Trips bet in Ultimate Texas Hold' Em & 3 Card Poker

I have a fairly simple question. The Boot Hill Casino in Dodge City, Kansas has Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em. The "Trips" pay table is Pay Table 3 from the Wizard of Odds website. (I think. I can't remember every one, but I know the Straight pays 4 to 1 instead of 5 to 1, and that Royal, Straight, and Quads are the same.) Is this bet worth making, or is it a sucker bet? I'm assuming it's a sucker bet, but I wanted some input from others. Thanks.

Also, do you think 3 Card Poker is worth playing at all? I have played it once and won a small amount (I never play the "Pairs Plus"-the house edge just seems to big to me) and played another time and lost.

-Lhornbk70

In UTH, my local casino spreads the trips bet with the worst possible pay table. Don't play it! It's a worse bet that roulette. I get harassed by the dealers for not playing it (strange, the other players don't bother you like they bother you not playing pairplus at 3 card). The dealers tell me it's the only way to make money at the game, but they are wrong. Stick to discountgambling.net basic strategy and you will do great.

Tip the dealers with your winnings and they won't bother you next time.

Quote: Lhornbk70

Also, do you think 3 Card Poker is worth playing at all? I have played it once and won a small amount (I never play the "Pairs Plus"-the house edge just seems to big to me) and played another time and lost.

-Lhornbk70

The fun of 3 Card is actually the huge possible variance you get when you play the Pairs Plus. You pay for it, sure. 40-30-6-4-1 is pretty much gone; that pay table paid back about the same as Play/Ante. Now the best I've seen is 50-40-30-6-3-1 (50 for RSF), and 40-30-6-3-1. So you give up a unit on every flush, and in some casinos get back 10 units on the 4 royals. Really, the game isn't any fun without the heart-stopping feeling you get when you get a good hand with a lot of money out there on P+. It's not the game for people looking for the best odds; it's the game for people who don't mind paying for the chance to win a lot, quickly.

You can get the feel of 3 Card by playing for free at Bodog. I like to start by betting $500 on Pairs Plus only, to try to get $1500; then bet $500 across the board. Usually I reload 5-10 times before getting bored and going back to work. Sometimes I "sustain", winning a few hands early and then playing even with the dealer for 10 minutes or so. And once in a while I win $50,000-$100,000. But try it with and without Pairs Plus. You'll see that odds be tossed, it isn't any fun the one way, and if your goal is minimize loss it's better to play something like BJ, where the game is more fun and the odds are better. If you're going to pay more, pay for something. Pay for the fun.

I played for about an hour at Mohegan Pocono, Thursday last; I was betting 10 and 10, 40-30-6-3-1. I got one straight and one flush in that hour, bought in with $300 and cashed out $290 after leaving a $5 tip on the last hand. The last hand was one the flush; the tip was a $5 bet on the Pairs Plus for a dealer who started his session by saying we were the first table he'd ever dealt live (and his first hand was a mis-deal), so he picked up $20 (instead of $25, hehe). In that hour, with a full table, one player got a straight flush, and the dealer got a 3 of a kind. The player at the one corner just hit hand after hand, pairs, straights, and flushes. There was a guy in the middle who just leaked money, left, and was replaced by another guy who leaked money. the guy to the right of me was playing 2 hands; he hit the straight flush, then couldn't buy a hand and finally went into his pocket for the purple he'd ratholed.

Overall, I enjoyed playing tables at Mohegan Pocono. They are brightly lit, but there is a black backdrop that focuses you pretty intently on the action. I was in the upstairs smoking area, but no one at my table was smokinig. The upstairs non-smoking are is still under construction; downstairs is non-smoking blackjack, and Texas Holdem. Play, other than the opening misdeal, is smooth. The pit overall seemed a little inexperienced (the dealer called the pit boss over when he paid the straight flush), but everyone was friendly.

Quote: Lhornbk70

I can't remember every one, but I know the Straight pays 4 to 1 instead of 5 to 1, and that Royal, Straight, and Quads are the same.) Is this bet worth making, or is it a sucker bet? I'm assuming it's a sucker bet, but I wanted some input from others. Thanks.
-Lhornbk70

If it was the full paytable, UTH trips bet is not bad for a 'sucker' bet. But don't play any paytable that isn't fullpay.

Sorry Mosca, but I completely disagree with you. My main question was whether or not it was worth playing based on the house advantage. I have no desire at all to play what I consider to be a sucker bet just to get a heart-stopping feeling. In particular, it absolutely drives me nuts to win a hand and still have a chip taken away from me because I didn't have a pair or better. That one time I played, it quickly became apparent that I was the only one at the table that actually won money on an even semi-consistent basis, mainly because the rest were giving away chips on the pair plus even when they won hands. All the other players either had to buy in again, left with very few or no chips left, and there was 1 guy who actually hit the straight flush once, but I have the feeling that at best he broke even. The other time I was playing the dealer 1-on-1 when I was losing, and I have discovered very quickly at almost any game (haven't tried it at blackjack yet) that being the only player seems to guarantee losses (yes, I realize that makes no sense statistically, but quite frankly it's not as much fun either, and I do want to have fun while having a decent chance at winning.)

So basically, to restate my question, what is the house advantage in 3 card poker if you DON'T play pair plus? And how does it compare to Ultimate without playing trips?

Sounds like you've answered your own question: Don't play Trips unless it's the 8/6/5 paytable, like dwheatley said. 3 card in general is not worth playing. The paytables for Pair Plus have all deteriorated to worthless. The straight ante/bet game is about 3.3-3.8% off the ante. I sometimes play it to kill time or to use a coupon. Otherwise I stay the heck away from 3 card.

Quote: Lhornbk70

Sorry Mosca, but I completely disagree with you. My main question was whether or not it was worth playing based on the house advantage. I have no desire at all to play what I consider to be a sucker bet just to get a heart-stopping feeling. In particular, it absolutely drives me nuts to win a hand and still have a chip taken away from me because I didn't have a pair or better. That one time I played, it quickly became apparent that I was the only one at the table that actually won money on an even semi-consistent basis, mainly because the rest were giving away chips on the pair plus even when they won hands. All the other players either had to buy in again, left with very few or no chips left, and there was 1 guy who actually hit the straight flush once, but I have the feeling that at best he broke even. The other time I was playing the dealer 1-on-1 when I was losing, and I have discovered very quickly at almost any game (haven't tried it at blackjack yet) that being the only player seems to guarantee losses (yes, I realize that makes no sense statistically, but quite frankly it's not as much fun either, and I do want to have fun while having a decent chance at winning.)

So basically, to restate my question, what is the house advantage in 3 card poker if you DON'T play pair plus? And how does it compare to Ultimate without playing trips?

I think I answered that, which was "no". If you don't like the high variance, then it isn't worth it, because the odds aren't as good as other games and it isn't as much fun. The only reason to play it is if you LIKE that feeling, if you find it fun.

I don't play it too often myself any more. I can get the same feeling with craps, at better odds. The craps tables were full the other day, and I wanted to get a feel for the table play at Mohegan, so I sat down for an hour. Back when the P+ pay table was 40-30-6-4-1, I played it a lot, and experienced good luck at it (or high short term positive variance, if you wish) :)


The house edge on the most favorable ante/bonus pay table is 3.37%, from the Wizard's site, and the element of risk is 2.01%.