Four Card Poker 101
2 December 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
A while back you wrote a very informative column
on Three Card Poker. I have noticed there is
what looks like the same game called Four Card
Poker. Any chance you can write about their
similarities and/or differences? Jim F.
Your question, Jim, is one of many I have
received of late regarding Four Card Poker. So
today, I’ll address the generalities of the
game, with a future column focused on a game
plan to lower the house edge.
Rehashing Three Card Poker: it’s a poker-based
game that uses just three cards per hand and is
played on a blackjack table. Its major
differences from poker are that no further cards
are drawn, and players do not compete against
each other, but rather against either the
dealer, or against a posted payout schedule. As
to the rules, strategies, house edge, etc.,
please refer to the column Jim mentioned online
at this website (http://markpilarski.com/column2-2.html).
Four Card Poker has some similarities to Three
Card Poker, Jim, but as its name suggests, four
cards make your final hand instead of three.
Furthermore, there is no dealer qualifying hand
as in Three Card. You get one additional card to
make your best 4-card hand, and you can raise
your ante up to three times. However, the hook,
and you knew there would be one, is that the
dealer gets one extra card to form his or her
best hand. Thus, all players begin with five
cards to make their best 4-card hand, and the
dealer starts with six.
Four Card Poker offers three ways to play. You
can bet against the dealer, wager on the value
of your own hand against a paytable, or both.
When playing against the dealer, game called the
Ante wager, the object is to beat the dealer's
four-card poker hand with your own four-card
poker hand. Once you place an Ante wager and
view your hand, you can either fold, or, if you
believe your hand is strong enough to beat the
dealer's, you make a Play wager. This bet can be
from one to three times the value of the Ante
bet. If the dealer’s hand is higher than the
player’s, both the Ante and Play bets lose. If
the player's hand is higher or equal to the
dealer’s, then both bets are paid even money. A
player who has at least a three-of-a-kind or
better is paid a bonus, regardless of the value
of the dealer's hand.
Based on the amount of ante, the Bonus paytable,
which can vary from casino to casino, is as
follows:
Four-of-a-kind: 25 to 1
Straight Flush: 20 to 1
Three-of-a-kind: 2 to 1
When playing against the paytable, (aka Aces Up,
similar the Pair Plus in Three Card Poker), the
object is to receive a pair of aces or higher.
If your hand contains at least a pair of aces,
you automatically win the Aces Up wager
regardless of the dealer's hand.
Again, depending upon the casino, here is your
typical Aces Up paytable:
Four-of-a-kind: 50 to 1
Straight Flush: 40 to 1
Three-of-a-kind: 8 to 1
Flush: 6 to 1
Straight: 5 to 1
Two pair: 2 to 1
Pair of aces or better: 1 to 1
As you can see, Jim, the player who bets both
the Ante (including Play) and Aces Up, is
playing against two paytables with different
payoff criteria. Also, the Ante and Aces Up
wagers do not have to be the same amount, and
players can wager anywhere from the table
minimum to the table maximum allowed on either
spot. However, the Play wager can be only one to
three times the amount of the Ante.
I’m bustin’ my word-limit here, Jim, so a more
detailed column on strategy and the house edge,
which is based on paytables and play, is in the
offing. For now, memorize these simple rules for
a head start.
Fold with less than a pair of 2s.
Raise one unit with pair of 3s-9s.
With a pair of 10s or greater, raise the
maximum, three units.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "To have the
reputation of being a sucker, with everybody in
the world throwing their money at me trying to
win mine, would be my idea of earthly paradise."
--Doyle Brunson "Super System"
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