One of the most exciting table games in casinos today is Three Card Poker. While it’s a relatively new addition to the casino lineup – the game was invented in 1994 – it has become one of the most successful games in recent casino history, owing in large part to finding just about the perfect mix of strategy, big payouts, and different betting options that give players several different ways to play the game.
One thing that people don’t think about much in Three Card Poker is beating the house. The problem isn’t that the game has a particularly large advantage for the casino; it’s a pretty reasonable game, and it’s definitely possible to win at it in the short run. However, there simply aren’t many chances for players to change the odds in the main game, and the PairPlus game is pure luck.
But surprisingly, there is one realistic way to win at Three Card Poker, at least when playing in a brick-and-mortar casino. While it’s not exactly an everyday occurrence, there are many dealers who use less than perfect technique when handling their own cards. Even with all of the standards and practices used by casinos, it still happens that some dealers will flash one of the cards in their hand as they place them on the table. Typically, the player in the first seat (the one all the way to the right from the players’ side of the table) has the best chance of catching a glance at these cards.
Without this knowledge, the standard strategy in Three Card Poker is to raise your best if you have a hand of Q-6-4 or better, and fold everything else. However, knowing just one dealer card can completely change the optimal strategy and give you a significant advantage.
According to The Wizard of Odds, the best situation occurs if you know exactly what the dealer holds. In that case, you should always raise if you see a jack or lower. If you see a queen, king, or ace, you should only raise if you hold at least a card of that rank along with a nine and a two (for instance, against a dealer king, raise with K-9-2 or better).
With that much knowledge, the player has an edge of nearly 3.5% over the house. Of course, in many cases, you’ll only see the exposed cards on certain hands, or perhaps only know whether or not the dealer has a face card. But even this partial information can be enough to help swing the odds in your favor, turning one of the most entertaining casino table games into a profitable one as well!
