Three Card Poker: poker against the dealer in the Queen of Hearts' Kingdom

About Three Card Poker

This is the Three Card Poker you find on casino floors, played by the house rules with nothing made up. You bet the ANTE and, if you like, PAIR PLUS, and you get three cards; the dealer gets three face down. After looking at yours, you make the call: PLAY, matching the ANTE on the PLAY bet, or FOLD and leave what is on the table. The dealer needs queen high or better to play. If the dealer doesn't qualify, the ANTE pays 1 to 1 and the PLAY bet comes back to you; if the dealer qualifies, the higher hand takes the ANTE and the PLAY bet, 1 to 1 each. With three cards the hand ranking changes: a straight beats a flush, and three of a kind beats a straight. A straight, three of a kind or straight flush also pays the ANTE bonus, even when the dealer wins. PAIR PLUS is a bet on your hand alone and pays from 1 to 1 on a pair up to 40 to 1 on a straight flush. Not sure? The HINT shows the right play: play queen-6-4 or better and fold anything less — follow it and the house keeps 3.4% of the ANTE. The HANDS chart shows all six hands with sample cards from the deck you picked. This is a demo-mode game, made purely for entertainment: the amounts are not real money, and all wins and losses are fictional.

In Selminha's words

“Of all the casino tables, Three Card Poker is the quickest to learn and the one that feels most like real poker: you look at your hand and decide whether you're in, against the dealer, with no one to wait for. I wanted the table exactly as it is, with the ANTE, PAIR PLUS and the bonus printed on the felt, and I wanted the HINT for the right play and the hands chart with cards from your own deck on the side of whoever is learning. With three cards, a straight beats a flush — and that catches a lot of people off guard.”

How to play Three Card Poker and what each hand pays

1. Pick a deck and tap TAKE A SEAT. You start with 500 play chips.
2. Choose a chip (5, 25, 100 or 500) and tap the ANTE to bet, from 5 to 100. PAIR PLUS, next to it, is optional, also from 5 to 100. CLEAR takes your bet back.
3. Tap DEAL: your three cards come face up and the dealer's come face down.
4. Look at your hand and tap PLAY, which puts the same amount as the ANTE on the PLAY bet, or FOLD, which leaves the ANTE and PAIR PLUS on the table. Not sure? Tap HINT.
5. The dealer turns the cards and only plays with queen high or better. If not, the ANTE pays 1 to 1 and the PLAY bet pushes; if so, the higher hand takes the ANTE and the PLAY bet. PAIR PLUS pays on your hand, win or lose against the dealer.
6. HANDS shows the hand ranking and what each hand pays. CASH OUT ends the night and takes your chips to the TOP 5; once you can no longer cover the ANTE and the PLAY bet, the night is over.

A demo-mode game

Just for fun

Three Card Poker is a demo-mode game, made purely for entertainment. The amounts are not real money: the chips are play chips, and all wins and losses are fictional. You never bet or win actual money here.

The hands, from best to worst

Straight Flush

Three cards in sequence of the same suit, like the queen, king and ace of spades. PAIR PLUS 40 to 1; ANTE bonus 5 to 1.

Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same rank. PAIR PLUS 30 to 1; ANTE bonus 4 to 1.

Straight

Three cards in sequence, in mixed suits. The ace plays low (A-2-3) and high (Q-K-A). PAIR PLUS 6 to 1; ANTE bonus 1 to 1.

Flush

Three cards of the same suit, not in sequence. PAIR PLUS 4 to 1.

Pair

Two cards of the same rank. PAIR PLUS 1 to 1.

High Card

None of the hands above: the highest card counts, then the second and the third. The dealer needs queen high or better to play.

Controls on phone and computer

Computer

Tap or click the chips, the betting spots and the buttons · on the keyboard, the arrows move between buttons and ENTER or SPACE presses the lit one (with none lit, the main button of the moment: DEAL, PLAY, NEXT HAND) · J plays · X folds · H asks for a HINT · P or ESC pauses · M turns the sound on and off

Touch

On a phone, the table stands upright: the dealer on top, your three big cards in the middle, and the betting spots and buttons at the bottom, near your thumb. On a tablet, the table follows the way you hold it and never asks you to rotate; if you turn it mid-hand, the game pauses on its own and the table rebuilds itself. On a computer, the table lies sideways, with the paytables printed on both sides of the felt.

How the table pays

The dealer doesn't qualify

Without queen high or better, the dealer does not play: the ANTE pays 1 to 1 and the PLAY bet comes back to you.

The dealer qualifies

The higher hand takes the ANTE and the PLAY bet, 1 to 1 each. On a tie, both come back to you.

Folding

If you fold, you leave the ANTE and PAIR PLUS on the table. The HINT plays every pair, so following it never costs you a PAIR PLUS win.

ANTE bonus

A straight pays 1 to 1, three of a kind 4 to 1 and a straight flush 5 to 1 on the ANTE, for anyone who played — even if the dealer does not qualify and even if the dealer wins.

The HINT

Play queen-6-4 or better and fold anything less: that is the right play, checked across all 22,100 possible hands. With it, the house keeps 3.4% of the ANTE; on PAIR PLUS, 2.3%.

Your night at the table

Chips

You start with 500 play chips. The ANTE and PAIR PLUS go from 5 to 100 each, and the PLAY bet always matches the ANTE.

CASH OUT

Ends the night: your chips go to the TOP 5 on the site. Once you can no longer cover the ANTE and the PLAY bet, the night ends on its own.

The deck

Pick one of the Kingdom's decks before you sit down: Traditional, Kingdom Classic, Sun and Moon or The Queen's Seal. Your choice carries over to every card game in the Kingdom.