Three Card Poker Variation

One popular casino game that has caught the attention of players is the 3 card poker. Many have discovered that this game is not only simple and easy to follow but that it also packs in a lot of excitement. This poker game lets you take a stab at two separate games in one round so that players will have more chances of winning bigger pot money than the usual poker game. There are Pair Plus and Ante Bet games where a player may opt to take up either or both games, depending on the casino rules.

Three card poker utilizes a regular deck composed of 52 cards. The poker table has displays 3 betting circles for each player where the topmost circle shows Pair Plus while the two other circles below that indicates betting circles for Ante and Play, respectively. This is the regular layout for a 3 card poker table.

Game Proceedings

Players will each place their bets for Pair Plus and Ante Play circles. In some casinos, players will be required to make a bet for the Ante prior to allowing them to bet on the Pair Plus circle. Depending on a player's preference, one may forego betting on the Pair Plus circle and go for Ante Play only. Afterwards, the dealer will then start dealing three cards for each player and the first round of betting starts with the player on the left side of the dealer going clockwise until the player on the dealer's right makes his move. The player may each decide to fold where he loses his ante bet or raise by betting an equal amount to his ante bet.

After this round, the dealer reveals his hand which determines the pay outcome for each player. In ante play, the dealer will need to qualify with a hand showing a Queen or better. Otherwise, players who haven't folded will receive payouts for each one's ante bet and play bets are returned. But if the dealer qualifies with a better hand, the players remaining on the table loses both wagers. Should the dealer qualify but player shows a better hand than the dealer's, even money is paid out for both wagers. The hand rankings from strongest to weakest are straight flush, 3 of a kind, straight, flush, pair or two of a kind and the high card.

Gameplay for Pair Plus

For players who have placed a bet on the Pair Plus circle of the table, the rule on dealer qualifying does not count in this case. Nor will it matter if the dealer had a better hand during the Ante Play. What matters in Pair Plus is whether your hand had at least one pair. Hand probability indicates that a quarter of the time, a player will be dealt a pair.

As one can readily see, the reasons why 3 card poker is becoming are clearly understandable. Each player will only try to beat the dealer instead of playing against each other. Discover for yourself why many are starting to shift to this game.