Three Card Poker

In the Ante/Play game, the player places an ante and receives three cards. The player then either folds, losing the ante, or plays by adding a bet equal to the ante. The dealer qualifies with queen-high or better:

• If the dealer does not qualify, the ante pays 1:1 and the play bet is returned.
• If the dealer qualifies, the higher hand wins, paying 1:1 on both bets.

Many tables also pay an ante bonus for a straight or better, whatever the dealer holds; a common version pays 1:1 for a straight, 4:1 for three of a kind and 5:1 for a straight flush.

Pair Plus is a separate bet that pays on the player's own hand, regardless of the dealer. A widely used paytable pays 1:1 for a pair, 4:1 for a flush, 6:1 for a straight, 30:1 for three of a kind and 40:1 for a straight flush.

With three cards, the ranking differs from standard poker. From highest to lowest: straight flush, three of a kind, straight, flush, pair, high card. A straight beats a flush, and three of a kind beats a straight, because those hands are rarer with three cards. The Ante/Play game has a house edge of about 3.4% of the ante when the player plays with queen-six-four or better. The Pair Plus edge depends on the paytable: about 2.3% with the table above, but over 7% if a flush pays only 3:1.

Three Card Poker is fast, easy to learn and easy to add side bets to, which has made it a fixture in land-based casinos and in RNG and live lobbies. For operators, the Pair Plus paytable is the main margin lever. For suppliers, it belongs to a family of poker-based house games that share presentation, wallet and side-bet logic.

A player antes 10, places 10 on Pair Plus and is dealt three hearts: a flush. The player plays with another 10 and the dealer qualifies with a pair, so the player wins 10 on the ante and 10 on the play. Pair Plus pays 4:1, adding 40, for 60 in total winnings.

• Caribbean Stud Poker and Casino Hold'em — other poker games played against the dealer.
• House edge — how paytables change the Pair Plus margin.
• Hit frequency — why a pair pays even money.

Compare the studios that offer Three Card Poker in the live casino provider directory, or RNG versions from game developers.