Ultimate 3 Card Poker Game
Ultimate Three Card Poker is another variation on the rules of 3 Card Poker. It is played in some casinos, such as the Silver Legacy in Reno, Nevada. It allows the player more choice in how much they’re willing to wager on any given hand.
If you know the rules of 3 Card Poker, you’ll understand the basic idea of Ultimate Three Card Poker as well. To start the game, the player must make an ante bet as well as a “blind” bet, both of which will be the same size. Each player receives a three-card hand face down, as does the dealer.
The players may examine their hands in order to decide whether to raise or to fold. If a player wants to fold, he forfeits his blind and ante bets. If the player wishes to raise, the type of hand they hold determines how much they are allowed to raise. If the player has less than a pair, they may only raise in an amount equal to the ante bet. If the player has a pair or more, they may make a raise of anywhere between one and three times the ante bet.
After all players have made their decisions, the dealer reveals his hand, and the player does the same. The hand rankings are the same as those used in all forms of Three Card Poker, with the addition of the “mini royal” – a straight flush made with an ace, king and queen. As in regular Three Card Poker, the dealer qualifies with a queen-high hand or better.
Each of a player’s three bets is handled in a different manner, as follows:
• The ante bet is paid only if the dealer qualifies; otherwise, the bet is a push. If the dealer does qualify and the player beats the dealer, the ante bet pays even money.
• The raise bet wins if the player beats the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer qualified or not. The raise bet pays even money.
• The blind bet pays whenever the player beats the dealer, regardless of whether the dealer qualified. The blind bet is paid according to the strength of the player’s hand, based on the following pay table:
Mini Royal: 100-1
Straight Flush: 20-1
Three of a Kind: 10-1
Straight: 2-1
Flush: 1-1
All Other Hands: Push
Ultimate 3 Card Poker Strategy
As in standard Three Card Poker, this game also includes the Pairplus bet. This optional bet pays the player based on the strength of their hand, with every hand of a pair or more winning based on a pay table that varies from game to game.
The rule changes, including the option to raise to three times the ante and the addition of the blind bet, do make Ultimate Three Card Poker a slightly more difficult game from a strategy perspective than the original game. However, players can still easily play the optimal strategy for this game without using a chart. If the player has a pair or better, they should raise 3x the blind. Without a pair, a player should make the 1x raise with a hand of J74 or better, and fold any hands worse than this.
By using this strategy, Ultimate Three Card Poker has a house edge of about 5.4%. Keep in mind that this percentage is the amount the player expects to lose compared to the ante bet, not the total amount bet including blind and raise bets.