3 Card Poker in Las Vegas: Where to Play, Pay Tables and Odds

3 Card Poker is dealt at most major Las Vegas casinos: in October 2026 the official table-games pages of MGM Grand, Bellagio, Aria, Caesars Palace and Flamingo all list it. The game is the same everywhere (play Queen-6-4 or better against the dealer’s three cards), but the pay tables are not. On the Pair Plus bet the house edge runs from 2.32% on the classic table to 7.28% on the weakest, so reading the felt before you sit down matters more than which casino you choose.

This guide covers where to find the game on the Strip, how to read a Vegas 3 Card Poker table, the strategy that keeps the main game at a 3.37% edge per Ante, the 6 Card Bonus and progressive side bets, and how to play the same game online from the US. For the full rules and live versions, see our main 3 Card Poker guide.

Updated October 2026. Casino listings checked on each resort’s own website; pay tables and house edges from the Wizard of Odds.

Where to Play 3 Card Poker on the Las Vegas Strip

These Strip casinos list Three Card Poker on their own table-games pages (checked October 2026). Table counts, hours and minimums are not published and change by day and time, so ask the pit or check the sign on the table.

The game is not limited to these five. Three Card Poker is one of the most widely licensed proprietary table games, so most Strip and downtown casinos with a table-games floor carry it, often beside Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Let It Ride. Aria’s page notes that Three Card Poker is a trademark used under licence from SHFL entertainment, the Shuffle Master business, which explains the uniform layout from casino to casino.

Big wins do happen. On 8 July 2019 a player at Caesars Palace won $1,469,237 by hitting a royal flush on a $5 progressive side bet at a Three Card Poker table, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Wins like that come from the progressive meter, not the base game, and they are extremely rare.

A Short History: From Derek Webb to the Strip

British poker player Derek Webb designed Three Card Poker in 1994, and Shuffle Master acquired the rights outside the British Isles in 1999. It spread through American casinos because it is quick to learn, deals fast, and makes one decision per hand. Shuffle Master later became SHFL entertainment and is now part of Light & Wonder, the company formerly called Scientific Games, which still licenses the game and its side bets to casinos. Older versions of this page told a story of competing Las Vegas variants that ended in 2010; we could not verify it and have removed it.

How a Las Vegas 3 Card Poker Table Works

Every table has the same three betting circles: Ante, Play and Pair Plus, often with a fourth for the 6 Card Bonus or a progressive.

1. Bet. Place an Ante, a Pair Plus bet, or both. The table minimum usually applies to each.
2. Deal. You and the dealer each receive three cards face down. Look at yours.
3. Decide. Fold and lose the Ante, or place a Play bet equal to the Ante.
4. Reveal. The dealer needs Queen high or better to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify, the Ante pays 1 to 1 and the Play bet pushes.
5. Settle. If the dealer qualifies, the better hand wins both Ante and Play at even money. Ante Bonus pays extra for a straight or better regardless of the dealer’s hand, and Pair Plus is paid on your cards alone.

In three-card hands a straight beats a flush, because it is harder to make. Hand frequencies from a single deck: straight flush 0.22%, three of a kind 0.24%, straight 3.26%, flush 4.96%, pair 16.94%. A pair or better arrives about 25.6% of the time.

The One Strategy Rule: Queen-6-4

Play (raise) with Queen-6-4 or better and fold anything worse. That single rule is the optimal strategy, and it holds the house edge on the Ante and Play to 3.37% of the Ante on the standard Ante Bonus table, according to the Wizard of Odds. Measured against all the money you put on the table, including Play bets, the element of risk is 2.01%.

• Q-7-2: play (beats Q-6-4).
• Q-6-5: play.
• Q-6-3: fold.
• Any pair or better: always play.

Vegas dealers will not coach you, but nobody minds a strategy card at a table game. Copying the dealer (playing every hand) or never folding adds several percentage points to the edge.

Pair Plus Pay Tables in Las Vegas

Pair Plus is where Vegas casinos make their money on this game, and the posted table decides how much. The Wizard of Odds lists these versions; each pays 1 to 1 on a pair:

According to the Wizard of Odds, table 1 was once the only version and table 7 is now the norm. A quick check at the table is the straight and flush pays: 6 and 4 means one of the better tables; 5 and 4, or 6 and 3, means you are paying roughly three times as much. Our old version of this page called a 40-30-6-3 table a 7.2% bet; that matches table 8 at 7.28%.

