How to Play Three Card Poker - Guide for Players

This type of poker as most of poker games involves 52-cards deck and requires a special poker table where there is enough place to bet as there will be two types of bets here, so that this kind of poker can easily be called “two-games-in-one”. These two types are named correspondingly: Ante and Play and Pair Plus. Though there are still some variations of the bet types’ name like Ante and Pair, so we hope, you’ll recognize it freely if happen to see such features in casino or online. Before players look at their own cards, they can place their bets on the possible game’s ending.

Ante or Ante and Play type calls for the bet that your hand (the player’s hand) will be more successful than the hand of a dealer and in result will beat it.

The Pair Plus requires the bet on the nominations of the player’s hand and it is usually paid regardless the hand of the dealer.

Ante and Play Bet

There are also two types of players corresponding to the bet type they have chosen. In case you placed your bet at Ante and Play:

Each player who bet at Ante and Play is dealt three cards and three cards are dealt to the dealer. After looking at his cards a player can decide either he make a play bet, which calls for an additional amount of money equal to the ante bet or he folds, which means that a player loses all his bets. When a player made up his mind, the dealer reveals his hand and the showdown takes place.

  • In case the dealer’s hand doesn’t include Queen high or better, the player is paid the ante bet and the play bet is retraced.
  • In case the dealer has Queen high or better and players has higher hand than dealer, the player is paid both the ante bet and the play bet.
  • In case the dealer has Queen high or better and it is equal to the player’s hand – both bets are retraced.
  • In case the dealer has Queen high or better and players has lower hand than dealer, the ante and play bet are considered to be lost.

Pair Plus Type of Bet

As you have read above, the only thing that matters for the player who bet on Pair Plus is the ranks of the three cards which were dealt to him. The dealer’s cards do not have a value.

The Pair Plus bet is considered to be lost only if there is no pair or better in player’s hand. In player wins, the hands are paid the following:

  • A pair brings equal amount of money
  • In case of Flush a player is paid 4 to 1
  • If a Straight happened a player is paid 6 to 1
  • Three of a Kind will bring 30 to 1 to a player
  • A Straight Flush is counted 40 to 1

The ranks of hands

Here is the list of cards rankings from best to worst:

  • Straight flush
  • Three of a kind
  • Straight
  • Flush
  • Pair
  • High card

No matter what type of bet you’ll choose, we wish you good luck in practicing and winning the highest hands! And do not forget that it is sometimes better to fold rather than waste your money on doubtful cards, anyway good luck!

Poker Quotes

Playing poker for a living gives you backbone. You cannot survive without that intangible quality we call heart.
Bobby Baldwin, 1978 WSOP winner

About me


My name is Alice Cooper. I'm professional casino dealer.
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