How to Play Three Card Poker

Author Info

Last Updated: April 2, 2024 Fact Checked

VIDEO

Once the name of a more typical poker variant^{[1]
X
Research source}, Three Card Poker now most commonly refers to a quick and simple casino game named after poker due to its similar (but not identical) hand ranking system. Unlike regular poker, Three Card Poker has each player trying to beat the dealer or simply get dealt a good hand, rather than compete against each other. Both games require very little setup and can easily be played at home.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Three Card Poker (Casino Game)

Download Article

You will be gambling on the quality of your hand, so you'd better know how to determine this! If you're familiar with ordinary poker rankings, the only difference is that a straight is worth more than a flush (due to flushes being easier to get in a 3 card hand).^{[2]
X
Research source} Otherwise, this table ranks the hands from highest to lowest:^{[3]
X
Research source}

*Three Card Poker Hand Rankings*
Hand Name	Description	Tie Breaker
Straight Flush	Three consecutive cards of the same suit (Aces high or low)	Higher ranking card wins
Three of a Kind	Three cards of the same rank	Higher ranking card wins
Straight	Three consecutive cards in mixed suits (Aces high or low)	Higher ranking card wins
Flush	Three cards of the same suit	Higher of the highest card in each hand wins; if a tie, compare middle ranking cards, then lowest
Pair	Two cards of the same rank, and one other card	Higher ranking pair wins; if a tie, higher of the third "odd card" wins
High Card	Three cards, not all consecutive or in the same suit	Same as Flush tiebreaks

2
Wager on beating the dealer (or decline to). Before any cards are dealt, each player decides on an Ante bet, or whether their hand will be better than the dealer's.
- If you're at a casino, place the amount of poker chips you wish to bet on the space labeled Ante.
- At home, you'll need a way to designate each player's Ante, Play, and Pair Plus® bets without getting them confused.
- Some casinos require that each player places an Ante bet, while others allow the player to bet solely on Pair Plus® (see below).
- Casinos often have a "table minimum", requiring each bet to be at least the posted amount.
Advertisement
3
Wager on the quality of your hand (or decline to). In addition to the Ante bet, you can optionally place a Pair Plus® bet, which gives payoffs according to the quality of your hand.^{[4]
X
Research source}
- This also occurs before cards are dealt.
- This bet is named "pair plus" due to its payout on any hand with at least a pair or better.
4
The dealer gives three cards each to the players and himself. The deck of cards is shuffled and dealt out face down.
- Each player looks at his own hand. There is no need for the dealer to do so.
5
Decide whether to raise your wager against the dealer. Now that you've seen the quality of your 3-card hand, you decide whether to Play (or Raise) your Ante bet, or whether to Fold:
- In order to have the Ante bet stand, you must place an equal amount of money on the space designated Play.
- If you decide to Fold instead, the dealer takes your Ante bet and you cannot win that wager.
- In some casinos, folding will forfeit your Pair Plus® bet as well, if you made one.^{[5]
  X
  Research source}
6
Reveal all hands. Once all players who made an Ante bet have Played or Folded, all hands are turned face up.
- If a player Folded and did not place a Pair Plus® bet, the dealer usually takes his cards before hands are turned face up, since that player has no wager left standing.
7
Determine Ante/Play payout. Any player who Played (Raised) their Ante bet compares his hand to the dealer and has a chance to win a payout according to the casino rules. If playing at home, use the following typical rules:^{[6]
X
Research source}
- If the dealer's hand is High Card Jack or lower ("Jack High"), the dealer pays each player equal to that player's Ante bet ("even money") and returns each player's Ante and Play bets.
- If the dealer's hand is High Card Queen or better ("Queen High"), but worse than a player's hand, the dealer pays that player an amount equal to the player's Ante and Play bets combined and returns those bets.
- If the dealer has Queen High or a better hand, and exactly equal to a player's hand, the dealer returns that player's Ante and Play bets but pays no money.
- If the dealer has Queen High or better and beats a player's hand, the dealer keeps that player's Ante and Play bets.

