1. 3 Bet Poker Term
2. 3 Bet Poker Meaning Urban Dictionary

Betting limits apply to the amount a player may open or raise, and come in four common forms: no limit, pot limit (the two collectively called big bet poker), fixed limit, and spread limit. All such games have a minimum bet as well as the stated maximums, and also commonly a betting unit, which is the smallest denomination in which bets can be. An example would be holding a three flush after the flop and needing two more of the same suit to complete your flush. This is also called runner/runner. Bad Beat – A good hand that is “cracked” or beaten by a better hand that usually was way behind but hit a lucky draw. Every poker player has more than one bad beat story to tell! A 3-bet is when there has been a raise and then another raise after that. Simple enough, but let me give you one quick example to drive it home: After the SB and BB post the $1 and $2 blinds, lets say there is a raise to $8 from a player in MP. If another player in LP raises it again to $24, this is called a 3-bet. Re: Poker & What does 3 and 4 bet% mean One of the things that generate doubts tournaments is when 3-betting a hand, or when to re-raise someone. To explain, when we are on the table the minimum.

What is very interesting to me as a lifelong poker player is the number of poker related words and sayings that have worked their way into mainstream conversation in the business world and elsewhere. A few obvious examples which shouldn’t require explanation would include: hold your cards close to your chest, I’ll call that bluff, I’d rather be lucky than good, and he’s got a real poker face.

While you may already be aware of many poker related words and sayings, there are sure to be many that, as a beginner to poker, you probably won’t know. Over the years poker has accumulated a number of unique words and phrases that regular players use as their own language and can be incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Here is an example of a seasoned poker player describing a hand to a friend:

“I had pocket rockets and the flop comes Ace, two rags, rainbow giving me top set. Can you believe that donkey, Harry, goes runner, runner and cracks my set with his 23-to-1 shot flush draw? It’s just like him; he’s such a calling station”.

If you completely understand this description then you might not need this lesson. However, if it seems like a different language then, fear not, by the end of this lesson you will understand what it all means. In this lesson we’ll explain just what some of those colourful expressions mean along with a list of terms which any poker player, who aspires to become conversant in the game needs to know.

Glossary of Poker Terms

Let’s start off with a list of poker terms that you’ll need to be familiar with. After this all important glossary, we’ll return to the above “poker speak” example as it is the kind of conversation you will hear from other more experienced players.

All-in- When a player puts all of his chips into the pot he is said to be all-in. That player does not participate in anymore bets above his all-in amount. A side pot is created for the other players. The all-in player is eligible for the main pot only.

Ante – A small forced bet that all players are required to post before the deal. An ante is used in stud poker versus posting blinds as in hold‘em. Antes are also common in tournaments in addition to the blinds at the later levels.

Back Door – A hand which is made back door requires both the turn card and river card to make the hand. An example would be holding a three flush after the flop and needing two more of the same suit to complete your flush. This is also called runner/runner.

Bad Beat – A good hand that is “cracked” or beaten by a better hand that usually was way behind but hit a lucky draw. Every poker player has more than one bad beat story to tell!

Big Slick – This is the nickname for the two card holding of Ace-King.

Blinds – The mandatory bets made by the first two players to the left of the dealer button. They are called the small and big blinds.

Bluff – Making a bet without the best hand in the hope that your opponent(s) will fold and you will win the pot.

Calling Station – A player who calls too often is a calling station. The term is used in a derogatory manner mainly since these players call without the correct pot odds they many times hit long shot winning hands which frustrates other players.

Cards Speak – The best hand is determined by each of the players turning their cards face up with no declaration. The values of the cards speak for themselves.

Check Raise – To check when it is your turn to bet and then, after someone else bets, to raise that player’s bet.

Donkey – An opponent who plays poorly and seems to be throwing his money away. This is the current term for a pigeon, a sucker or a fish.

Double Belly Buster – This is a hand with two inside straight draws. As an example, 79TJK can become a straight with either an 8 or a queen. This draw has the same number of outs (8 winning cards) as an open ended straight draw except the double belly buster is much more deceptive.

Drawing Dead – A draw such that no matter what card you get you will lose. As an example: You have four spades with the King while your opponent holds a pair of Aces along with four spades including the Ace of spades. You’re hoping to draw a spade on the river to make a King high flush. If the spade comes you will lose to an Ace high flush and since your opponent already has a pair of Aces you cannot win. You are said to be drawing dead.

Fish – See donkey – a player who plays the game poorly.

