Three Card Poker Rules

Invented by Derek Webb during the 1990’s, Three Card Poker is rapidly gaining popularity as an easy and fun-to-play poker variation. The game was developed from English 3-Card Brag and is known as Tri-Card Poker in some casinos.

Played with a single 52-card deck, Three Card Poker combines two games in one. The first is a Play/Ante format in which a player faces off against the dealer win the highest hand. In the Pair Plus component, a player wagers on whether or not they will be dealt a pair or better. Most casinos allow players to choose one or the other game, but some require an Ante Bet before accepting bets the Pair Plus component.

As the name would indicate, both players and dealers are dealt three cards. Hand ranking is made with the general highest to lowest order: Straight Flush, Three of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Pair, Nothing. This is adjusted accordingly though given the differences with 5-card games.

In a casino setup, three betting circles would be located in front of each player. The top circle is labeled Pair Plus (used to make a wager for the pair plus game), and the others are the Ante and Play circles that are used for the base game. At the start, players make a wager in the Pair Plus and or Ante circle. These are set by and must match the table minimum. Once all bets are made, each player is dealt the three-card hand, beginning with the first player to the dealer’s left and moving clockwise around the table.

Once players have looked at their hands, they must decide to fold or play on. If a player has made an Ante wager, folding means forfeiting it. Deciding to continue requires that they make another bet in the Play circle equal to their Ante bet. Once all players have decided, the dealer reveals his hand. The dealer needs to “qualify” and must have a Queen or higher in order for play to continue. If the dealer does not qualify, all players still in the hand are given their Ante wager, as well as their bet on the Play circle.

If the dealer does qualify, then their hand is compared to the player’s hand. If any player’s hand beats the dealer’s hand, they are given even money for their Ante and Play bets. If the hand beats a player’s hand, the player loses both bets. If a tie occurs, the layer wins the hand.

As mentioned, hand ranking is carried out a little differently than in the more common five card games. Hands rankings for the highest to the lowest are as follows:
• Straight Flush: Three cards of the same suit in sequence. Example 9-8-7 of hearts.
• Three of a Kind: Three cards of equal rank.
• Straight: Three cards in sequence, but can be of mixed suits.
• Flush: Three cards of the same suit. Pair. Two cards of equal rank.
• High Card: The highest card in a player’s hand.

Another attractive and cool feature of Three Card Poker is that casinos offer a bonus payout on certain cards. These are made on the Ante bet in a number of ratios applied to certain hands. They do not require an additional wager and are paid regardless of whether a player beats the dealer or not. A straight, three-of-a-kind or straight flush, for example are paid a bonus based on a pre-determined payout schedule. The Ante Bonus payout for a straight flush is usually 5 to 1 or 4 to 1. Three of a kind is normally 4 to 1 or 3 to 1, and straights receive 1 to 1 for an Ante bet.

The Pair Plus wager is simply determined on the basis of whether a player’s hand has a Pair or higher. It does not depend on whether the dealer qualifies or even beats the player (if the player has a bet on the Ante Game).

Those are the basic rules of Three Card Poker. For more information please sign up for our e-zine.

If you like three card poker, read about other poker games here.