To compete against the dealer’s hand you make a bet on the Ante. If you want to bet that your three-card hand will be at least a pair or higher, then you would wager on the Pair Plus (you could also make bets on both the Ante and Pair Plus).
Let’s assume that you wager on the Ante. The dealer will deal each player and himself three cards face down. You pick up your cards, look at them, and decide whether you want to stay in the game or fold. If you want to stay, you must make another equal wager in the Play betting spot. If you decide instead to fold, you would place your cards face down on the layout toward the dealer. If you fold, the dealer will remove your cards and you lose your Ante bet.
After players act on their hand, the dealer will face his cards and check whether it contains at least a queen or higher. If it does, the dealer’s hand is said to “qualify” and he will then face each player’s hand that decided to stay in the game. If your hand has a higher poker rank than the dealer’s hand, you win your Ante and Play wagers at even money. If instead the dealer’s hand beats the player’s hand, the player’s Ante and Play wagers are lost.
If the dealer’s hand does not have at least a queen or higher, all players till in the game (i.e. wagered on the Play) automatically win even money on the Ante wager and the Play wager is returned to the player (it’s a push)
The basic playing strategy for the Play wager is to only make this bet if you hold a Queen-6-4 or better hand.
Players who make an Ante wager are also eligible for a bonus payout that will be paid regardless of whether the dealer qualifies or whether your hand beats the dealer’s hand.
The payouts for the Ante Bonus vary from casino to casino. Most pay 5 to 1(Straight Flush), 4 to 1 (Three-of-a-Kind) and 1 to 1 (Straight). The house edge with this payout schedule is 3.4%.
If you wager on Pair Plus, you win if your three-card hand contains at least a pair or higher. The higher the poker rank, the greater the payout. You lose the Pair Plus bet if you end up with less than a pair. Payouts vary from casino to casino, but the best payout schedule is 40 to 1 (straight flush), 30 to 1 (three-of-a-kind), 6 to 1(straight), 4 to 1 (flush), and 1 to 1(pair). The house edge is 2.3%. Many casinos use the above schedule but reduce the payout on the flush to 3 to 1 (the house edge zooms to 7.3%) so check the payout schedule before you play.
By Henry Tamburin
© Copyright 2004 Gambling Online Magazine This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
