Is Q-6-4 really the right rule in 3-card poker?

The hands around Q-6-4

Average result per unit of ante, ante bonus (5/4/1) included and pair plus left out, against all 18,424 hands the dealer can hold. Folding always loses the ante: −1.0000.

Why

Folding costs your ante. Playing puts up a second unit, but the dealer fails to qualify about three times in ten and then your ante wins whatever you hold, which is what makes weak queens worth playing. Q-6-4 is the hand where the two choices cross: a hair better than folding. Q-6-3 is a hair worse. Every hand with a higher card, a pair or better is clearly a play.

Does the ante bonus paytable change it?

Related questions

• Should you play every hand in 3-card poker, or mimic the dealer?

  Neither. Playing every hand more than doubles what the game costs you, and mimicking the dealer (playing any queen) costs a bit more than Q-6-4. Folding the weakest hands is worth it.

• How often does the dealer qualify in 3-card poker, and what happens when it doesn’t?

  The dealer qualifies with queen-high or better, about seven times in ten. When it doesn’t, your ante wins even money and your play bet comes back, whatever you hold.

• 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.

All 3-Card vs. Dealer questions