Casino game · House-banked
In Let It Ride, the player places three equal bets and is dealt three cards; two community cards complete a five-card hand. Before each community card is turned, the player may take back one of the bets or let it ride. There is no dealer hand: any bets still standing are paid from a pay table if the final hand is a pair of tens or better.
Let It Ride is a house-banked game. Players do not compete against the dealer or each other. Each player's final five-card hand is paid according to a fixed pay table.
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Hands are ranked according to the standard poker hand rankings.
The game was created by John Breeding, founder of Shuffle Master, as a way to promote the company's shuffling machines.
Before the deal, each player shall place three bets of equal value in the three betting circles. The circles are usually marked 1, 2 and $.
Bet 1 may be withdrawn after the player sees their three cards. Bet 2 may be withdrawn after the first community card is revealed. The $ bet can never be withdrawn.
Withdrawing bet 1 does not prevent a player from letting bet 2 ride, and letting bet 1 ride does not oblige a player to leave bet 2 in play. Each decision is separate.
A player may also place the optional Three Card Bonus side bet (Article 6) before the deal.
| Stage | Cards known to the player | Player's decision |
|---|---|---|
| First decision | The player's three cards | Take back bet 1, or let it ride |
| First community card turned | Four cards | Take back bet 2, or let it ride |
| Second community card turned | All five cards | None; bets are settled |
Each player receives three cards face down. Two community cards are dealt face down in front of the dealer. They are shared by all players.
Players shall not show their cards to other players or discuss their hands.
After every player has made the first decision, the dealer turns over the first community card. After every player has made the second decision, the dealer turns over the second community card.
Each player's hand is their three cards plus the two community cards.
If the hand is a pair of tens or better, every bet still in play is paid at the odds in the pay table (Article 5). If the hand is worse, every bet still in play loses.
Withdrawn bets are returned to the player and neither win nor lose.
Letting both bets ride with a paying pair
The player bets 10 on each circle and is dealt 10♥10♠4♣. A pair of tens is already a paying hand, so the player lets bet 1 ride.
The first community card is 7♦. The player lets bet 2 ride. The second community card is K♠.
Final hand: 10♥10♠K♠7♦4♣, a pair of tens. All three bets pay 1 to 1: the player wins 30.
Pulling back both bets
The player bets 10 on each circle and is dealt 8♣5♦2♠. The player takes back bet 1.
The first community card is 8♥, giving a pair of eights, which does not pay. The player takes back bet 2.
The second community card is K♠. Final hand: a pair of eights. Only the $ bet was in play, so the player loses 10.
Pay tables vary by casino. This is the standard table. Each bet still in play is paid at these odds.
| Final hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 1,000 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 200 to 1 |
| Four of a kind | 50 to 1 |
| Full house | 11 to 1 |
| Flush | 8 to 1 |
| Straight | 5 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 3 to 1 |
| Two pair | 2 to 1 |
| Pair of tens or better | 1 to 1 |
| Pair of nines or lower, or no pair | Bets lose |
Casinos may limit the total amount paid on a single hand. The limit, if any, shall be posted at the table.
The Three Card Bonus is settled on the player's own three cards only, ranked as three-card hands, in the same way as the Pair Plus bet in Three Card Poker. The community cards and withdrawn bets do not affect it.
In three-card rankings, a straight beats a flush, because it is rarer with three cards. A mini royal is A-K-Q of one suit. The most common table is:
| Three-card hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Mini royal (suited A-K-Q) | 50 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 30 to 1 |
| Straight | 6 to 1 |
| Flush | 3 to 1 |
| Pair | 1 to 1 |
A pair of tens. A pair of nines or lower loses every bet still in play.
No. You can take back bet 1 and bet 2, but the third bet, marked $, always stays in play.
No. The dealer has no hand. Your five cards are paid purely on the pay table.
Yes. The two decisions are independent. You can let either, both or neither ride.
Where any doubt remains in the application of this document, Rob is right.
Hand rankings, high to low: royal flush · straight flush · four of a kind · full house · flush · straight · three of a kind · two pair · one pair · high card. Suits never break ties.
Let It Ride Rules · OPR-804 · officialpokerrules.com/let-it-ride/