Is the pair plus bet worth it in 3-card poker?
Only on a good paytable. On the common 1/3/6/30/40 table it costs over 7% of every bet; the same table paying 4 to 1 on a flush costs about a third of that. Check the flush payout before you bet.
Pair plus pays on 25.6% of hands. Its house edge is 7.28% on the 1/3/6/30/40 paytable and 2.32% on 1/4/6/30/40, the same table with a flush paying 4 to 1.
Pair plus on every paytable
| Paytable (pair/flush/straight/trips/straight flush/mini royal) | Flush pays | House edge |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4/6/38/42 | 4:1 | 0.00% |
| 1/4/6/32/40 | 4:1 | 1.85% |
| 1/4/6/30/40/50 | 4:1 | 2.14% |
| 1/4/6/30/40 | 4:1 | 2.32% |
| 1/4/6/33/35 | 4:1 | 2.70% |
| 1/4/6/25/40 | 4:1 | 3.49% |
| 1/3/6/30/50/100 | 3:1 | 4.20% |
| 1/3/6/30/40/200 | 3:1 | 4.38% |
| 1/4/6/25/35 | 4:1 | 4.58% |
| 1/3/6/30/50 | 3:1 | 5.10% |
| 1/4/5/30/40/50 | 4:1 | 5.39% |
| 1/4/5/30/40 | 4:1 | 5.57% |
| 1/4/5/25/40 | 4:1 | 6.75% |
| 1/3/6/30/40/50 | 3:1 | 7.10% |
| 1/3/6/30/40 | 3:1 | 7.28% |
| 1/3/6/25/40/80 | 3:1 | 7.73% |
Exact, over all 22,100 three-card hands. A mini royal is A-K-Q suited.
Why
Pair plus pays on your three cards alone, a pair or better, and needs no decisions. It wins about one hand in four. Most of its value sits in the small, frequent payouts, so the flush line decides the price: one unit less on a flush, which comes up about one hand in twenty, adds almost five points to the house edge. Read the felt: the flush is the second number.