Three Card Poker Rules

Three Card Poker was devised by Derek Webb in 1994 and patented in 1997. It is a house-banked game: each player plays against the dealer and not against the other players at the table.

The game is played with a single standard 52-card deck with no jokers. The deck is shuffled before every round, usually by an automatic shuffler.

Each player's hand consists of exactly three cards. There is no draw and there are no community cards.

A player may make two independent kinds of wager: the Ante, which is played against the dealer's hand, and Pair Plus, which is paid according to the strength of the player's own hand. A player may bet either or both, subject to the casino's rules.

Hands rank as follows, from highest to lowest. The frequencies are the number of three-card hands of each type out of the 22,100 possible hands.

A straight ranks above a flush, and three of a kind ranks above a straight. This is the reverse of five-card poker, and reflects how rare each hand is with three cards.

An ace may be high (A-K-Q) or low (A-2-3) in a straight. A-K-Q is the highest straight. A-2-3 is usually the lowest straight, but the house rules of the casino govern.

Hands of the same type are compared card by card from the highest card down. Pairs are compared first by the rank of the pair and then by the odd card. Suits have no rank.

The Play bet shall be exactly equal to the Ante. A player may not play for more or less than the Ante.

Players shall not share information about their hands with other players, and must keep their cards in view of the dealer at all times.

Once a player has folded or placed the Play bet, the decision is final.

The dealer's hand qualifies if it is queen-high or better. Any hand ranked pair or better qualifies, as does a high-card hand whose highest card is a queen, king or ace.

If the dealer does not qualify, each player who made a Play bet is paid even money (1 to 1) on the Ante, and the Play bet is returned as a push.

If the dealer qualifies, each playing hand is compared with the dealer's hand:

4.3(a) If the player's hand is higher, the Ante and the Play bet are each paid at even money.

4.3(b) If the dealer's hand is higher, the player loses both the Ante and the Play bet.

4.3(c) If the hands tie exactly, both bets are returned as a push.

A player who makes the Play bet and holds a straight or better is paid an ante bonus on the Ante. The bonus is paid whatever the dealer holds, whether or not the dealer qualifies and whether or not the dealer's hand is higher.

A player who folds receives no ante bonus.

The usual ante bonus table is shown below. Pay tables vary by casino and by jurisdiction, and the table posted at the game governs.

The Pair Plus bet wins if the player's three cards make a pair or better. It is settled on the player's hand alone: the dealer's hand, and whether the dealer qualifies, have no effect on it.

A Pair Plus bet loses if the player's hand is only high card.

Pair Plus pay tables differ widely between casinos. A commonly used table is shown below. Some casinos pay less on a flush or a straight, which raises the house edge considerably, so players should read the table posted at the game.

Many casinos offer a 6 Card Bonus side bet. It pays on the best five-card poker hand that can be made from the player's three cards and the dealer's three cards together, using standard five-card rankings. Payouts range from about 5 to 1 for three of a kind to 1,000 to 1 for a royal flush, and vary by casino.

Casinos may also offer progressive jackpots or other side bets. Their rules and pay tables are set by the casino and shall be posted at the table.

With the usual rules and ante bonus table, the house edge on the Ante is about 3.4% of the Ante. The house edge on Pair Plus depends heavily on the pay table in use.