Red Dog is one of those online casino card games that is more of a game of chance then it is a bingo game of strategy or skill. It is the kind of game you play when you are feeling lucky. It has very little in common with most poker games although the card hands are ranked the same as in poker.
The most common version of Red Dog that you will find in a UK casino online is three-card although some American sites also have a four-card version. The game is also called in-between, Ace Deuce and between the sheets because the nature of the game. Red Dog is built around the concept of spread or the "distance” between two cards, the amount of cards that lay between them. In the American version you have the option to bet twice. This article is focused on the three card version which is much more common in online casinos.
To start a game of three cards Red Dog, the UK bingo player places an initial wager on the table and then the dealer draws two cards face up. If the two dealt cards are consecutive then the hand is a push. If the two cards are equal in value then a third card is dealt. A matching third card pays 11:1; otherwise the hand is a push.
If the two cards are neither consecutive nor equal the dealer announces the spread, that is, the number of card values in between the dealt cards. For example a 4 and 10 would have a spread of 5. A 2 and a 4 would have a card spread of 1. Obviously it is harder to win the spreads that are slimmer but they do pay off more handsomely.
The player then must decide whether or not the third card dealt by the dealer will fall in-between the values of the first two cards and is given a chance to increase the wager up to the amount of the initial wager.
After the player makes his or her wager, the third card is dealt. If it matches or is outside the first two cards the player loses. If it is in between the first two cards the player wins as follows:
1 card spread: pays 5:1
2-card spread: pays 4:1
3-card spread: pays 2:1
4 or more card spread: pays 1:1
Based on statistical probability, it is suggested that a player should only raise his wager when the spread between the two initial cards amounts to be seven or greater. This can take some discipline especially if the pot is large! A spread of seven or greater gives the player an edge of 54%. The player's edge rises to 85% when the spread is 11 and lowers to 8% when the spread is only one.
Playing seven or greater spreads also helps you reduce the advantage of the online casino. Usually the house advantage in a game of Red Dog is 2.7%.
