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How To Play 3 Card Poker

How To Play In Brief

3 Card Poker is based on a popular 3 card variation of Poker that has two ways to bet and three ways to win. It is played using a single standard deck of 52 cards. Players have a choice of two betting options, "Competition" and "Pair Plus", and may wager on either or both in each game.

Competition

If you have a "Straight", "3 of a Kind", or "Straight Flush" you'll be paid an Ante bonus as shown below: (even if you lose to the CROUPIER).

  • Straight Even Money
  • 3 of a Kind 4-1
  • Straight Flush 5-1

The Rank of Hands

  • Straight Flush
  • 3 Of A Kind
  • Straight
  • Flush
  • Pair
  • Highest Card

You may bet your hand will beat the croupiers and must place at least the minimum bet for the table in the Ante box (maximum and minimum bets are displayed on a sign on the table).

After the cards have been dealt and you wish to continue because you feel you have a good enough hand, you will need to place a further bet equal to your "Ante" bet in the "Play" box on the table. If you do not wish to continue, the Ante bet will be forfeit.

At this point your hand will be compared with the croupiers.

  • The croupier must have "Queen High" as a minimum to qualify to play.
  • If the croupier's hand does not qualify, all "Play" bets are returned and "Ante" bets are paid out even money
  • If the croupier's hand does qualify you win even money on both the "Ante" and "Play" bets if you have a higher ranked hand. If the croupier has a higher ranked hand, then you lose both your "Ante" and "Play" wagers.

Pair Plus

This is a bet on having a pair of higher in your hand.
If you have any of the following hands, you will win regardless of what the dealer has, at the odds shown below:
Pair: Even Money
Flush: 4-1
Straight: 6-1
3 of a Kind: 33-1
Straight Flush: 35-1

 

PRIME

For the Prime game  an additional wager is available on each hand, based on the colour of the players’ cards. 

If the player and the dealer cards are all the same colour, the payoff is increase to 4 to 1. 

The Prime wager loses any time the players’ three cards are not all the same colour.

 

Classification of Hands

Straight Flush

straight flush

3 Of A Kind

3 of a kind

Straight

straight

Flush

flush

Pair

pair

TCP PROGRESSIVES

Uses Player's 3 Cards

In addition to the basic game detailed above, players may place an optional side wager on either of the "Progressive Jackpots". This is a wager that the player's hand will hit one of the rankings below, irrespective of whether it also beats the dealer and / or whether the dealer's hand qualifies. A progressive wager may not be placed unless an Ante wager is made.

Winning progressive side bet hands are, in descending order, as follows:

If the player's hand does not hit one of the above rankings, the progressive wager will lose.