Casino Player December 2022

Winning At Three Card Poker

THE STORY BEHIND THE GAME, AND SMART STRATEGIES FOR BEATING THE HOUSE

BY BASIL NESTOR

T hree Card Poker is a game with a twist, as well as an interesting history. The casino version was first created by Derek Webb and pur chased and licensed by ShuffleMaster (the company that revolutionized the world of automatic shuf flers), and was introduced in 1994. But even though the contest has“poker”in its name, it’s actually based on a very old British game called“brag” that has roots going back to the sixteenth century. Brag is an ancestor of poker. So when you playThree Card Poker, you’re playing a latter-day version of a contest that was a favorite of English royalty, pith helmet-wearing, globe-hopping explorers, and famous gamesters such as Edmond Hoyle.The three-card concept and unique hand rankings have survived from the time of King HenryVIII all the way to you. What BeatsWhat? The game begins with a player ante (a bet equal to at least the table minimum) and an optional side bet called Pair Plus.We’ll review the side bet in a moment. The dealer gives each player three cards face down and deals herself three cards face down. Players look at their cards, and then each person can either fold and lose the ante, or play.A decision to play requires an additional bet equal to the size of the ante, so a $10 ante would re

3 0 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 2 • w w w . c a s i n o c e n t e r . c o m