Question in 3 Card Poker
October 28th, 2014 at 10:37:44 AM
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Hello all!
Just came back from a great casino in Romania, and played a lot of 3 Card Poker.
Followed by The Wizard tip (Q-6-4), I noticed something. The rules in that specific casinos are - if the dealer does not qualify (Q or higher) your Ante bet will return to the payer + the same amount on that bet!
For example - supposed I bet 20 on the ante. If I have J-10-3 and decided to play, and the dealer shows J-10-8 - I will get the Ante back (20) + another 20. So, i actually earned 20 dollars. the dealer pays me no matter if he beats me - as long as he has something lower than a Q.
So my question is - is the house still on a high edge? or does it "50-50"?
Just came back from a great casino in Romania, and played a lot of 3 Card Poker.
Followed by The Wizard tip (Q-6-4), I noticed something. The rules in that specific casinos are - if the dealer does not qualify (Q or higher) your Ante bet will return to the payer + the same amount on that bet!
For example - supposed I bet 20 on the ante. If I have J-10-3 and decided to play, and the dealer shows J-10-8 - I will get the Ante back (20) + another 20. So, i actually earned 20 dollars. the dealer pays me no matter if he beats me - as long as he has something lower than a Q.
So my question is - is the house still on a high edge? or does it "50-50"?
October 28th, 2014 at 10:44:00 AM
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Quote: KobraMendezHello all!
Just came back from a great casino in Romania, and played a lot of 3 Card Poker.
Followed by The Wizard tip (Q-6-4), I noticed something. The rules in that specific casinos are - if the dealer does not qualify (Q or higher) your Ante bet will return to the payer + the same amount on that bet!
For example - supposed I bet 20 on the ante. If I have J-10-3 and decided to play, and the dealer shows J-10-8 - I will get the Ante back (20) + another 20. So, i actually earned 20 dollars. the dealer pays me no matter if he beats me - as long as he has something lower than a Q.
So my question is - is the house still on a high edge? or does it "50-50"?
That is how the game is supposed to be played. If the dealer does not qualify you "Play" bet is a push and your "Ante" bet is a win, no matter if the Dealer has better cards than you or not. Once the Dealer does not qualify you win your "Ante" bet.
ZCore13
I am an employee of a Casino. Former Table Games Director,, current Pit Supervisor. All the personal opinions I post are my own and do not represent the opinions of the Casino or Tribe that I work for.
October 28th, 2014 at 12:42:35 PM
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So what is the house edge?
And what is the better strategy for that situation? still the same?
And what is the better strategy for that situation? still the same?
October 29th, 2014 at 12:03:17 AM
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Quote: KobraMendezSo what is the house edge?
And what is the better strategy for that situation? still the same?
I guess the bigger question is, where are you playing where they don't pay the ante if you don't fold and the dealer doesn't qualify? The game, if it's "3 card poker" (trademarked worldwide) always pays the ante (as Zcore said) and pushes the play bet in that case. If somewhere, they're just pushing the ante, you're getting ripped off.
The Wizard's HE and paytables are all based on that rule, so the strategy and HE are the same as you saw.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
October 29th, 2014 at 5:58:04 AM
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Most Ante and Play games (3-card is the most common) have the basic rule that you put up an Ante, get dealt your hand, and decide whether to stay in (by adding the Play/Raise part) or folding.
(a) Where the dealer has the same rules for their hand there is a qualifying level (3-card: Q-high). If the dealer qualifies then all bets have action. If the dealer doesn't qualify, then either the Ante or Play (depending on game) is paid regardless of your hand. For these games it is usually incorrect to play blind; but while being wrong, playing bad hands isn't that bad. Note in 6-card poker it is essential to check you aren't already beaten with the 3 dealer upcards!
(b) Where the dealer has different rules (e.g. where the dealer receives more cards) sometimes the dealer always plays; in that case bad hands should be folded. There is still a cut-off principle.
The mathematics of a normal Ante/Raise should be
(i) it is better to look than always play blind
(ii) technically (without information from peeking etc) there is a hand slightly higher than the qualifying cut-off (e.g. Q64 cf Q32) which the player should call above and fold below. Sometimes the cut-off depends on the upcard(s); for instance in 5-card you play any pair and fold anything less than AK, but the decision of which AK's to play depend on the upcard.
To add to the above in 3-card (i) you should win the bonus (e.g. 1 for a straight) even if your hand is beaten (ii) Ante always pays if dealer doesn't qualify. If it doesn't, it isn't 3-card poker and should not be played.
(a) Where the dealer has the same rules for their hand there is a qualifying level (3-card: Q-high). If the dealer qualifies then all bets have action. If the dealer doesn't qualify, then either the Ante or Play (depending on game) is paid regardless of your hand. For these games it is usually incorrect to play blind; but while being wrong, playing bad hands isn't that bad. Note in 6-card poker it is essential to check you aren't already beaten with the 3 dealer upcards!
(b) Where the dealer has different rules (e.g. where the dealer receives more cards) sometimes the dealer always plays; in that case bad hands should be folded. There is still a cut-off principle.
The mathematics of a normal Ante/Raise should be
(i) it is better to look than always play blind
(ii) technically (without information from peeking etc) there is a hand slightly higher than the qualifying cut-off (e.g. Q64 cf Q32) which the player should call above and fold below. Sometimes the cut-off depends on the upcard(s); for instance in 5-card you play any pair and fold anything less than AK, but the decision of which AK's to play depend on the upcard.
To add to the above in 3-card (i) you should win the bonus (e.g. 1 for a straight) even if your hand is beaten (ii) Ante always pays if dealer doesn't qualify. If it doesn't, it isn't 3-card poker and should not be played.
