Three Card Poker odds, payouts and the Q-6-4 rule
Three Card Poker has two main bets with very different math. Ante-play rewards one simple decision; Pair Plus depends entirely on the pay table.
Reviewed Oct 14, 2026
Answer first
90s| Hand | Chance | Pair Plus pays (common table) |
|---|---|---|
| Straight flush | 0.22% | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 0.24% | 30 to 1 |
| Straight | 3.26% | 6 to 1 |
| Flush | 4.96% | 3 to 1 (some pay 4) |
| Pair | 16.94% | 1 to 1 |
| High card | 74.39% | Loses |
Key numbers
The numbers behind the table
In short
Key takeaways
- Play every hand Q-6-4 or better and fold the rest. That one rule gives the best ante-play result.
- The dealer needs queen-high to qualify. If not, your ante pays 1 to 1 and your play bet pushes.
- A straight beats a flush in Three Card Poker, because straights are rarer with three cards.
- Pair Plus pay tables vary. A table paying 4 to 1 on a flush has a 2.32% edge; the common 3 to 1 table has 7.28%.
On the felt
Play or fold?
Q-6-4: play
The exact cutoff — raise
Q-6-3: fold
Just below the line
Pair of 2s: play
Any pair or better is a play
Compare card by card: queen first, then the second card, then the third.
Pay table
Ante bonus (paid even if the dealer wins)
Glance before you bet
| Hand | Ante bonus |
|---|---|
| Straight flush | 5 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 4 to 1 |
| Straight | 1 to 1 |
Some casinos pay different bonuses. The sign on the table lists them.
Sequence
One round of Three Card Poker
Step 01
Place bets
Ante, Pair Plus, or both.
Step 02
Three cards each
You and the dealer get three cards.
Step 03
Decide
Fold and lose the ante, or play by adding a bet equal to the ante.
Step 04
Dealer qualifies?
Dealer needs queen-high or better.
Step 05
Settle
Compare hands. Pair Plus pays on your hand alone.
Why the strategy is so short
With only three cards there are 22,100 possible hands. Computer analysis shows that playing Q-6-4 or better gives the lowest house edge.
Playing every hand, or copying the dealer by playing queen-high or better, costs only a little more, roughly 0.3–0.4%.
Folding too often is the bigger leak. Players who fold anything below a king give up much more.
Watch outs
Common mistakes
01Folding pairs
Any pair is a strong hand in Three Card Poker. Always play it.
02Ignoring the pay table
Pair Plus edges range from 2.32% to over 7% by pay table.
03Chasing the 6-card bonus
Side bets using the dealer’s cards often carry edges above 7%.
04Playing below Q-6-4
Every weaker play lowers your return.
What the edge costs per hour
At $10 ante and about 35 hands an hour, the ante-play bet costs about $12 an hour on average. A $10 Pair Plus bet on the common table adds about $25 an hour.
Played together, most of your expected loss comes from Pair Plus, not from the main game.
Skipping Pair Plus, or betting it smaller than the ante, is the simplest way to make a session last longer.
Keep reading
Related pages
Go play
Where to play in Las Vegas
Tap a resort — each row opens that casino’s White Gambling page (hours, game mix, floor facts). Venues with this game in official counts, sorted high to low.
Open a casino page
Real listings · not adsAfter the 90 seconds
Questions before and after you play
A 90-second guide cannot cover every table moment. Tap a group, then a question — answers are short paragraphs, not one-liners.
01Odds
What are the odds of a straight flush in Three Card Poker?
About 0.22%, or 1 in 460 hands. It is the top hand, paying 40 to 1 on most Pair Plus tables and 5 to 1 as an ante bonus.
What is the best strategy in Three Card Poker?
Play any hand of Q-6-4 or better and fold anything lower. With this rule, the ante-play bet has a house edge of about 3.37% per ante.
Is Pair Plus a good bet?
It is a pure luck bet with a higher edge than ante-play on most tables: 7.28% on the common 1-3-6-30-40 pay table and 2.32% where a flush pays 4 to 1. It wins about 25.6% of the time, which is why it feels generous.
Why does a straight beat a flush?
With three cards there are 720 straights and 1,096 flushes out of 22,100 hands. The rarer hand ranks higher, so straights beat flushes.
What happens if the dealer does not qualify?
If the dealer has less than queen-high, your ante pays even money and your play bet is returned. Ante bonus and Pair Plus still pay normally.
What does ante-play edge mean?
It is the expected loss per ante bet. Because you often add a play bet, the edge per total money wagered is lower, about 2.0%.
02At the table
Can I bet only Pair Plus?
At most casinos, yes. Pair Plus is a separate bet paid on your own three cards, whatever the dealer holds. Some tables require an ante; the sign will say.
03More questions
What is the six-card bonus?
A side bet on the best five-card hand from your three cards and the dealer’s three. It pays from three of a kind up to a large royal flush prize. Its edge is often 7% or more.
How often does the dealer qualify?
The dealer has queen-high or better about 69% of the time. In the other 31% of hands your ante pays even money and your play bet pushes.
Can I see other players’ cards?
No. Each player plays only against the dealer, and sharing hand information is against the rules at most casinos. Other hands do not change the dealer’s qualifying rule or your payout.
Sources
- Wizard of Odds — Three Card Poker Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry)The gaming industry’s standard reference for casino-game math, by actuary Michael Shackleford. Not an official registry; our calculators compute these numbers independently. · accessed Oct 14, 2026Strategy and house edge
- Nevada Gaming Control Board · accessed Oct 14, 2026Approved table games in Nevada
- National Council on Problem Gambling — Help and resources Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry) · accessed Oct 14, 2026Free, confidential help: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER
- American Gaming Association — Research Not from a registry (Reference source, not an official registry) · accessed Oct 14, 2026US casino and sports betting industry data