Three card poker starts with the dealer and the player are each dealt three cards. The player is shooting for 2 bets: “Pair Plus”, which is the poker player betting that he/she will have a pair or better, and “Ante”, which is the player competing versus the dealer’s hand.
Players can bet either pair plus or bet the ante, or both if he/she so chooses. After the player has made his wagers, the player and the dealer both take three cards. Let’s say the three card poker player bets on “pair plus”….he is rewarded if his hand contains a pair or better. If the three card poker player bets on the “ante”, he/she can fold if he/she thinks he can’t beat the dealer’s hand, or raise and challenge the poker dealer’s hand. If the three card poker player folds, he loses both the pair plus and the ante bet which ends the game.
Let’s say the three card poker player likes his hand and “raises”….he can now wager more cash equaling the ante bet. The three card poker dealer then flips over his cards to determine who gets the cash. To determine the game’s winner after the player has raised, the dealer’s hand must first “qualify”. In three card poker the dealer’s hand qualifies if the dealer has hi card queen or a pair or better. If for some reason the dealer doesn’t qualify, the player wins even money on his ante bet and ties on the raised bet. If the dealer and the player have the same ranking hand, the higher value wins. An example of this would be a pair of 7’s would beat a pair of 2’s. If the three card poker dealer’s hand is an exact tie of the player’s ante and raise, the bet is called a push and the three card poker player is refunded his loot.
If the three card poker player places an ante bet, raises the bet, and his hand shows as a straight, three of a kind, or straight flush, the player is awarded a bonus for a strong hand. The player can receive this bonus without the dealer having to qualify as well.