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Online Three-Card Poker
Poker has been around for centuries. It is thought to date back to 900 A.D., when the Chinese Emperor Mu-tsung is said to have played domino cards with his wife. These “domino cards” set the stage for what we now call poker, a card game which uses a ranking system of cards or dominos combined with the skilled art of bluffing one’s opponents to win the game.
3 Card Poker, which is also called tri-card poker, is an American version of a British game called Brag. This game originated over three hundred years ago as a game known as Primero, a fast-moving betting game using only three cards. As the game evolved, it became known as Post-and-Pair and then again as Brag. This game made it to the States as Casino Brag and Brit-Brag, but eventually evolved again into the game we now know as 3 Card Poker.
Playing the Game
The player places an ante bet before receiving his cards. The player is then dealt his cards and after seeing them, he can either fold his cards and lose the ante bet, or raise by placing a bet equal to the ante bet. If he chooses to play, there are three possibilities:
The dealer does not 'qualify'. To qualify, the dealer must have a hand of a queen high or better. If the dealer does not qualify, the ante bet is paid out even money, but the play bet is simply returned.
The dealer does qualify. The player wins if his hand is of higher value than the dealer's, and gets paid out even money on both his ante and play bets.
The dealer has the winning hand. The dealer takes the Ante and Play bets.
Rules vary on what happens when the hands are of exactly equal value: some say that the player simply gets his money back, but others say that the player is paid even money on his bet.
The ante bonus
In addition to normal ante-and-play gameplay, there is a bonus payout on the ante bet for especially good hands.
Be warned
3-Card poker looks and is basically a very simple game. Play it for free online and you will soon get the hang of it. But you will notice something else. The game is played at the speed of lightning. It is super-fast and a novice player does not have the time to think. Do not get involved in a game for money without playing first – the game is not quite as simple as it seems at first glance.
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