Casino game
This article is about the modern casino game. For the traditional game, see
Three-card brag
Three Card Poker Designers Derek 8️⃣ Webb Years active 1994 Genres Casino
game
Three Card Poker is a casino table game based on poker. It was designed 8️⃣ in 1994 by
Derek Webb.
History [ edit ]
A Three Card Poker table in a casino aboard the Norwegian
Dawn cruise 8️⃣ ship
The casino variant of Three Card Poker was first created by Derek Webb
in 1994 and patented in 1997. Webb's 8️⃣ goal was to create a version of poker that played
with the speed of other table games. It was important 8️⃣ to Webb that he got the correct
mix of three important factors for any casino game: the game rules were 8️⃣ easy to
understand, the payouts were large enough to attract players, and the house edge was
enough that casino owners 8️⃣ would be interested in adopting the game.
Webb established a
business called Prime Table Games to market the game in both 8️⃣ the United States and
United Kingdom.[1] The British Casino Association, now known as the National Casino
Industry Forum (NCiF) suggested 8️⃣ that Webb gain some experience in the US first, since
the UK had regulations against such a table game and 8️⃣ his application was not strong
enough to convince regulators to make significant changes to their rules and
regulations for a 8️⃣ new game.
The first to adopt the game was Barry Morris, Vice
President of Grand Casino Gulfport in Mississippi, after Webb 8️⃣ had unsuccessful sales
pitches with casino owners in Reno, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City. A key aspect of
Webb's offer 8️⃣ to Morris was to stand on the floor to train the dealers himself, as well
as watch to make sure 8️⃣ the game was being played correctly. United Kingdom gambling
regulations were changed to allow the introduction of Three Card Poker 8️⃣ in 2002.
Prime
Table Games continued marketing Three Card Poker until 1999, when Shuffle Master
acquired the rights to the game 8️⃣ outside the British Isles. The sale was prompted by a
lawsuit filed that year in US federal court by Mikohn 8️⃣ Gaming, the then-owners of
Caribbean stud poker, alleging patent infringement; Shuffle Master agreed to defend
that litigation as part of 8️⃣ the purchase. Subsequently, in 2007, Prime Table Games
showed in a countersuit that the 1999 litigation was based on invalid 8️⃣ patent claims;
Mikohn (which had since been renamed as Progressive Gaming International Corporation –
PGIC) settled the suit by payingR$20 8️⃣ million.[2] Further, Prime Table Games filed suit
against Shuffle Master in 2008 alleging in part that Shuffle Master had undisclosed
8️⃣ knowledge that the PGIC claims were invalid prior to the 1999 purchase; that lawsuit
was later settled for overR$2 million.[3]
Rules 8️⃣ [ edit ]
Three Card Poker is played as
heads-up between the player's hand and the dealer's hand. After all ante 8️⃣ wagers are
placed, three cards are dealt to each player and the dealer. Players have a choice to
either fold 8️⃣ or continue in the game by placing a "play" wager equal to their ante.
Hands are then exposed and wagers 8️⃣ resolved.[4]
The dealer's hand must be Queen high or
better for the dealer hand to play. If the dealer does not 8️⃣ play, then there is no
action on play wagers and ante wagers are paid 1 to 1. If the dealer 8️⃣ does play, the
dealer and player hands are compared. If the player hand loses, both the ante and play
wagers 8️⃣ are lost. If the player hand wins, both the ante and play wagers are paid 1 to
1. If the 8️⃣ hands are tied, then there is no action on either wager.[4]
Additional
optional bets are offered. The Pair Plus wager is 8️⃣ a bet that the player's hand will be
a pair or better. The Pair Plus wager wins if the player 8️⃣ has at least a pair of twos.
The payoff applies regardless of the dealer's hand, as the Pair Plus wager 8️⃣ is not in
competition against the dealer's hand. Some casinos also offer an Ante Bonus, which is
paid on the 8️⃣ ante wager for a straight or better. The typical Ante Bonus paytable pays 5
to 1 for a straight flush, 8️⃣ 4 to 1 for a three of a kind, and 1 to 1 for a straight.
Like the Pair Plus 8️⃣ wager, the Ante Bonus pays regardless of whether that hand beats the
dealer's hand.[4]
Hand ranks [ edit ]
Straight flush
Three of 8️⃣ a
kind
Straight
Flush
Pair
High card
Examples of poker hand categories in descending
order
Hand Ranks of Three Card Poker[5] Rank Description Frequency Probability Straight
8️⃣ flush Three suited cards in sequence 48 0.22% Three of a kind Three cards of same rank
52 0.24% Straight 8️⃣ Three cards in sequence 720 3.26% Flush Three suited cards 1,096
4.96% Pair Two cards of same rank 3,744 16.94% 8️⃣ High card None of the above 16,440
74.39% Total hands - 22,100 -
Probability of Queen high or better is 69.59%[citation
8️⃣ needed]
Variations [ edit ]
Some venues have added a wager called Prime in United
Kingdom casinos and the game is known 8️⃣ as Prime Three Card Poker. The Prime wager is
optionally placed before cards are dealt and pays on the color 8️⃣ of the player cards. If
all three cards are the same color the payoff is 3 to 1. However, when 8️⃣ included with
the dealer hand if all six cards are the same color then the payoff is increased to 4
8️⃣ to 1.
Another variation is "six card bonus", in which the players are given a payout
based on the best five-card 8️⃣ poker hand that can be made using any combination of the
player's three cards and the dealer's three cards. Payoff 8️⃣ ranges from 5 to 1 for three
of a kind to 1000 to 1 for royal flush. Payoffs are paid 8️⃣ regardless of whether any
other bets pay.
See also [ edit ]