Flop – After the first round of betting, three community board cards are dealt called the flop.

Gutshot – An inside straight draw with only four outs. Drawing to a QJ98 would require one of the four tens to make a straight.

Heads-up – Playing against a single opponent.

Implied Odds – This is an extension of pot odds and represents the ratio of the total amount you expect to win if you complete your hand to the amount you would need to call to continue. While pot odds are an exact calculation, implied odds takes some guess work and knowledge of your opponents’ tendencies.

Inside Straight Draw – See gut shot.

Isolate – To make a raise with the intention of forcing others to fold in hopes of being able to play heads up against a single opponent is to isolate him.

Limp – To just flat call the amount of the big blind is to limp into a hand.

Monster – A very strong hand that is almost certainly the winner.

Muck – Folding your hand is to muck it. The pile of dead cards is called the muck.

Nuts – Based upon the board it’s the best available hand. An unbeatable hand is often called “the Brazils” and “a lock”.

Out – An out is a card that improves your hand, usually to winning status. If you hold the and there are two hearts on the flop, you have nine outs to the nut flush – the remaining nine hearts in the deck.

Pocket Rockets – A pair of Aces in your hand in hold’em.

Pot Odds – The ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount of money it will cost to call the current bet. If the pot holds $100 and it will cost you $20 to call, the pot is laying you 5-to-1 odds.

Quads – The nickname for four of a kind – e.g. “he had quad Kings”.

Rags – Refers to a worthless card. Rags are normally small board cards in hold’em.

Rainbow – Three or four board cards of different suits. If a flop contains three different suits it is said to be rainbow. If the turn is a card of the fourth suit, a flush will not be possible.

River – The fifth and final community board card dealt in hold’em.

Runner-Runner – A hand that is made with both the turn and the river cards. Two running cards are runner-runner. If, on the flop, you have a three flush and both the turn and river are of the same suit making you a flush, you’ve gone runner-runner.

Sandbag – Hiding the strength of your hand by slow playing it early on in order to make more money later in the hand. It’s a deceptive ploy to increase profit.

Set – When holding a pocket pair, having one of that same rank hit the board creates a set.

String Bet – This is an illegal move which occurs when a player does not orally declare his intention to raise but puts out chips to call and then reaches back to his stack to get more chips for a raise.

Tilt – A player who has lost his discipline and is playing too loosely and very aggressively in a desperate attempt to win a pot is said to be on tilt. This is normally caused by a series of bad beats that has frustrated the victim.

Trips – Differentiated from a set, trips occur when two of the same rank is on the board and you hold another of them in your hand. The reason it differs from a set is that only one person can hold the three cards to a set while two people can have the same trips when two of them are on the board.

Turn – The fourth community board card dealt between the flop and the river.

Under the Gun – The first player to the left of the button who must act first is said to be under the gun.

Wheel – The smallest possible straight consisting of Ace-2-3-4-5. It is also called a bicycle wheel or just a bike.

Poker Speak – Revisited

Now that you’ve read through the glossary covering a myriad of poker definitions, do you understand what that poker player at the beginning of this lesson was telling his friend? Just in case you missed something, we’ll translate his statement. We’ll repeat the statement as written, with the unique poker words/phrases in bold, and then we’ll make the translation.

I had pocket rockets and the flop comes Ace, two rags, rainbow giving me top set. Can you believe that donkey, Harry, goes runner, runner and cracks my set with his 23-to-1 shot flush draw? It’s just like him; he’s such a calling station.

Translation:

I had two Aces in the hole and the three cards the dealer dealt come Ace, two small cards with three different suits giving me the best/highest three of a kind. Can you believe that unskilled, bad player, Harry, he hit two of his needed suit in a row, one on the turn and the other on the river and beats my three of a kind with his long shot flush draw? It’s just like him, he’s a weak player who calls way too much and sometimes gets lucky.

See how much more concise poker speak is? If you’re just getting into the game and have not been using poker speak – trust me, you will be. In fact, by the end these lessons I’ll bet you’ll be speaking Poker fluently.

By Tom 'TIME' Leonard

Tom has been writing about poker since 1994 and has played across the USA for over 40 years, playing every game in almost every card room in Atlantic City, California and Las Vegas.

There are many casino poker variants to choose from, but unquestionably, three card poker is among the most fast-paced and thrilling. This essential guide takes you through everything you need to know; we breakdown the rules of 3 card poker and explain how to play the game. Plus, we cover all the side bets, bonuses, and payouts; and reveal the perfect three-card poker strategy.

