Bad Three Card Poker Rules
Something doesn't jive with me though, and I think it might be just my casino.
The 3-Card Poker table has a $5 minimum bet, and requires you make at minimum, an EQUAL bet on the Pair Plus.
So now I would have $10 down.
Say I draw an unsuited Q-6-4.
So, I put down my $5 play wager.
Dealer has an unsuited 2-4-6. Which does not qualify.
I lose my $5 on the pair plus.
My $5 play wager pushes.
I win $5 on my ante.
After all that, I didn't win a single dime.
Now, if I would have folded, I lose $10.
Is it just me, or is this game a complete sucker game??
Quote: SkittleCar1After doing some research to find a new game to play, I came across Three Card Poker, and it seems easy enough.
Something doesn't jive with me though, and I think it might be just my casino.
The 3-Card Poker table has a $5 minimum bet, and requires you make at minimum, an EQUAL bet on the Pair Plus.
So now I would have $10 down.
Say I draw an unsuited Q-6-4.
So, I put down my $5 play wager.
Dealer has an unsuited 2-4-6. Which does not qualify.
I lose my $5 on the pair plus.
My $5 play wager pushes.
I win $5 on my ante.
After all that, I didn't win a single dime.
Now, if I would have folded, I lose $10.
Is it just me, or is this game a complete sucker game??
Not only is it a sucker game, but they are forcing you to make a sucker side bet (I've never heard of the Pair Plus being required before).
It's a really, really boring game anyway. You get your cards. If they are higher than some threshold, you make a play bet. If it's lower, you fold. There is no thinking at all involved. You may as well play casino war. I played once, and it held my interest for about 2 minutes.
It's really popular, though. I have no idea why.
Any to answer your question if it is a sucker game... yes it is. Every game in the Casino is.
ZCore13
Quote: Zcore13
And to answer your question if it is a sucker game... yes it is. Every game in the Casino is.
ZCore13
Haha! Very true! Even the ATM has a house advantage. :-P
Are you sure you don't have it reversed? Your PP bet can be anything from the table minimum up to what you bet on the ante.
Playing the Game
You must play both the “Ante” and “Pair Plus” wagers. The “Ante” wager lets you play against the dealer’s hand. The “Pair Plus” wager lets you bet against your own hand. With “Pair Plus,” if your hand contains a pair or better you win regardless of the dealer’s hand!
Once all bets are placed, each player and the dealer are each dealt three cards, face down. After examining the cards, you may place a “Play” wager equal to the “Ante” amount to contine play or you may fold, losing your “Ante” and “Pair Plus” wagers.
When all bets or folds are complete, the dealer will show and arrange cards from highest to lowest, playing only with a Queen high card or better.
Pays
You win even money on the “Play” wager and at least even money on the “Ante” wager when your three-card hand beats the dealer’s qualifying hand of Queen-high or better. You lose the “Play” wagers when the dealer’s qualifying hand beats your hand. All ties are a “push.” If the dealer does not qualify, your “Ante” wins even money or better* and your “Play” wager receives no action. Your “Pair Plus” wager pays even money or better if you have a pair or better regardless of the dealers hand.
ANTE PAYS
Player folds:
Lose
Dealer does NOT Play:
“Play” is a Push
“Ante” pays 1 to 1 or better *
Dealer Plays, Player’s hand wins:
“Play” pays special pays
"Ante” pays 1 to 1 or better *
Dealer plays, Dealer’s hand wins:
“Play” is a loss
“Ante” may be a loss *
PAIRS PLUS PAYS
Pair – 1 to 1
Straight – 1 to 1
Flush – 4 to 1
Straight – 6 to 1
Three of a Kind – 30 to 1
Straight Flush – 40 to 1
* ANTE BONUS PAYS
Straight – 1 to 1
Three of a Kind – 4 to 1
Straight Flush – 5 to 1
* If you make the “Ante” and “Play” wagers, you may win the “Ante bonus” payout even if the dealer doesn’t qualify and even if the dealer’s hand beats your hand!
Anyway, that requirement would change the HE of the base game considerably. I personally wouldn't care, because if I'm playing 3CP, I'm playing PP. note: that is a better PP paytable than most everyone else offers, fwiw. 1-4-6 there, 1-3-6 most other places.
