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3-Card vs. Dealer strategy: play Q-6-4 or better

Play every hand of queen-6-4 or better and fold everything weaker. That one rule is the exact best decision for all 22,100 hands you can be dealt. Played that way, the house edge is 3.37% of the ante (2.01% of everything you bet) with the standard 5/4/1 ante bonus. The pair plus side bet is a separate game: with the common 1/3/6/30/40 paytable its house edge is 7.28%.

Practice with the trainer

Queen-high hands, card by card

Ace-high and king-high hands always play; jack-high and lower always fold. Queen high depends on the next two cards:

Queen high without a flush: second card down, third card across
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Q-JQ-J-10: StraightQ-J-9: PlayQ-J-8: PlayQ-J-7: PlayQ-J-6: PlayQ-J-5: PlayQ-J-4: PlayQ-J-3: PlayQ-J-2: Play
Q-10Q-10-9: PlayQ-10-8: PlayQ-10-7: PlayQ-10-6: PlayQ-10-5: PlayQ-10-4: PlayQ-10-3: PlayQ-10-2: Play
Q-9Q-9-8: PlayQ-9-7: PlayQ-9-6: PlayQ-9-5: PlayQ-9-4: PlayQ-9-3: PlayQ-9-2: Play
Q-8Q-8-7: PlayQ-8-6: PlayQ-8-5: PlayQ-8-4: PlayQ-8-3: PlayQ-8-2: Play
Q-7Q-7-6: PlayQ-7-5: PlayQ-7-4: PlayQ-7-3: PlayQ-7-2: Play
Q-6Q-6-5: PlayQ-6-4: PlayQ-6-3: FoldQ-6-2: Fold
Q-5Q-5-4: FoldQ-5-3: FoldQ-5-2: Fold
Q-4Q-4-3: FoldQ-4-2: Fold
Q-3Q-3-2: Fold

Q-6-4 plays at −0.993 per ante, just better than the −1 of folding. Q-6-3 folds at −1.003. A queen-high flush is a flush and always plays.

What a simpler strategy costs

House edge on the ante with each rule of thumb, ante bonus 5/4/1:

Play Q-6-4 or better3.37%
Play queen high or better (copy the dealer)3.45%
Play king high or better4.99%
Play every hand7.65%

How a round ends

You come out ahead
44.91%
Push
0.06%
You lose
55.03%
Hands worth playing
67.42%
The dealer qualifies
69.59%

With optimal play and the 5/4/1 ante bonus, counting the ante bonus as part of the round.

House edge by ante bonus paytable

The ante bonus is what changes from casino to casino. Q-6-4 stays the right threshold under every one of these tables.

Ante bonusOf the anteOf the total bet
5/4/1Most common3.37%2.01%
4/3/13.83%2.28%
3/2/14.28%2.56%
5/3/13.61%2.16%
9/8/11.56%0.93%
12.5/10/10.33%0.20%
50/10/4/3/06.79%4.06%
50/50/8/6/04.75%2.84%
10/10/5/4/13.28%1.96%

Numbers are what a straight flush, three of a kind and a straight pay, in that order. Five-number tables also pay a mini royal (A-K-Q suited) and a mini royal in spades.

Pair plus paytables

Pair plus has no decisions, so its house edge comes from the paytable alone. Check the table before you bet.

PaysHouse edge
1/4/6/38/420.00%
1/4/6/32/401.85%
1/4/6/30/40/502.14%
1/4/6/30/402.32%
1/4/6/33/352.70%
1/4/6/25/403.49%
1/3/6/30/50/1004.20%
1/3/6/30/40/2004.38%
1/4/6/25/354.58%
1/3/6/30/505.10%
1/4/5/30/40/505.39%
1/4/5/30/405.57%
1/4/5/25/406.75%
1/3/6/30/40/507.10%
1/3/6/30/40Most common7.28%
1/3/6/25/40/807.73%

Numbers are what a pair, flush, straight, three of a kind and straight flush pay, in that order. A sixth number is the mini royal.

Hand rankings and odds

HandExampleChanceAnte bonusPair plus
Straight flush8♥ 9♥ 10♥0.22%5 to 140 to 1
Three of a kind7♣ 7♦ 7♠0.24%4 to 130 to 1
Straight5♠ 6♥ 7♣3.26%1 to 16 to 1
Flush2♦ 8♦ J♦4.96%–3 to 1
Pair9♠ 9♥ 4♣16.94%–1 to 1
High cardK♣ 8♦ 3♥74.39%––

With three cards a straight is rarer than a flush, so it ranks higher. A-2-3 is the lowest straight; Q-K-A the highest.

How these numbers were worked out

Nothing here is simulated. Our engine plays every one of the 22,100 player hands against every one of the 18,424 dealer hands that can come from the remaining 49 cards: 407,170,400 deals in all. Every figure matches the published analysis of the game to the last digit shown.

3-Card vs. Dealer follows the rules of the casino game known commercially as Three Card Poker. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by its owner.

Practice with the trainer