Three Card Poker can be quite lucrative to play especially if you are playing one that boasts the classic pay table. Unfortunately many UK casinos online have distorted the pay table so that the payouts or less. This gives the house more of an edge. Still many are attracted to this game that offers two ways to play bingo and four opportunities to win.
In front of each player are three betting areas: a Pair Plus circle, an Ante circle, and a Play square. Players can either wager that their hand will outrank dealer's hand, or they can wager that their hand will consist of a pair or higher (Pair Plus).
Betting on a pair is a simple matter of making a Pair Plus wager. You know immediately whether you have won in Pair Plus as soon as you scan your hand. With Pair Plus, there is no raising or discarding, and the dealer's cards don't count for squat Payoffs on Pair Plus wagers are made according to this schedule, regardless of the dealer's hand:
Straight flush: 40 to 1
Three of a kind: 30 to 1
Straight: 6 to 1
Flush: 4 to 1
Pair: Even money 1 to 1
Betting against the dealer's hand uses the Ante circle that is marked on the table. If you want to challenge the dealer’s hand you bet in the Play Square. If No you can fold but this means losing your ante and ALSO your Pair Plus wager.
It can be lucrative playing Three Card Poker simply because the dealer's cards have to "qualify" with a Queen high or better. If your hand is better than the dealer's, you win even money on your Ante wager as well as on your Play online bingo wager.
If the dealer's cards do not qualify, you win even money on your Ante wager, no matter how lousy your hand is. However, your Play wager is returned without a payoff, even if you got a great hand. Still your opportunity to make money does not end here.
If the dealer's hand fails to qualify or beats your hand, you may still qualify for an Ante Bonus payoff as marked on the table. Ante Bonuses are paid on the Ante wager, but not on the Play wager.
The classic Ante Bonuses as played in a true game of Three Card Poker are:
Straight: pays 1 to 1
Three-of-a-kind: pays 4 to 1
Straight flush: pays 5 to 1
The only playing decision involved in Three Card Poker is whether to make the Play wager or fold. As for strategy, it's as simple as Queen-6-4. Anytime you have a Queen-6-4 or higher, follow your Ante with a bet. If it's lower, then fold.
On the surface, not only is the game easy, but it also has a low house edge (2.01%). However if the casino table you are playing on does not have the above house edge marked on it then it is possible that the house edge is much higher.
