How to Play Three Card Poker: Rules and Betting Guide
Quick answer: You and the dealer each get three cards. You can bet the Ante (your hand against the dealer's), Pair Plus (your hand against a paytable), or both. After looking at your cards you either fold or match your Ante with a Play bet. The dealer needs Queen-high or better to qualify. Straights beat flushes in this game.
What Three Card Poker is
Three Card Poker is a fast banked table game: you play against the dealer, not the other players. There's no draw and no bluffing. Each hand takes one decision, play or fold, and that decision has a simple correct answer.
It's really two games sharing one deal:
- Ante and Play: your hand against the dealer's.
- Pair Plus: your hand against a fixed paytable. The dealer's cards don't matter.
The three bets
| Bet | When you make it | What it's about |
|---|---|---|
| Ante | Before the deal | Beating the dealer |
| Play | After seeing your cards, if you don't fold | Must equal your Ante |
| Pair Plus | Before the deal, optional | Getting a pair or better |
You can bet Ante only, Pair Plus only, or both. In the 0stakes game, a Pair Plus-only hand has no fold decision: you just see whether your three cards pay.
How a hand plays out
- Bet the Ante, Pair Plus, or both.
- Deal. You and the dealer each get three cards. Yours are face up to you; the dealer's stay face down.
- Decide. If you have an Ante up, either fold (you lose the Ante) or play by adding a Play bet equal to the Ante.
- Dealer reveals and checks whether the hand qualifies.
- Settle the Ante and Play, the Ante Bonus, and Pair Plus.
Folding forfeits the Ante and any Pair Plus bet. That's standard casino procedure and it's how 0stakes plays. It costs nothing with correct strategy, because every hand that would win Pair Plus is a hand you should play anyway.
Hand rankings
Three-card hands rank differently from five-card poker. With only three cards, a straight is harder to make than a flush, so it ranks higher. Out of 22,100 possible three-card hands:
| Rank | Hand | Example | Ways to make it | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Straight Flush | 7♠ 8♠ 9♠ | 48 | 0.22% |
| 2 | Three of a Kind | Q♣ Q♦ Q♥ | 52 | 0.24% |
| 3 | Straight | 4♦ 5♣ 6♥ | 720 | 3.26% |
| 4 | Flush | 2♥ 9♥ K♥ | 1,096 | 4.96% |
| 5 | Pair | 8♣ 8♦ K♠ | 3,744 | 16.94% |
| 6 | High Card | A♦ 9♣ 4♠ | 16,440 | 74.39% |
Aces play high (Q-K-A) or low (A-2-3, the lowest straight). K-A-2 is not a straight. Three of a kind (52 ways) is only slightly more common than a straight flush (48 ways), which is why it ranks second, above the straight.
Dealer qualification
The dealer qualifies with Queen-high or better. That happens about 69.59% of the time.
- Dealer doesn't qualify: your Ante pays 1:1 and your Play bet is returned (a push), whatever you're holding.
- Dealer qualifies: compare hands. Win and both Ante and Play pay 1:1. Lose and both lose. An exact tie pushes both.
Payouts
Ante Bonus
If you play your hand (don't fold) and hold a straight or better, the Ante Bonus pays on your Ante, win or lose against the dealer:
| Hand | Ante Bonus |
|---|---|
| Straight Flush | 5:1 |
| Three of a Kind | 4:1 |
| Straight | 1:1 |
Ante Bonus schedules vary by casino. These are the payouts the 0stakes game uses.
Pair Plus (40-30-6-3-1 table)
| Hand | Pays |
|---|---|
| Straight Flush | 40:1 |
| Three of a Kind | 30:1 |
| Straight | 6:1 |
| Flush | 3:1 |
| Pair | 1:1 |
Pair Plus pays on your hand alone. Casinos use several Pair Plus tables; the most important line to check is the Flush, which is 4:1 on the older, better table and 3:1 on this one.
Example hands
All examples use a $10 Ante, plus a $10 Pair Plus bet where noted.
1. Q♠ 7♦ 3♣ vs. dealer J♥ 9♣ 4♦. Q-7-3 beats the Q-6-4 threshold, so you play ($10 more). The dealer has Jack-high and doesn't qualify. Ante wins $10, Play pushes. Net +$10.
2. K♣ 8♦ 2♠ vs. dealer A♥ 5♣ 3♦. You play. The dealer qualifies with Ace-high, which beats King-high. Ante and Play both lose. Net −$20.
3. 7♥ 8♣ 9♦ with Pair Plus vs. dealer pair of 10s. You play. The dealer's pair loses to your straight: Ante +$10, Play +$10, Ante Bonus +$10 (1:1), Pair Plus +$60 (6:1). Net +$90.
4. J♦ 9♠ 5♣ with Pair Plus. Jack-high is below Queen-6-4, so you fold. You lose the $10 Ante and the $10 Pair Plus. Net −$20. Pair Plus would have lost anyway: Jack-high isn't a paying hand.
5. 4♥ 4♠ K♦ with Pair Plus vs. dealer straight. You play. The dealer's straight beats your pair: Ante −$10, Play −$10. Pair Plus pays 1:1 on your pair: +$10. Net −$10.
Common beginner mistakes
- Playing every hand. Never folding raises the house edge on the Ante from 3.37% to 7.65%.
- Folding Queen-high hands that qualify. Q-6-4 or better plays. See Three Card Poker strategy.
- Ranking a flush over a straight. Not in this game.
- Treating Pair Plus as the "smart" bet because it pays big. On this table it carries a 7.28% house edge, more than double the Ante. See is Three Card Poker a good bet?
FAQ
Does a straight beat a flush in Three Card Poker?
Yes. There are 720 three-card straights and 1,096 three-card flushes, so the straight is rarer and ranks higher.
What does the dealer need to qualify?
Queen-high or better. If the dealer doesn't qualify, your Ante pays even money and your Play bet is returned.
Can I bet only Pair Plus?
Yes. It's paid purely on your three cards, so there's no fold decision and the dealer's hand doesn't matter.
Is the Ante Bonus paid if I lose to the dealer?
Yes, as long as you played the hand rather than folding.
What happens on a tie?
If the dealer qualifies and your hand exactly ties theirs, the Ante and Play both push.