With over 120 variants of the poker game, you can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of three card poker. A relatively new addition to the list of poker games three card poker, with similarities to Caribbean Stud Poker, can be played in side-games, casinos or at online poker tables and basically pits you against the dealer, or possibly the odds.

Three card poker basics

A Three Card Poker table.

Three card poker is played with one 52 card deck with up to seven players and a dealer. All the players are dealt three cards face down – including the dealer. Your aim is simply to beat the dealers hand in terms of having the winning poker hand. The ranking hands in this game are three cards with either; a straight flush, three of a kind, a straight, a flush or a pair. Before the cards are dealt you bet in the Ante spot against the dealer’s hand on the assumption that yours will be better. If you think you’ll receive a pair – then the bet is placed on the Pair Plus spot. To stay in the game after viewing your cards you have to make another wager or fold by placing the cards face down. When all the betting is done the dealer reveals his/her cards, if the dealer has a Queen or better their hand is called a ‘qualifier’ and the dealer turns over the players cards to see if they’ve been beaten. If you beat the dealer you win even money for the antes and play bets, anything less and the dealer takes it all. However, the best bit in three card poker is if the dealer hasn’t at least a Queen – all the players still in get even money on the ante and the play wager becomes a push.

Three card poker strategy

When it comes to betting - play like the dealer. If you have a Queen or better then play other wise fold. Pair plus betting is risky, you only stand a 25% chance of winning. If pairs get thrown up a lot it might be worth it, otherwise best to skip it. Expect the dealer to get a Queen on about two thirds of the hands and forty percent of the ante hands will make an ante bonus. Bonus payouts are: Straight 1:1, for Three of a kind 4:1 and a Straight Flush 5:1.

Here at pokertipsbook we’re all for explaining beginners can learn to play and enjoy poker. Whilst we’ve loads of great articles and items about the various aspects of playing poker, before you can get started actually playing poker you really need a short and simple basic poker introduction. So, based on playing a version of poker called Texas Hold ‘em – here is that basic introduction that anyone should be able to follow.

Poker terms

OK, first of all poker has a language all of its own, which until you understand some of the really basic stuff – you’ll just sit there mystified as to what all the other players are talking about. Before any cards are dealt two players have to place what are called blind bets. There’s a small and a big blind, with the big blind being twice the value of the small one. Everyone then gets two cards dealt to them, which you don’t let other players see, called hole cards. Players can now either fold – throw their hand in, call – place a bet that matches the big blind  or raise – increase the amount being bet. All the money or chips on the table are called the pot. With that round of betting done there comes the flop, three cards are dealt face up for all to see on the table – community cards. Another round of betting follows, then another community card is dealt, commonly known as the turn. There’s another round of betting followed by the final, fifth, community card known as the river. You’re now at the showdown - the final round of betting. The winner is the person that can make up the best combination of cards using their two hole cards and any three from the community cards. We’ve got another easy to follow article you can read about the winning poker hand rankings.

Fold, Call or Raise?

Has she seen a raise - or doesn't she know whether to turn or fold?

Excuse the pun but until you’ve got your hand in at the game of poker – caution is always to be recommended when it comes to betting. If you’ve got a rubbish couple of hole cards fold, if the hole cards and the flop cards look weak – fold etc. This may well mean that you’re folding an awful lot initially – but you can still see the community cards and learn what might have been possible with your hand. Conversely, if you get a couple of reasonable, let alone good, hole cards then it’s always worth waiting to see what comes along at the flop etc, and never disgrace an ace! So, with good cards at least call the bet, but unless you are suddenly presented with a royal or straight flush - it’s probably best not to go raising too quickly.

People play online poker for all sorts of reasons as well as at all sorts of levels; and, just the same as you get talkative players at a ‘bricks and mortar’ poker table, you can also get chatty players at online poker tables. Alternatively, for other some online poker players, it’s as much of a social occasion as one that they will see purely in terms of winning money. Such players are, of course, attracted to poker websites that have particularly good and inter-active chat rooms; and yet how should players behave in a poker chat room?

Vital poker chat etiquette

Some folk linger and some just pay a flying visit to poker chat rooms.

 The first thing to say about online poker chat etiquette is to check for any ‘chat rules’ specific to any of the online poker websites that you use. Other than that there are some basic and largely common sense things you should do to avoid any risk of falling foul of any poker chat room etiquette. I guess the single most important thing not to do is to be in any way inflammatory towards others in the poker chat room or indeed at the websites poker table. If you need that spelling out, don’t threaten or be abusive toward anyone else – if you need a list of what might constitute threatening or abusive comments, then you’re probably not mature enough to be playing online poker! The other major point of etiquette to observe is not to discuss in any way hands that are in play. So, even if you’ve folded, if you were thinking of sharing with others what your hole cards were – don’t. Similarly you mustn’t do things like make ad hoc arrangements to check down hands or even in any way pressure someone else into leaving a table. Also, although it might be well intentioned, don’t offer to exchange funds in the chat room.

Poker chat to be wary of

Certainly in North America, no matter what your ethnic origin, place of birth or how ever many foreign languages you might speak – English will be the only permitted language. The reason for this is quite simple that chat room moderators need to be confident that all is above board – something they cant do if folks suddenly start ‘chatting’ about their poker hand in some obscure language or dialect. Finally, whilst I’m sure the odd “you’re cute” type of comment is OK – don’t try and advertise anything through the chat room. First of all, other folk won’t be interested, they’re relaxing playing poker and secondly, well it’s just cheap!

If American adults can be trusted to buy a handgun, rifle or even an assault machine gun -why do their lawmakers not deem them responsible enough to be able to gamble in online poker rooms? What exactly do they think is the difference between playing poker in a club or casino and on the internet? Do they seriously think that the moral turpitude of the nation will be irretrievably broken by allowing online poker and gambling? Similar arguments were put forward in Europe, some by supposedly intelligent people; along the lines that online gambling would mean people would lose the will to work – choosing instead to play poker all day long on their computer. That children wouldn’t be protected from the lure of gambling and would sink into a life of crime to pay for the gambling addictions they succumbed to in their youth; and that people would lose all sense of proportion and gamble away all of their money – unable to stop their addiction.

The reality has, of course, been quite different. That’s not to say their aren’t people who choose to play poker professionally, that some people will always find themselves addicted to something not entirely in their best interests nor that children shouldn’t be protected from premature exposure to gambling. However, all of those things are also risks in life in general – not just the result of the internet.

So, I say good luck to the PPA – and you’re going to need it. As, let’s face it, gambling and poker in particular is big business and the businesses already running it won’t want to lose their slice of the pie. Already the big football and baseball clubs are preparing to fight any liberalizing of the internet gambling laws – simply because they want to retain control of their gambling revenue. If the big casinos aren’t allowed to monopolise any American poker and gambling websites, they too will undoubtedly counter-lobby against the PPA. However, the biggest problem is that with a poker or gambling website being based anywhere in the world, apart from existing sporting organisations being against the idea – the American government will never allow it, as they’d start to lose tax-dollars from gambling revenue!

Will Las Vegas agree to online poker law reforms?

Just returning to the craziness of the ‘no internet gambling’ situation at present and dichotomies around it in America. Apparently, in Las Vegas (yes Las Vegas) you can see city buses advertising internet poker and gambling websites. Now how ironic is that? The home of casino based poker and gambling in America – advertising something in competition with itself, but that you can’t actually do?