How to play three card poker

The important elements of creating great casino poker games are to firstly make the rules easy to understand, and secondly, the payouts have to be appealing to players. Derek Webb, the game’s inventor, combines these factors to a tee. Learning the basics of how to play three card poker only takes a minute or two.

Of course, you want to refine your play with a proven strategy, but we’ll get to that part later. For now, let’s explain 3 card poker rules and guide you through the gameplay.

Three card poker rules

Once you know the rules, you’ll be well on your way to being able to play 3 card poker online. The game is played with a standard 52-card deck. Here’s a step-by-step guide to a single round.

• To begin a round, the player must place an ante bet.
• The dealer then deals three cards to the player, which are face-up, and three cards to himself, which are face down.
• Based on the three cards, the player can either fold the hand or continue by placing a play bet.
• If the player folds, he loses the original ante bet wager.
• If he continues, the cost of the play bet is equal to the ante bet.
• Assuming the player continues, the dealer turns over his three cards.
• The dealer’s hand needs to be at least Queen high to qualify.
• If the dealer’s hand doesn’t qualify, the player wins even money (1:1) on the ante bet, but the play bet is pushed (returned).
• When the dealer does qualify; the player’s hand is compared to the dealer’s hand. The winner is determined according to the order of 3 card poker hand ranks.
• If the player’s hand wins, he gets paid 1:1 on both the ante bet and the play bet.
• If the dealer’s hand wins, both bets are lost.
• It is possible for the hands to tie. In which case, the ante and play bets are pushed.
• Regardless of the outcome of the round, if the player holds a straight or higher, he wins an ante bonus (as described below).

Poker hand ranks

There’s a slight alteration in the poker hand ranks for this game (compared to most other forms of poker). The reason is that you are less likely to hit a straight draw than you are to get a flush draw. This is the ranking order, starting with the highest three card poker hand at the top:

• Straight flush: 3 cards of the same suit in consecutive order.
• Three of a kind: 3 cards of equal face value.
• Straight: 3 cards of mixed suits in consecutive order.
• Flush: 3 cards from the same suit but not in consecutive order.
• Pair: two cards of equal face value.
• High card: none of the above hands, means you only have a high card.

Three card poker odds and payouts

We described the standard 1:1 payouts in the 3 card poker rules outlined above, but those are just one part of this game. The excitement jumps up a few notches because three card poker also includes an ante bet bonus. The ante bet bonus is based purely on the player’s three cards. Therefore, you can win this bet but still lose the round.

Ante bet bonus payouts:

• Straight flush: 5 times the ante bet
• Three of a kind: 4 times the ante bet
• Straight: 1 times the ante bet

Pair Plus bet

Before the start of a hand, players can also make a Pair Plus side bet. Again, this wager is independent of the outcome of your game against the dealer. It’s based on the 3 cards you are dealt.

Pair Plus bet payouts:

• Straight flush: 40 to 1
• Three of a kind: 30 to 1
• Straight: 6 to 1
• Flush: 4 to 1
• A pair: 1 to 1

Six Card bonus

The six card bonus is another optional side bet, but not all three card poker games offer this wager. It uses the three player cards and the three dealer cards from which you must form a five-card hand that is on the pay table to win.

Pair Plus bet payouts:

• Royal flush: 1000 to 1
• Straight flush: 200 to 1
• Four of a kind: 50 to 1
• Full house: 25 to 1
• Flush: 15 to 1
• Straight: 10 to 1
• Three of a kind: 5 to 1

These poker hand rankings are more traditional with a royal flush being the best possible hand, and the flush payout is valued higher than the straight.

3 card poker strategy

We can categorize casino card games into two types. The first are games of chance, such as baccarat and Dragon Tiger. The others are decision-based games like blackjack, Caribbean Stud, and Casino Hold’em. Three card poker drops into the second type because the player makes a decision after seeing his cards on whether he wants to fold or continue by making the play bet.

All of these decision-based games have an optimal strategy. However, some of these involve studying playing charts, which dilutes the entertainment value of the game when you first start playing. The 3 card poker strategy doesn’t bother with such complexities. In fact, you only need to remember 3 cards.

The optimal three card poker strategy for the ante and play bet is QUEEN – SIX – FOUR

This means if your hand is equal to, or stronger than, Q-6-4, you should always raise and make the play bet. What you need to remember is to look at each card separately.

