How to play Three Card Poker — and the real odds
Three Card Poker is the quickest poker game in the casino: you get three cards, make one decision, and the dealer's three cards settle it. Learn a single rule — Queen-6-4 — and you're playing it as well as anyone at the table.
The deal
You place an Ante and receive three cards face up. The dealer gets three cards face down. Now your one decision: raise a Play bet equal to your ante, or fold and give up the ante.
How hands rank (the important quirk)
From best to worst: straight flush → three of a kind → straight → flush → pair → high card. Notice that a straight beats a flush — the opposite of five-card poker. With only three cards, a straight is actually rarer than a flush, so it outranks it. Aces are high or low: A-K-Q is the top straight, A-2-3 the lowest.
The one decision: "Queen-Six-Four"
"Queen-6-4" means: if your highest card is a Queen, look at the second card — play if it's a 6 or higher (and if it's exactly a 6, the third card must be a 4 or higher). Any hand with a King or Ace high is an automatic play; anything Jack-high or lower is an automatic fold.
The dealer must "qualify"
After you decide, the dealer reveals. The dealer only qualifies with Queen-high or better. Two outcomes:
- Dealer doesn't qualify: your Ante pays 1:1 and your Play bet pushes (comes back). A small, regular gift — already priced into the 3.37%.
- Dealer qualifies: higher three-card hand wins. Win and both your Ante and Play pay 1:1; lose and you forfeit both; a tie pushes.
The Ante Bonus (a free upgrade)
Hold a strong hand and the Ante Bonus pays automatically — even if the dealer beats you: a straight pays 1:1, three of a kind 4:1, and a straight flush 5:1. You don't bet anything extra for it; it's part of playing the hand.
Is the Pair Plus side bet worth it?
Pair Plus is a separate bet that pays purely on your three cards, no matter what the dealer has — a pair or better wins, up to 40:1 for a straight flush. It's fun, and the swings are exciting, but the edge is higher than the main game and it depends entirely on the paytable. The common Pair Plus (1-3-6-30-40) version keeps 7.28% — more than double the Ante-Play edge. Treat it as entertainment, not strategy, and always check what a flush pays (3 vs 4 makes a big difference).
The exact odds
Every number below is computed exactly from the rules — Pair Plus over all 22,100 hands, the Ante-Play edge over the full deal space — no simulation, no rounding games:
Three Card Poker is two bets in one. The Ante-Play game is a genuine strategy bet — play correctly and the house keeps just 3.37% of your ante. The Pair Plus side bet is a pure payout gamble on your own three cards. Every figure below is exact — Pair Plus enumerated over all 22,100 hands, Ante-Play over the full deal space.
(element of risk 2.01%)
(1-3-6-30-40 paytable)
playing (Q-6-4+)
What each bet really costs
| Bet | House edge | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Ante-Play (correct strategy) | 3.37% | The bet to make — element of risk just 2.01% |
| Pair Plus (1-3-6-30-40) | 7.28% | Fun, but ~2× the Ante-Play edge — a side bet, not a strategy |
The exact hand frequencies (of 22,100 hands)
Notice the quirk: a straight beats a flush here — with only three cards, a straight (720 hands) is rarer than a flush (1,096), so it outranks it. That's the reverse of five-card poker.
| Hand | # of hands | Probability | Pair Plus pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 48 | 0.217% | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 52 | 0.235% | 30 to 1 |
| Straight | 720 | 3.258% | 6 to 1 |
| Flush | 1,096 | 4.959% | 3 to 1 |
| Pair | 3,744 | 16.94% | 1 to 1 |
| High card | 16,440 | 74.39% | — |
The whole strategy: "Queen-Six-Four"
- Play any hand of Q-6-4 or better; fold everything worse. That single rule is optimal — it gets the Ante-Play edge down to 3.37%. You'll play about 67% of hands.
- The dealer needs Queen-high to "qualify." If the dealer doesn't, your Ante pays 1:1 and your Play bet pushes — a small gift that's already baked into the 3.37%.
- The Ante Bonus pays no matter what (even if the dealer beats you): a straight pays 1:1, three of a kind 4:1, a straight flush 5:1.
Is Pair Plus worth it?
It's the fun bet — one big hand pays 30:1 or 40:1 — but the edge depends entirely on the paytable, and casinos quietly shift it. The common Pair Plus (1-3-6-30-40) keeps 7.28%; the older, better Pair Plus (1-4-6-30-40) (flush pays 4) is only 2.32%. Always check what the flush pays.
| Pair Plus paytable | House edge |
|---|---|
| Pair Plus (1-3-6-30-40) (flush pays 3) | 7.28% |
| Pair Plus (1-4-6-30-40) (flush pays 4) | 2.32% |
Bankroll reality
Played correctly, Three Card Poker's 3.37% ante edge (just 2.01% of what you actually wager) is one of the friendlier bets on the floor. But "friendly" isn't "free," and adding Pair Plus every hand quietly raises your overall cost. Bet what you can afford to lose, and watch the edge emerge over thousands of hands in the Lab.
Ready? Play Three Card Poker free → · or compare it with every other game in the house-edge chart →.