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