• Start with your highest card. If it’s lower than a Queen – you fold the hand.
• If the highest card is a King or Ace – you raise.
• If the highest card is a Queen, you must look at the second highest card. If lower than 6 – you fold the hand. But, if higher than 6 – you raise.
• If the second highest card is 6, you move onto the third card. Lower than 4 means you fold. 4 or higher, and you raise.

House edge

When choosing what casino games to play, you should always consider the house edge. This is essentially the advantage the casino has. The good news is the three card poker house edge is competitive, which is why this game has grown in popularity.

• The house edge for the ante and play bet combination is 2.01% when using the Q-6-4 strategy described above.
• For the Pair Plus bet, the house edge is 2.32% based on the pay table used in our example. This is reasonable value for a side bet.
• The same cannot be said for the Six Card Bonus bet. It has a house edge of 14.36% using the pay table shown. Therefore, even though the royal flush pays 1000 to 1, this side bet will cripple your bankroll over the long-term.

3 Bet Poker Term

New players should note that the term ‘house edge’ is rarely used these days. Instead, the theoretical return to player (RTP) percentage is given. The RTP can be calculated by: 100% – house edge. Therefore, the RTP for the ante – play bet is 97.99%.

Tips for playing 3 card poker

Using our experience, and from talking with other three card poker players, we’ve composed a few easy-to-follow tips to help you get more from this game.

• Follow the Q-6-4 strategy. It can be tempting to play J-10-8 because the cards are all reasonably high, but this is not smart, and you will end up losing more than you win.
• Check the pay tables before you play. Several software developers have created their own variants, and there is also live 3 card poker. Just because the title of the game is the same, it doesn’t mean the pay tables are. This has an impact on the RTP, and you want to play where you get the best value.
• Avoid the Six Card Bonus wager. The RTP for this bet is 85.64%. That means on average (over the long-term) for every $100 wagered, you win $85.64.
• Manage your bankroll. You don’t want to play $20 ante bets, and $20 play bets if you only have $100 in your casino account. Look to divide your budget so you can get 50 to 100 hands out of what you have.
• Practice by playing free three card poker games. Most online casinos, after you have registered, will allow you to play in demo mode. This allows you to practice your playing and betting strategy. Please note, you won’t be able to play live 3 card poker games for free.

Live three card poker

The award-winning Evolution Gaming, in partnership with Scientific Gaming, has created a spectacular live dealer three card poker game. This brings you all the authentic gameplay that you get in a land-based casino, but from the comfort of your own home.

It should be noted that there is usually a trade-off playing live games. Most of the time, the RTP is lower due to the extra costs involved in operating these tables. For instance, we’ve read reports that the ante bonus on Evolution’s live variant pays 5 to 1, but you need a mini royal flush to claim it.

This title also has the two side bets we talked about above. However, the pay table for Pairs Plus is not identical. Playing live, there is a maximum payout of 100 to 1 for a mini royal. This may appear more rewarding, but the payout for a straight is less, so the house edge ends up being higher. With that said, playing three card poker live is a great experience, and we think it’s worth trying even though the RTP is not as high.

Where to play online three card poker

Three card poker may not have the iconic status of roulette or blackjack, but it’s catching up in the popularity stakes. Thanks to there being both virtual RNG and live games, you can now find this poker variant in hundreds of online casinos around the world, including:

• 888casino
• PlayOJO
• Mr Green
• Ignition

The decision where to play three card poker depends on what you want from the casino. Each operator has its strengths and weaknesses. Some offer larger bonuses, while others have faster payouts or better mobile apps. If you’re looking for your first casino, we recommend checking out our online casino reviews section for an honest point of view. In terms of bonuses specific for 3 card poker; the truth is that there aren’t many. You can use a casino’s welcome bonus to play, but the wagering requirements combined with game weighting limitations means you are unlikely to score a profit from these offers.

Three card poker – F.A.Q.

To summarize the main points of this article, we’ve included this general three card poker FAQ.

Is there any strategy to 3 card poker?

Yes, and it’s very straightforward. The strategy is Queen – Six – Four. If your hand value is lower than that, you fold. If equal or higher, you make the play bet.

What is the highest hand in 3 card poker?

The highest hand is Ace – King – Queen of the same suit. This is known as a mini royal. There are no trump suits in three card poker.

Do I play against other players?

No, three card poker is a player vs dealer game. If you play live, you can play alongside other players although each of you has to take on the dealer.

Can I play free 3 card poker?

3 Bet Poker Meaning Urban Dictionary

Yes, nearly all online casinos that offer an RNG version will allow you to play free 3 card poker in practice mode.