Continuing on with my History of Poker articles I will tell you a little about three card poker today. Three card poker has evolved in the poker world like most variations of poker. It has its roots in the games of Brag and Poque and most other simple early variations of the game I’ve talked about at length in earlier articles.
Many feel that Brag is the main game that three card poker evolved from. This is very likely since it’s one of the first places where betting came into play in the card room. The style of three card poker we see today likely came from a gentleman named Derek Webb. When he was in Vegas he found regular poker boring and adjusted the game to fit his notion of a fast paced game. It apparently caught on because you see it both in brick and mortar and online casinos more and more every day.
Three card poker is simple enough. Each player is dealt three cards like the name of the game states. You place an ante bet before receiving your cards and once you get them you decide if you would like to place another bet. Now is where things get a little complicated. There are three options for the game after this. The first is if the dealer qualifies or not. To do this the dealer must have a queen or higher in his hand. If he does not qualify the ante is paid out evenly but the play bet is returned to you. If the dealer does qualify and you beat him you get paid out even on the ante and the play bet. If the dealer wins you lose both bets. Rules can vary slightly from casino to casino.
If you think this kind of poker is interesting then make a stop at your local casino or poke around online until you find a poker room you enjoy. This game is practically everywhere so you won’t have to look hard to find it. A tip I would make on personal observation is to play with a few other people or else you’ll probably have trouble making decent hands. So go to it if this interests you!