3 Card Poker is a popular card game played in casinos around the world. It is a fast moving and interactive game based on the relative strength of your hand against Poker values. The game offers you two betting opportunities on the three cards you are dealt, Pair Plus and conventional casino poker Ante and Play options. The Pair Plus game rewards you on the Poker value of your three cards irrespective of what the dealer's hand is. Your Ante bet (and subsequent Play bet, if you choose to do so) is against the dealer's hand.

Pair Plus
In Pair Plus, if you are dealt a three card wining combination, you are an automatic winner, regardless of the dealer's hand. The amount you win depends on which winning combination you have. For example, if you have a Straight Flush (three cards of the same suit in consecutive order), you will win forty times your bet. That's $400 on a $10 bet. If you are dealt three cards of the same value, you win thirty times your bet. If you have a straight (3 cards in consecutive order, regardless of suit), you win six times your bet. If you have three cards of the same suit (a flush) you win four times your bet. Finally, if you have a simple pair plus any other card, you win double your money. Remember you win these payouts regardless of what the Dealer has.

Ante
The Ante game gets a bit more interesting. In the Ante game, you are actually betting against the dealer. But there's one catch that works in your favor. If the Dealer does not have at least a single queen, he does not qualify and you win twice your Ante bet and get your play bet back. For example, if the Dealer has a four of clubs, a five of diamonds, and an eight of hearts, you win regardless of your hand.

If the Dealer does qualify, then after the cards are dealt, the hands are compared. If your hand is better, you win double both your Ante bet and your play bet. If you bet $10 Ante and $10 play and you have a Three of a Kind while the Dealer has a Straight, you will win $40. If you are playing the Ante game, you can also win if you are dealt a special bonus combination. The combinations are: Straight Flush, Three of a Kind, and Straight. You win with these hands regardless of what the Dealer has. The amount you win depends on the bonus combination. A straight flush pays five to one in Ante play. A three of a kind pays four to one. A straight pays double.