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Table games

Three Card Poker

A one-line strategy, a fast deal, and a side bet that pays properly when it lands.

Quick hands, easy rules, and the Pair Plus bet turning three cards into a real payout.

25 hrs

on €50 · Good value

€2.02 an hour at €1 a go

How to play it well

The decisions that actually move the number, and the version of the game worth looking for.

  1. Raise on queen-six-four or better. Fold anything below it. That is the entire optimal strategy.
  2. Pair Plus pays on your own three cards regardless of the dealer, which is why people play it.
  3. Read the Pair Plus paytable before sitting. The straight-flush and three-of-a-kind rows vary between tables, and that is where the value is.
  4. The dealer needs queen high to qualify, so a good hand against a non-qualifying dealer still pays on the ante.
  5. Play both bets if you want the big hands to matter. Play ante only if you want the longer session.

Where that comes from

3.37% house edge
€1 a decision
60 decisions an hour
€2.02 an hour — so €50 lasts 25 hrs

How long €50 of play lasts on average, at €1 a hand, spin or roll. Bet more and it scales down by the same amount.

Return to player
96.63%
Volatility
Medium
Does skill change it?
Somewhat
Typical minimum
Around €1 an ante online

What the figure assumes

Ante-and-play game, expressed per ante, playing queen-six-four or better and folding otherwise.

Source: Standard published Three Card Poker edge figures by pay table. Last checked 2026-09-21.

Worth seeking out the good version

The version to look for

€2.02

3.37% edge

A short-pay Pair Plus table

€4.37

7.28% edge

Same game, same stake: 25 hrs of play against 11 hrs. Worth two minutes checking which table you are on.

Three Card Poker is two games sharing a table. The ante-and-play game, where you beat the dealer's three cards, runs about 3.37% of your ante with correct strategy — and correct strategy here is a single rule you can memorise in a sentence: raise on queen-six-four or better, fold everything below it.

The Pair Plus side bet pays on your own hand regardless of the dealer. Its edge depends entirely on the pay table, and the pay tables vary more than in almost any other casino game — from about 2.3% on a generous one to 7.3% on a mean one. The difference is a single line in the paytable, usually the straight flush or the three-of-a-kind row.

Read the table before you sit down. It is the only decision in the game that is worth more than a few cents.

Things worth knowing

  • Pair Plus pay tables ranging from about 2.3% to 7.3%
  • Six-card bonus side bets, generally poor
  • Folding hands you should raise, which costs more than any side bet

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