Perhaps my favorite casino game at Bovada is TriCard Poker also known at live casinos as three card poker.
One thing that makes this table poker game so popular is that it combines bonus payouts with strategy.
Of course, as with any strategy-based casino game, this game does leave the potential for mistakes. And there are 5 common mistakes that many beginners make.
If you’re new to TriCard (3 card) Poker or just looking to brush up on strategy, keep reading as I cover these 5 mistakes.
1. Overcomplicating Three Card Poker Strategy (or Not Using Strategy)
I’ve seen gambling authors recommend different Three Card Poker strategies designed to get the absolute maximum return.
These tips include never playing anything below king-high, or only playing hands with Q-10-x.
The pursuit of shaving off a few hundreds of a percent on the house edge is admirable. But there’s only one Three Card Poker strategy that you truly need to know on the ante bet: raise with Q-6-4.
If you make the “ante” bet (a.k.a. Ante & Play), you only want to keep hands that are Q-6-4 or better.
This helps you achieve a 3.37% house edge on the ante wager. But as I’ll explain in the next section, the house advantage is actually 2.01% when accounting for element of risk.
The reason for folding anything other than Q-6-3 is because these hands offer lower expected value (EV) than if you’d just fold and sacrifice your ante bet. Furthermore, you’re going to lose more money by making the play bet with Q-6-3.
Meanwhile, Q-6-4 gives you a strong high card and two kickers that make adding the play bet +EV.
TIPS:
One more thing: don’t ever play your hands blindly!
Some people play blind, where they always raise and never look at their cards. The logic here is that you might as well enjoy every hand if you’re going to sit at the table.
But I don’t find anything enjoyable about losing far more often. Playing blind leads to a 7.6% house edge, which is worse than almost every other casino game.
Considering how easy Three Card Poker strategy is, you might as well look at your cards and make fold/raise decisions based on this info.
2. Making the Pair Plus Bet over Ante Bet
Three Card Poker hands begin with you having the option to make either a Pair Plus or ante bet. Either wager is equal to half of the table’s minimum bet.
Pair Plus is a bonus wager that sees you bypass the main game. The only objective here is to be dealt a pair or better.
If you’re dealt at least a pair, then you earn a bonus payout. Anything lower results in a loss.
The ante wager is part of the main game. If you like your hand, then you can make the “play” bet to see if you have a better hand than the dealer.
Another difference between ante and Pair Plus is their pay schedule on bonus payouts. Here are the common bonus prizes for each wager:
ANTE BONUS
PAIR PLUS
Pair Plus looks like the superior bet on the surface, because the house edge is only 2.32%.
Few casino side bets come close to offering this low of a house advantage. Therefore, it’s common to see many Three Card Poker players only make the Pair Plus wager.
The ante bet carries a house edge of 3.37% (w/ strategy), which makes it seem worse than Pair Plus. But ante is actually the better wager when accounting for its “element of risk.”
Many players are familiar with the term house edge, which refers to how much money the casino wins over the long term.
Using Pair Plus as an example, the house figures to win a $2.32 profit for every $100 that players bet.
Element of risk refers to the total percentage of average bets that the house wins. In other words, element or risk not only accounts for the initial bet, but also subsequent wagers.
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE:
The ante bet actually has a 2.01% house edge when considering strategy and the overall sum of wagers. This 2.01% house advantage is better than the 2.32% figure for Pair Plus.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t make the Pair Plus wager. After all, it still gives you a strong chance to win in the long run.
But don’t look at ante’s 3.37% house advantage and automatically assume that it’s worse than Pair Plus.
One thing that makes this table poker game so popular is that it combines bonus payouts with strategy.
Of course, as with any strategy-based casino game, this game does leave the potential for mistakes. And there are 5 common mistakes that many beginners make.
If you’re new to TriCard (3 card) Poker or just looking to brush up on strategy, keep reading as I cover these 5 mistakes.
1. Overcomplicating Three Card Poker Strategy (or Not Using Strategy)
I’ve seen gambling authors recommend different Three Card Poker strategies designed to get the absolute maximum return.
These tips include never playing anything below king-high, or only playing hands with Q-10-x.
The pursuit of shaving off a few hundreds of a percent on the house edge is admirable. But there’s only one Three Card Poker strategy that you truly need to know on the ante bet: raise with Q-6-4.
If you make the “ante” bet (a.k.a. Ante & Play), you only want to keep hands that are Q-6-4 or better.
This helps you achieve a 3.37% house edge on the ante wager. But as I’ll explain in the next section, the house advantage is actually 2.01% when accounting for element of risk.
The reason for folding anything other than Q-6-3 is because these hands offer lower expected value (EV) than if you’d just fold and sacrifice your ante bet. Furthermore, you’re going to lose more money by making the play bet with Q-6-3.
Meanwhile, Q-6-4 gives you a strong high card and two kickers that make adding the play bet +EV.
TIPS:
One more thing: don’t ever play your hands blindly!
Some people play blind, where they always raise and never look at their cards. The logic here is that you might as well enjoy every hand if you’re going to sit at the table.
But I don’t find anything enjoyable about losing far more often. Playing blind leads to a 7.6% house edge, which is worse than almost every other casino game.
Considering how easy Three Card Poker strategy is, you might as well look at your cards and make fold/raise decisions based on this info.
2. Making the Pair Plus Bet over Ante Bet
Three Card Poker hands begin with you having the option to make either a Pair Plus or ante bet. Either wager is equal to half of the table’s minimum bet.
Pair Plus is a bonus wager that sees you bypass the main game. The only objective here is to be dealt a pair or better.
If you’re dealt at least a pair, then you earn a bonus payout. Anything lower results in a loss.
The ante wager is part of the main game. If you like your hand, then you can make the “play” bet to see if you have a better hand than the dealer.
Another difference between ante and Pair Plus is their pay schedule on bonus payouts. Here are the common bonus prizes for each wager:
ANTE BONUS
- Straight = 1:1
- Three of a kind = 4:1
- Straight flush = 5:1
PAIR PLUS
- Pair = 1:1
- Flush = 4:1
- Straight = 6:1
- Three of a kind = 30:1
- Straight flush = 40:1
Pair Plus looks like the superior bet on the surface, because the house edge is only 2.32%.
Few casino side bets come close to offering this low of a house advantage. Therefore, it’s common to see many Three Card Poker players only make the Pair Plus wager.
The ante bet carries a house edge of 3.37% (w/ strategy), which makes it seem worse than Pair Plus. But ante is actually the better wager when accounting for its “element of risk.”
Many players are familiar with the term house edge, which refers to how much money the casino wins over the long term.
Using Pair Plus as an example, the house figures to win a $2.32 profit for every $100 that players bet.
Element of risk refers to the total percentage of average bets that the house wins. In other words, element or risk not only accounts for the initial bet, but also subsequent wagers.
HERE’S AN EXAMPLE:
- I bet $5 on the ante every time.
- But 50% of the time, I wager an additional $5 on the play bet ($7.50 overall average).
- Therefore, the casinos’ take should be calculated on my $7.50 average wager.
The ante bet actually has a 2.01% house edge when considering strategy and the overall sum of wagers. This 2.01% house advantage is better than the 2.32% figure for Pair Plus.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can’t make the Pair Plus wager. After all, it still gives you a strong chance to win in the long run.
But don’t look at ante’s 3.37% house advantage and automatically assume that it’s worse than Pair Plus.