LetitRideGambling.com is dedicated to the game of Let It Ride Poker, and covers a wide range of Let It Ride subjects, like Strategies, Rules, Odds and House Edge. Like rhinoman said, there is a Let it Ride and Three Card Poker combination that is pretty fun. I would also say that Pai-Gow Poker is a pretty fun game as well. If you understand Poker.
So you love poker but are looking for a way to change the schematics a bit. Pull up a chair at the Let It Ride table and change your way of thinking. Unlike most casino games, with Let It Ride, the Players are not competing against the Dealer. In fact, as a Player, you are actually hoping the Dealer has a great hand. It's true! The Dealer deals himself two cards, and the Player is given three cards. Do you see the pattern? Five cards? Poker? Yep, it's Five-Card Stud Poker. Well, sort of.
The Basics
The basic poker hand rankings pertain to Let It Ride, however, a pair must consist of 10s or higher to win. Your winning hand is based upon the three cards that are dealt to you plus the Dealer's two cards.
To begin the game, the minimum table bet must be placed on each of three circles on the table. The circles will be labeled 1, 2 and $. For example, if the minimum table bet is $5, you will be initially betting $15. You are then dealt three cards face down and the Dealer receives two cards that he places face down in front of him. You may then pick up your cards (yes, it's OK to use both hands in this instance). Now, don't get any delusions of discarding cards and getting new ones. You are stuck with these three cards.
Once you take a look at your cards, you need to decide whether you have a chance to win with your own cards plus what the Dealer's two cards might reveal. If you don't really have much of a hand to begin with, scratch your cards on the table and the Dealer will return your first wager. That is, the bet you placed on the 1 circle. If you think you might have a winning hand, place your cards face down under the 1 wager and all of your bets will remain.
The Dealer then turns over one of his cards. You now have a chance to re-evaluate your hand with all four cards. If you still have a losing hand, scratch your cards again and the Dealer will return the second wager (2 circle) to you. If you feel you might win with the four-card hand plus the unknown fifth card, and since this is the last decision to make, place your cards under the $ circle. The Dealer then reveals his last card and determines the winners.
Free Online Let It Ride No Download
If you happen to have a winning hand with your first three cards (for example, a minimum of a pair of 10s or three-of-a-kind), just place your cards under the $ wager and leave all three of your bets. There are no more decisions to make and everyone knows you are in the game until the end.
| Typical casino payoffs in Let It Ride | |
| Royal Flush | 1000:1 |
| Straight Flush | 200:1 |
| 4 of a Kind | 50:1 |
| Full House | 11:1 |
| Flush | 8:1 |
| Straight | 5:1 |
| 3 of a Kind | 3:1 |
| Two Pair | 2:1 |
| Pair of 10s or Better | 1:1 |
QUESTION: A few weeks back, you mentioned the math and rules for the table game Let It Ride. You also recommended not playing the game. However, there are other table games that seem interesting, including three-card poker and Caribbean stud poker. Which of these would you recommend? — Nicolas C.
ANSWER: Of the three games you mention, Nicolas, I would recommend three-card poker, both because of the fun factor and because the casino advantage is lower on selected bets than on the two other games.
With Caribbean stud, the best you can hope for is a casino edge of about 5.2% based on your ante wager or 2.6% based on the ante and call bet. As for the progressive wager, the average house edge is above 26%, depending, of course, on the size of the jackpot.
As for Let It Ride, even if you play the game flawlessly, the casino's edge is 3.51%. With those Let It Ride side bets, where for $1 you are offered an additional payoff with certain paying hands, you really get snookered. Those bets carry a double-digit casino advantage. Don't take them.
As for three-card poker, it depends on your cards. Allow me to rephrase that: It depends on whether you should play your cards. The house edge is 3.37% against the ante alone, but only 2.01% against your queen-6-4 if you decide to make the Play bet. With a Pair Plus wager, the casino advantage is slightly higher at 2.32%.
Among the choices you offer, Nicolas, three-card poker is the way to go as it offers better wagers for the player. Although the casino advantage violates my personal rule (never make a wager that has a house edge above 2%), it has the best return of the three games and is easy to learn.
My true suggestion here would be to give mini-baccarat a try. It's one of the easiest casino games to play, and you don’t even have to know the rules because the correct hitting sequence is predetermined. In addition, stakes can be relatively low when you play on a mini-baccarat table. The house advantage is either 1.17% when betting the Bank hand or 1.36% with a Player hand wager.
Q: I disagree with your assessment that you should always hit a 16 against a dealer with a 7-10. I am from the school that says you should always let the dealer bust instead. What is the basis of your recommendation? — Alex A.
A: You give me credit I don’t deserve, Alex. Hitting a 16 against a dealer with a 7, 8, 9, 10/face showing isn’t my personal assessment of how to play the hand correctly. I don’t own the math on this play or trust my back-of-the-envelope figuring. The correct strategy for this particular hand comes from a set of computer-derived rules for playing every hand against every possible dealer up card.
Here’s the arithmetic based on a kazillion computer calculations. If you hit this lousy hand, you are going to bust more than 60% of the time. By giving the dealer a chance to bust out instead, you'll lose approximately 70% of the time.
The dealer’s chances of having a 17 or more when he or she shows a 7, 8, 9, 10 or ace is between 74% and 83%. It is for this reason that the correct basic strategy dictates that you should always hit your lousy 16.
Mark Pilarski is a contributing editor for numerous gambling publications. E-mail questions to pilarski@markpilarski.com.