Quote: beachbumbabsIMHO, that requirement would be entirely on the casino (you don't say which one) because it's simply not that way in the vast majority of places dealing the game. Early on, they were requiring an ante bet in order to play the PP sidebet, but even that has changed in most places, and a person can bet one without the other. However, many places that allow the PP bet alone do not allow the bettor to peek or even touch their cards, because there's no further decision to be made.
Anyway, that requirement would change the HE of the base game considerably. I personally wouldn't care, because if I'm playing 3CP, I'm playing PP. note: that is a better PP paytable than most everyone else offers, fwiw. 1-4-6 there, 1-3-6 most other places.
The only reasons that I could think of them having this requirement would be:
1. They are confused and don't understand the rules of the game
2. They are worried about hole-carders (this will get rid of them for sure)
Quote: SkittleCar1After doing some research to find a new game to play, I came across Three Card Poker, and it seems easy enough.
Something doesn't jive with me though, and I think it might be just my casino.
The 3-Card Poker table has a $5 minimum bet, and requires you make at minimum, an EQUAL bet on the Pair Plus.
So now I would have $10 down.
Say I draw an unsuited Q-6-4.
So, I put down my $5 play wager.
Dealer has an unsuited 2-4-6. Which does not qualify.
I lose my $5 on the pair plus.
My $5 play wager pushes.
I win $5 on my ante.
After all that, I didn't win a single dime.
Now, if I would have folded, I lose $10.
Is it just me, or is this game a complete sucker game??
maybe the table min was $10. so you needed to play 5x2 or 10 to meet the min.
Quote: SkittleCar1From the website.....
Playing the Game
You must play both the “Ante” and “Pair Plus” wagers. The “Ante” wager lets you play against the dealer’s hand. The “Pair Plus” wager lets you bet against your own hand. With “Pair Plus,” if your hand contains a pair or better you win regardless of the dealer’s hand!
Once all bets are placed, each player and the dealer are each dealt three cards, face down. After examining the cards, you may place a “Play” wager equal to the “Ante” amount to contine play or you may fold, losing your “Ante” and “Pair Plus” wagers.
When all bets or folds are complete, the dealer will show and arrange cards from highest to lowest, playing only with a Queen high card or better.
Pays
You win even money on the “Play” wager and at least even money on the “Ante” wager when your three-card hand beats the dealer’s qualifying hand of Queen-high or better. You lose the “Play” wagers when the dealer’s qualifying hand beats your hand. All ties are a “push.” If the dealer does not qualify, your “Ante” wins even money or better* and your “Play” wager receives no action. Your “Pair Plus” wager pays even money or better if you have a pair or better regardless of the dealers hand.
ANTE PAYS
Player folds:
Lose
Dealer does NOT Play:
“Play” is a Push
“Ante” pays 1 to 1 or better *
Dealer Plays, Player’s hand wins:
“Play” pays special pays
"Ante” pays 1 to 1 or better *
Dealer plays, Dealer’s hand wins:
“Play” is a loss
“Ante” may be a loss *
PAIRS PLUS PAYS
Pair – 1 to 1
Straight – 1 to 1
Flush – 4 to 1
Straight – 6 to 1
Three of a Kind – 30 to 1
Straight Flush – 40 to 1
* ANTE BONUS PAYS
Straight – 1 to 1
Three of a Kind – 4 to 1
Straight Flush – 5 to 1
* If you make the “Ante” and “Play” wagers, you may win the “Ante bonus” payout even if the dealer doesn’t qualify and even if the dealer’s hand beats your hand!
That's a good pairs-plus pay table. House edge is 2.32%. The element of risk on the ante/raise is 2.01%.
If you hit a few nice hands your bankroll can grow very quickly. By the same token, you can lose it all without hitting a winner. Big swings in this game.
The rules are (that I was aware of way back when) is that you have to match your ante bet with the play, no more no less. The PP bet is an elective.
Some casinos did make the ruling though, that IF you decided to bet the PP, you had to make the wager the same size as that of the Ante (and obviously play bets).
If the information is accurate it is strange indeed.
I gave four "players" $50 each, and played them with the required minimum $5 ante and $5 pair plus bet. Every "player" played a Q-6-4 or above. I shuffled as many possible ways as I could to make it truly random.
