3 Card Poker Ante Strategy & Odds

As you know, Tri-Card Poker strategy is based on calculating the odds of making certain hands – or specifically, making hands that beat the dealer’s hands. There are 18,424 hands that the dealer can make, and 22,100 hands you can make. A complex formula can be used to generate the expected values of every possible outcome. 3 Card Ante and Play strategy and odds are based on the frequencies with which each of those outcomes can be expected to occur.

On this page, we’ll skip the math and provide basic 3 Card Ante and Play strategy and odds for each winning hand.

Basic 3 Card Ante And Play Strategy And Odds

After you bet your ante, you’ll be dealt 3 cards. Your decision to either fold or raise will depend solely upon whether you’re holding a Queen-six-four or higher.

Look at your highest card. If it is a King or Ace, you should bet (or raise). If it is a Jack or lower, fold your hand. If your highest card is a Queen, look at your second highest card. If it is a seven or higher, raise. If it is five or lower, fold. If it is a six, look at your lowest-ranking card. If that card is a four or five, make the bet. Otherwise, fold.

The “Queen-six-four” 3 Card Ante And Play strategy is optimal assuming you can see your cards and not the dealer’s. If you consistently held a Queen, six, and a four, and raised according to basic strategy, you would enjoy the lowest house edge. For each cycle, you could expect to win between 302 and 305 times (depending on the suits). You would tie either 25 or 26 times. And you could expect to lose between 12,335 and 12,343 times.

Again, we’ll spare you the algorithm. Just remember, Queen… six… four.

You can also read our three card pair plus strategy and our general page on 3 card poker strategy for related content on how to give yourself the best odds to win money playing three card poker! You can also take advantage of our no download three card poker game to practice your skills.

Where To Practice 3 Card Ante And Play Strategy

We have been playing Tri-Card Poker online for years and have yet to find a higher-quality gambling site than Bodog Casino. They not only provide professional software that you can download for free, but you can also play the game in your browser. Plus, their customer support has always been reliable and responsive.

While we don’t expect you to go through every hand iteration possible, you can practice your 3 Card Ante and Play strategy and odds when you visit Bodog Casino. We’d wager that you’ll enjoy the playing experience as much as we do.