):

  • Pair, paid 1 to 1
  • Flush, paid 3 to 1
  • Straight, paid 6 to 1
  • Three of a kind, paid 30 to 1
  • Straight Flush, paid 40 to 1

You only have to worry about your own hand; the croupier will check everyone’s cards and make all payouts. As a small note, some games allow you to place a pair plus a bet, which will pay a bonus if you get a better hand than a pair, no matter what the croupier has.

Strategy

Playing 3-Card Poker is effortless. There are two strategies you can apply at the tables to get the most out of the game:

  1. Play only hands better than Q64 (Queen-Six-Four) and fold all others. There is no sense in playing a hand worse than Q high because the croupier won’t play and, at least with the Q64, you can beat the house’s worst hands.
  2. Keep your bankroll under control, never play outside of the stakes, set a loss budget, and stop when you feel good about your profits.

3-Card Poker became one of the most popular casino games by offering a fun and easy alternative to players who wanted to play a fast-paced poker variant with the possibility of big winnings.