One player went out fairly quick.
At that point, two players were up probably $20 or $30. The third guy was down $10 or so.
All three played for quite a bit, not sure how many hands. But the next "player" to go out, was one of the ones who was up after the first guy was out.
So, nothing really that abnormal. I was surprised how long the other three lasted before all their chips were gone.
Now, when the second player went out, in a matter of a few hands, the two remaining players went out quick!
I am going to set up and run this experiment again. But does it really matter how many players are playing? Like having a better mixture of cards? I wouldn't think so? The cards are random.
Quote: SkittleCar1I just did an experiment, and it took about 40 minutes.
I gave four "players" $50 each, and played them with the required minimum $5 ante and $5 pair plus bet. Every "player" played a Q-6-4 or above. I shuffled as many possible ways as I could to make it truly random.
One player went out fairly quick.
At that point, two players were up probably $20 or $30. The third guy was down $10 or so.
All three played for quite a bit, not sure how many hands. But the next "player" to go out, was one of the ones who was up after the first guy was out.
So, nothing really that abnormal. I was surprised how long the other three lasted before all their chips were gone.
Now, when the second player went out, in a matter of a few hands, the two remaining players went out quick!
I am going to set up and run this experiment again. But does it really matter how many players are playing? Like having a better mixture of cards? I wouldn't think so? The cards are random.
Yes, the more players that are playing the longer on average the experiment will last. The more players there are, there are more chances for one of them to experience strong positive variance, which will make them survive longer.
BTW, experiment #2 had similar results, except final player was up $40 ($90 in stack) and it took quite a while to knock him down to $50. If I were that fictitious player in real life, I would have walked.
I guess on my next trip, I might give this game a shot despite the requirement for an even ante & pair plus bet.
Quote: SkittleCar1Interesting. So you may have a better chance with more players at the table?
No. There is a better chance that someone will last a long time. There are also more people to choose from, so your chances remain the same.
There is nothing worse than blowing through a bunch of money in a few minutes. I'd much rather blow through it in a couple of hours! :-)
I would help her out but people get very mad when you try to help them.
Quote: SkittleCar1I guess that is what I meant.
There is nothing worse than blowing through a bunch of money in a few minutes. I'd much rather blow through it in a couple of hours! :-)
There is the same chance that you will blow through a bunch of money in a few minutes. You have no extra chance of lasting a long time.
Suppose there is a 1/3 chance that any player lasts "a long time". If there are 7 players at the table, there is a good chance that 1, 2, or 3 of the players will last "a long time". But your chances are still 1 in 3, same as if you were playing alone.
Quote: geoffWell generally you'll last longer at a table full of people due to dealing cards taking longer for what it's worth.
Sure. I assumed that he was counting hands, not time.
If he wants to maximize time he should take frequent bathroom breaks and find lots of other reasons to sit out hands.
Quote: SkittleCar1Time...not hands. :)
Oh. Then play 1 out of every 10 hands and take frequent bathroom breaks.
Love that place.
Whether it is 5 and 5 or if the dealer was just an idiot.
I had two dealers tell me you had to play the Pair Plus. I did not ask the dealer today. The table minimum is $5 for the ante, and $5 minimum on Pair Plus. They do not have to match.
They are all very nice there.
Quote: SkittleCar1Oh, the requiring both bets thing? I had two dealers tell me you had to play the Pair Plus...
You might get a different answer from the pit boss: I did.
Gotta love turning $15 into $60!
EDIT: The minimum on the table is $5 and the minimum on the Pair Plus is $5. They do not have to be equal.
We all know that.
But its fun.
And that is why we all come here.
If we all came to this website and said, "well, I'll never win, screw this place" there would be no Wizard of Vegas board.
Then again I really do need that cup of coffee this time of day.
Quote: quoted rulesWith “Pair Plus,” if your hand contains a pair or better you win regardless of the dealer’s hand!
with the right paytable, the Pair Plus is tolerable. However, be on your toes for a dealer picking up your winning pair plus bet along with any losing main bet.
Quote: odiousgambitwith the right paytable, the Pair Plus is tolerable. However, be on your toes for a dealer picking up your winning pair plus bet along with any losing main bet.
It's more common for the dealer to miss paying the extra unit on the ante on losing straights.
