Five card draw is widely accepted as the earliest variant of the card game Poker to gain popularity during the early 19th century. Five card Stud came along a little later and was soon followed by the seven-card version that is still frequently enjoyed by the poker players of today. One thing that remained consistent throughout Poker’s history is the concept of a five-card poker hand. Indeed, even modern variants such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha still use five-card hands to determine the winner of each round. The table game Three Card Poker makes a rare diversion from this key principle – it’s easy to learn, requires no former knowledge of any variant of Poker, and even boasts an attractive RTP of 97.99%
Habanero’s version of Three Card Poker isn’t the most attractive that I have come across – the table looks a little bit blurry and gives the impression that the developer probably hasn’t updated the graphics used in the game since before the days of Adobe Flash. This makes a stark contrast with alternatives such as Microgaming’s ‘Gold Series’, for example – those table games have been frequently updated to take advantage of the increased CPU and graphics performance available on modern devices. Still, graphics aren’t everything when it comes to online casino games, and the average presentation of this version of Three Card Poker wouldn’t put me off betting a few hands if it was the only one available at the site where I was currently playing.
If you’re experienced with modern five-card Poker games such as Texas Hold’em, you might be fascinated by the concept of a three-card Poker game – I know I was! You can discover what it’s all about using our free demo of Three Card Poker – available to play below:
| Provider | Habanero |
| Reels | 0 |
| Rows | 0 |
| Bonus Rounds | 0 |
| Bet Range | 1 - 500 |
| Volatility | High |
| Max Win | 40x |
| Bonus Buy | No |
| RTP | 97.99% |
| Our Rating | 8.0 |
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Three Card Poker Graphics & Features
The most popular casino table games are Blackjack and Roulette, which have been around for more than 150 years. For whatever reason, very few new table games have managed to find favour with gamblers during the last century – plenty of talented individuals have tried their luck at creating a new table game concept but convincing casino goers to switch to their new game instead of sticking to the established favourites has repeatedly proven to be nightmarishly difficult. Of the handful of new table games that have gained a foothold, almost all have been based on existing games, with Poker being the runaway favourite by a wide margin.
Three Card Poker is effectively two games in one – for each round, you can choose to place an Ante Bet, a Pair Plus Bet, or both. The Ante Bet is the less profitable of the two and offers payouts of 5:1 for a straight flush, 4:1 for three of a kind, or even money for a straight. The Pair Plus Bet has a lot more potential – the straight flush is still the most valuable hand, but this time around, it’s worth a whopping 40:1. The change from five cards to three has an enormous effect on the value of the other possible hands; a three-of-a-kind will get you 30:1, much more than a straight which is only worth 6:1 in this game. In addition, the Pair Plus Bet has two additional hands not paid with the Ante Bet – 4:1 for a flush and 1:1 for a single pair.
How To Play Three Card Poker
To play Three Card Poker, you’ll need to place at least one bet – you can play the Ante, Pair+, or both. After deciding which bet(s) you would like to place, you will be dealt three cards face up on the table, whilst the dealer receives another three cards face down. After viewing your hand, you may choose to make a further bet or fold. If you do decide to fold, your Ante Bet will be lost – despite this; it’s still the best decision in some cases.
If you decide to make another bet, it must be equal to your initial wager. If your balance is insufficient to fund another bet, you can return to the game after depositing. Next, the dealer will reveal his cards – for the dealer to ‘qualify’, his hand must be at least a Queen High. If the dealer does not qualify, then you will only receive even money on your Ante Bet, and the Pair+ Bet will be returned. The full paytables described in the previous section can be won when the dealer qualifies.
Note that the Pair+ bet is paid solely based on the value of your hand, so any winnings due from this are always paid immediately after the cards are dealt.
Staking Options
The betting limits for Habanero’s Three Card Poker are a minimum/maximum of €1 and €500, respectively. These limits apply individually to the Ante and Pair+ bets. Therefore you’ll need at least €2 available to play both.
Pros
- A simplified game based on the existing rules of Poker is a great basis for a new table game, and the result works incredibly well.
- Poker experience is not required – the reduced set of possible hands makes Three Card Poker much easier to learn than full-on social poker games.
Cons
- The presentation is a little bit ropey – it would take very little time for Habanero to update this game with some modern table graphics.
- RTP is high compared to slots but much lower than established table games such as Baccarat and Blackjack.
Final Thoughts
Before writing this review, I hadn’t looked at Three Card Poker for at least half a decade. During that time, I’d forgotten just how much fun the game can be – it’s the perfect side game to keep your mind occupied during the early stages of a big Hold’em tournament and makes a nice change from classics such as Blackjack and Baccarat.
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