Separate from the Ante Payout, each player who made a Pair Plus bet gets a reward based on their hand quality. The dealer's hand does not matter for this prize. If playing at home, use the following popular payout system^{[7]
X
Research source} (a 3:1 reward means the player wins 3 times their pair plus bet):

*Pair Plus Reward*
Hand	Payout
Straight Flush	40:1
Three of a Kind	30:1
Straight	6:1
Flush	3:1
Pair	1:1
High Card	Player loses bet

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Three Card Poker (Old Fashioned Poker Variant)

Download Article

1
Learn the Hand Rankings. The hand ranking system is the same as in the casino game. If you know ordinary poker hand rankings, the only difference is that a straight is worth more than a flush. Here are the full rankings from highest to lowest:^{[8]
X
Research source}
- 3 of a Kind. All 3 cards have the same point value or the same face printed on the card.
- Straight Flush. The 3 cards are in sequential point value and of the same suit.
- Flush. The 3 cards are all of the same suit.
- Straight. The 3 cards are in sequential point value.
- Pair. Any 2 of the 3 cards have the same face point value.
- High Card. The 3 cards do not match any of the groupings above. The highest value card is the value of the hand.
2
Agree on the rules of play. Decide whether the Ace will only be used as the highest card in the deck, or whether it may be alternately be used as a 1 when forming a straight.
- In order to play with any other additional "house rules", every player must agree to them before the game begins.
3
Deal one card to each player. You can decide who deals first randomly or through mutual agreement.
- Deal these cards face down and clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left.
- Players may look only at their own card.
4
The player on the dealer's left may place a bet. Play moves clockwise from that player. Before the first bet has been made, each player has three options:
- Open the betting. The player places any amount of money (or other wagered items) in the center of the table (in the pot).
- Check. The player does not bet at this time but is still in this round.
- Fold. The player withdraws from the current round. She takes no more actions until the next hand is dealt.
- Note: If every player checks, skip straight to dealing the next card.
- You may wish to agree on a minimum or maximum bet.
5
Once a bet has been made, play continues clockwise. The players now have three options:
- Call. The player matches the amount of the previously made bet, placing that amount in the pot.
- Raise. The player matches the amount of a previously announced bet, and adds an additional amount of money to it (their choice).
- Fold. As before, the player withdraws from this round.
6
Once all remaining players have Called, deal a second card. Deal the cards face down to each player, starting with the player to the dealer's left.
- Each player should add the new card to their (now 2-card) hand and keep them secret from other players.
Repeat the wagering process until all of the remaining players have called or checked.^{[9]
X
Research source}
This final card is added to each player's hand.
9
Repeat the betting. Each remaining player has the option to Call, Raise, or Fold until a full circuit of the table has Called.
- If all but one player decides to Fold, the remaining player wins the pot.
Players lay their cards face up on the table. The winner is determined by the hand ranking. (See hand rankings listed earlier).
11
The winner takes the pot. The player with the highest hand is be the winner. If two players have the same type of hand, whoever has the highest ranked card wins.
- The one exception comes up when comparing two hands of pairs. In this case the highest pair wins, not the highest cards. (For example, a 4-4-6 beats 2-2-10).
The player to the previous dealer's left shuffles together all the cards and begins the next round.
A player may walk away at any time or the players may mutually decide to stop. There is no required number of hands that must be played.

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Video

Read Video Transcript

Tips

For the Ante/Play payout described (which is typical), the optimal strategy is to make a Play bet on any hand Q-6-4 or better and to Fold with anything lower.^{[10]
X
Research source}

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
Many casinos have additional bonuses for certain hands, creating a "jackpot" element when you are dealt rare combinations of cards.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
When playing the casino game at home, you can play several rounds rotating the dealer each time so everyone get the chance to be "the house".

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 2

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

While Aces can be either high (A-K-Q) or low (3-2-A), they cannot "loop around" to form a straight. 2-A-K is not a valid straight.

Thanks
Helpful 6 Not Helpful 3