Three-Card Poker Hands

Considered as a version of the British card game Three-Card Brag, Three-Card Poker online is an incredibly popular game played at online casinos. The popularity of Three-Card Poker can be attributed to the fact that it’s quite simple to learn, and anyone can start playing it after watching a few rounds of gaming action.

But to become better at Three-Card Poker, you must know each three-card sequence in the game. So, here’s an article that details everything you need to know about Three-Card Poker hand rankings. Read on!

How to play Three-Card Poker?

The game of Three-Card Poker online is played using a standard deck of 52 cards. The objective of Three-Card Poker is to form the best three-card hand as per the sequence rules and to maximize the prize money before the final showdown for you to win.

Any number of players can take part in Three-Card Poker, but it’s best suited for about 4 to 8 players. As with many other card games, aces are ranked the highest in Three-Card Poker while 2’s are the lowest.

Three-Card Poker hands: Rankings

The Three-Card Poker online sequence rules are quite similar to that of standard Poker rules. The only difference is the fact that each hand in Three-Card Poker consists of three cards instead of five.

The Three-Card Poker hand rankings, from high to low, is as follows:

Straight Flush

A straight flush is a hand that consists of three consecutive cards of the same suit. In Three-Card Poker, A-K-Q is the highest-ranked straight flush, and 4-3-2 are the lowest-ranked straight flush.

Three of a Kind

Also referred to as trail, three of a kind is a hand that consists of three cards of the same rank. Three aces are the highest trail and three 2’s are the lowest.

Straight

A straight is a hand that comprises three consecutive cards, but not all of the same suit. A-K-Q are the highest-ranked straight, while A-2-3 are the lowest-ranked straight.

Flush

Three cards of the same suit that are not in the sequence are referred to as flush in Three-Card Poker. A-K-J is the highest-ranked flush in Three-Card Poker, and 5-3-2 is the lowest-ranked flush.

One Pair

One Pair is a hand that consists of two cards of the same rank. In Three-Card Poker, the highest pair is A-A-K and the lowest is 2-2-3.

High Card

A three-card hand that doesn’t belong to any of the above types is referred to as a high card in Three-Card Poker. A-K-9 is the highest-ranked high card hand and 5-3-2 is the lowest ranked high card hand.

Now that you know the hand rankings and rules of Three-Card Poker. Play the game today! Hurry!

How do you know which Three-Card Poker hands win if two players have the same?

As you’d guess, sometimes you might have the same three-card Poker hand as someone else at the table.

In such instances, what you need to take into account is how the sequences are ordered in value.

Ace is the highest-ranked hand in Three-Card Poker and then the sequence goes down as usual.

If you have got the same three-card hand as any other player at the table, it comes down to who has the highest value sequence.

Here’s an example to make it more concrete:

9-8-7 vs 9-8-6: Here, both players have a sequence but the one with the sequence starting with 9 wins as it has a higher value.

A-A-Q vs A-A-5: Both the hands form a pair but the one with the queen wins as it has a higher third card.

Bonuses in Three-Card Poker

If a player gets a straight flush, three-of-a-kind or straight when playing Three-Card Poker, then they’re offered an ante bonus. The ante bonus is based on the player’s ante and the table’s posted paytable. In most Three-Card Poker games, a straight flush bonus is 5:1, a three-of-a-kind bonus is 4:1 and a straight bonus is 1:1.

Besides this, players also have the opportunity to earn pair plus bonuses when playing Three-Card Poker. The actual pay for the pair plus bonuses varies from casino to casino, but generally, it’s as follows: 

Note that some casinos also have a Mini Royal Flush, which is a hand consisting of an ace, king and queen of the same suit. The pay and house edge for this bonus are typically 80:1 and 2.32% respectively.

Glossary of commonly used terms in Three-Card Poker

Ante – An ante is a forced bet that each player needs to place at the start of the game.

Backline betting – A wager made by a player on any position other than their own position.

Betting square – A specially marked area on the Three-Card Poker table that is designated specifically for bets.

Boxed card – A card that is turned face up in the deck is referred to as a boxed card.

Fold – Fold is the player’s option to exit the game instead of placing a wager.

Call – An optional bet that players make after seeing their three-card hand.

Fixed limit – In fixed-limit Three-Card Poker games, the maximum amount a player can wager is equal to the call amount, which is double the amount of the last bet.

Spread limit – In Three-Card Poker games with spread limit structure, players have the option to raise any amount mentioned in the specific game.

Pot limit – This betting structure allows players to raise any amount up equal to the size of the whole pot on the table.