This is a simple game to pick up but can have a pretty deep strategy.
The player puts a chip on each of 3 spots, they may also play an optional bet called pair plus; more on that later. The dealer shuffles the cards and each player and the dealer receives 3 cards. Without looking the dealer discards one of their cards in some set or random way. The player now needs to make their first choice, if they wish they can pull back there first bet or let it ride. The dealer now exposes their first card. The player now makes their second and final decision of pulling back their second bet. The dealer then exposes the second card and pays out the winning hands.
They way to win in let it ride is for your 3 cards and the dealers 2 cards to make some kind of poker hand. Depending on the casino the payout might be different, but some pretty standard payout are:
- Pair of tens or better each remaining bet is paid 1:1
- Any two pair 2:1
- Three of a kind 3:1
- Straight 5:1
- Flush 8:1
- Full house 11:1
- Four of a kind 50:1
- Straight flush and royal flush vary greatly but 100-1000 to 1 on these hands is not uncommon
Any hand that only has a pair of nines or less; including hands with only a high card are considered losing hands.
All these examples are if you bet 1 chip on each spot. Most casinos will let you bet more than 1 chip. Because of the 3-bet structure you do need to have more than 1 gold to play in most casinos.
So you look at your three cards and decided if you want to pull back a bet, the dealer shows up a card, you decide again on your second bet, dealer shows the last card and winners and losers are paid/collected.
There is also an optional side bet called pair plus.
This bet is only based on your original 3 cards.
If your first three cards contain any pair (yes even two’s), 1:1
If your first three cards are all the same suit 4:1
If your first three cards are sequential, (2,3,4 or Q, K A, but not K, A, 2) 6:1
If your first three cards are all the same 25:1 is common
If your first three cards are the Queen, King, and Ace of one suite 40:1 is common
Let’s look at a few examples of hands.
You start with Jack of spades, Jack of hearts, and the 4 of Clubs. This is guaranteed to be a winning hand as it has a pair of 10’s or better. When the dealer asks you if you want to pull back your bet you would indicate no. They expose a 10 of diamonds and a 5 of hearts. Your hand would be J, J, 10, 5, 4. Each of your three bets would be paid out 1:1 winning 3 gold (1 per bet)
Same example but let’s say the dealer shows the Jack of diamonds, and the 5 of hearts; your hand would be J, J, J, 5, 4. Each of your bets would be paid 3:1 winning 9 gold (3 per bet)
Now if you had bet the pair plus on either hand you that bet would also pay out 1:1 because your hand had any pair.
Another example would be you start with the 4 of hearts, the 6 of spades and the 7 of clubs. This is a terrible hand. You might look at this hand and definitely pull back on of your first bet. The dealer shows an 8 or hearts. Many players would pull back there second bet. But a small miracle happens, and the dealer shows the 5 of clubs. You have made a straight 4,5,6,7,8. Your remaining bet gets paid 5:1! If for some reason you had left your first and second bet out there, then each bet would have been paid 5:1 (15 gold!) but this is pretty unlikely, and most players would make the more conservative play and pull back the bets. (quick math: less than 5% of the time this will happen)
The strategy of this game comes with looking at your first three cards and deciding if there is enough possibility of a good hand happening to leave your first bet and let it ride. Keep in mind your final payout is based on how many bets you “let-ride” and how many you pulled back.
Another strategy that many people use is to use the pair plus as kind of an insurance bet so that if they get a pair less than 10’s they don’t lose anything. (While the main bet loses, the pair plus bet wins so if the bets were the same amount it’s a push)
This is one of those games where you can quickly pick up the rhythm just by watching a few hands.