Three Card Poker and Mississippi Stud Poker are two of the most popular poker variations played at tables. Their popularity does not threaten blackjack’s and craps’ long-standing dominance as player favorites, but in some states, they attract more players than baccarat or even roulette.
Because both of these games have more than one betting round, the answers to those questions must be provided in stages. When subsequent bets are considered, the house advantage can be expressed as a percentage of the average total wager or as a percentage of the ante used to begin either game. These two expressions are both possible.
These are also known as the “house edge versus the ante” and “house edge versus the total action.” The first is referred to as the “house edge” by Michael Shackelford, who runs the website wizardofodds.com, and the second as the “element of risk.”
Both of these figures are useful. They simply provide us with a variety of game-related information. Let’s start with three-card poker because it’s the oldest of the games. Assume you have three cards. It includes the option to play ante-play as well as Pair Plus. The ante-play portion of the game is of particular interest to us at this time because it includes multiple stages of wagering and a house edge that can be expressed in a variety of ways.
During this phase of the game, your goal is to beat the dealer’s score. To begin, you place an ante. When you’ve seen all three of your dealt cards, you can choose to fold or stay in the hand by placing an additional bet equal to your ante. If you stay, one of three things could happen:
At this time, the dealer does not have a qualifying hand of a Queen or higher. If this happens, you’ll get an even payout on your ante and your second wager will be returned to you. ** The dealer does have a Queen or better and a higher-ranking hand than yours. You lose both the ante and the main bet because the dealer has a Queen or better and your hand ranks higher than his. You make a profit on both the ante and the bet. Furthermore, if you have a straight flush, you will get a 5-1 ante bonus payout; if you have three of a kind, you will get a 4-1 payout; and if you have a flush, you will get even money.
By comparing the house edge to the ante, you can establish a baseline for the average cost of each hand. If we assume that the ante is $10, then the average loss is 33.7 cents. However, after accounting for the second wager, the total amount you are wagering is usually around $16.77. The typical loss is still 33.7 cents per hand, or 2.01 percent of your total action. A few points worth mentioning are as follows: Players should be aware that the ante is not the final stage of the wager. You are not considered a $10 player if you have a $10 ante. You are on the verge of becoming a $17 player. Furthermore, the house advantage of 2.01% of total action provides a solid foundation for comparison with other games. It is better than the 5.26 percent edge found in most double-zero roulette bets, but not as good as the 1.52 percent edge found when placing a 6 or 8 in craps. One interesting example is roulette with a single zero. The 2.7 percent edge is higher than the total action edge, but it is lower than the house edge associated with the ante in Three Card Poker. On average, you will have a better chance of winning if you wager the same total amount but play Three Card Poker instead.
Following the ante, there will be three rounds of betting, significantly complicating the situation. You are dealt two cards face down, and the community is dealt three cards. After you’ve had a chance to examine your hand, you can place a bet that is one, two, or three times the ante. The same opportunity will arise after the first community card is revealed, and again after the second community card is revealed.
If you do not place a bet at any point during the game, you are considered to have folded and will lose all of the money you have wagered up to that point. There’s no way to beat the dealer’s hand. A pay table determines your winnings, which starts with you winning back your initial wager if you have a pair of 6s or better and goes all the way up to 500 to 1 for a royal flush. If the game allows you to make three separate 3x bets in addition to the initial ante bet, you can place a total wager ten times the amount of your ante. When your first two cards are a pair of 6s or better, that should always be your first move. You’re in a position where you can’t lose, so keep betting the maximum amount until the end.
As a result, if you start the game with a ten-dollar ante and are dealt good cards right away, you will add three thirty-dollar bets, bringing your total investment to one hundred dollars.
Because there are three distinct optional betting points, the strategy must be divided into three parts. As a result, the strategy is quite lengthy.
Let’s look at an example of how to use strategy after you’ve seen the first two cards dealt to you. You begin by assigning points to the various card denominations. When paired together, the twos, threes, fours, and fives do not produce a payoff; thus, these cards are worth zero points in terms of strategy. Cards with a point value of one include the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10; if paired, these are the cards that will result in the return of your wager. Faces and aces are considered two-point cards because Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces all pay 1-1. After reviewing your cards, the best course of action is to bet three times your ante if you have a pair of sixes or better, and one time your ante if you have at least two points in your hand or two cards of the same suit that rank 6-5 or higher.
Following your examination of the first and second community cards, you have two options:
Any hand that pays, the first three cards of a royal flush, or the first three cards of a straight flush that have either no gaps and 5-6-7 or higher, one gap and at least one high card, or two gaps and at least two high cards are multiplied by three after one community card.
Any other three cards of the same suit; three parts of a straight of 4-5-6 or higher with no gaps; at least two middle or high cards with one gap; or hands with at least three points are eligible for 1x bets after one community card is dealt. After the first two community cards are dealt, any hand that pays, any four cards of the same suit, or any four consecutive cards that are 8 high or better, will have their bets multiplied by three.
1x bets with the following hands after the second round of community cards: any other four-card straight, including inside draws; any low pair; four points; three middle cards and at least one previous 3x raise; four points; and any low pair When players use the best strategy possible, the casino has a 4.91 percent advantage over them. That may appear to be a lot, but players must understand that if they raise at the appropriate times, they will end up betting 3.59 times their ante. This is according to Shackelford’s calculations. This is something that players should be aware of. For a ten-dollar bet, your average loss is 49.1 cents. On the other hand, your actual wager will average $35.90, and your typical loss will remain 49.1 cents. The casino thus has a 1.37 percent edge over the overall action. The house has a significant advantage over the ante, but if you are skilled at the game, you will be putting more than just your ante on the line.
The house edge is lower than the 1.41 percent on craps pass without odds or the 1.52 percent for place bets on 6 or 8, and it is close to the 1.06 percent on the Anker and the 1.17 percent on the player in baccarat. The house edge is lower than these percentages when you consider your total action and compare it to similar-sized bets on other games. The various edges in Mississippi Stud, like in Three Card Poker, provide us with information about various aspects of the game.
The “house edge” is the percentage of the bet that goes to the house as profit. When compared to other games, the house advantage relative to total action provides a more accurate estimate of the player’s chances of winning. Use that information with the understanding that the ante is only the beginning of the overall action you will be taking.