Ante Bonus and 6 Card Bonus Pay Tables

Ante Bonus comes automatically with the Ante. Its standard table pays 5 to 1 for a straight flush, 4 to 1 for three of a kind and 1 to 1 for a straight, giving the 3.37% figure above; weaker versions (4-3-1 or 3-2-1) raise the edge to 3.83% and 4.28%.

The 6 Card Bonus, the bet behind Caesars’ $100,000 promotion, combines your three cards with the dealer’s three to make the best five-card poker hand. Its cost varies widely:

Payouts are “to 1” and come from the Wizard of Odds. A casino that advertises a $100,000 top prize is quoting the top award at its maximum side-bet stake, so check the posted limits: a royal at 1,000 to 1 on $100 returns $100,000.

What a Session Costs: a Worked Example

Suppose you bet $10 on the Ante and $10 on Pair Plus every hand at a table using pay table 7, and play Q-6-4 strategy. The expected loss is about 34 cents on the Ante side (3.37% of $10) and about 68 cents on Pair Plus (6.75% of $10), so roughly $1 a hand. At a pace of 50 hands an hour, that is about $50 an hour, with large swings either way. Moving the same Pair Plus bet to a 40-30-6-4 table cuts the Pair Plus cost to about 23 cents a hand.

Compare that with blackjack played to basic strategy at a good Strip table, where a $10 bet costs around 5 cents a hand. 3 Card Poker trades a higher cost for a faster, simpler game, which is a fair choice as long as you know the price.

Las Vegas Table Etiquette

• Keep your cards on the table and in view; you are not allowed to show them to other players or discuss your hand.
• Place chips in the circles before the deal and do not touch them once the cards are out; the dealer collects folded hands and settles every bet.
• Tipping is customary. Many players place a small bet for the dealer on Pair Plus or the Ante. Our guide to tipping casino dealers covers how much and when.
• Most Strip casinos allow smoking on the floor; our list of non-smoking casinos in Las Vegas covers the exceptions. Planning a full trip? See the best shows in Las Vegas too.

Playing 3 Card Poker Online from the US

If you cannot get to Las Vegas, the game is widely available online, but only some of it is regulated. Eight states have legalised online casinos; seven markets are live (NJ, PA, MI, WV, CT, DE, RI); Maine legalised a tribal-only market (LD 1164: became law without the governor’s signature in January 2026, effective 29 Jul 2026) that has not launched (Oct 2026). Nevada itself licenses online poker but not online casino games.

Outside those states, offshore sites fill the gap. Bovada’s live dealer lobby lists Tri Card Poker, its name for the game, in three limit bands: $5 to $100, $25 to $1,000 and $100 to $5,000 (October 2026). Bovada is an offshore operator with no US state licence; it excludes some states, and if something goes wrong there is no state regulator to complain to and your funds are not protected. Read our Bovada review before depositing, and set a budget first: if gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738) or visit ncpgambling.org.

Frequently asked questions

Which Las Vegas casinos have 3 Card Poker?

Most casinos with a table-games floor. In October 2026 the official sites of MGM Grand, Bellagio, Aria, Caesars Palace and Flamingo all list Three Card Poker; Caesars Palace and Flamingo also advertise the Six Card Bonus with a $100,000 top prize.

What is the best Pair Plus pay table in Vegas?

The classic 40-30-6-4-1 table (straight flush, trips, straight, flush, pair) at a 2.32% house edge. The most common modern table, 40-25-5-4-1, costs 6.75%.

What is the house edge of 3 Card Poker?

With Queen-6-4 strategy and the standard 5-4-1 Ante Bonus, the Ante and Play cost 3.37% of the Ante (2.01% of all money wagered). Pair Plus ranges from 2.32% to 7.28% depending on the table.

What is the strategy for 3 Card Poker?

Play with Queen-6-4 or better and fold anything lower. It is the only decision in the game, and following it exactly gives the lowest house edge.

Who invented 3 Card Poker?

Derek Webb, a British poker player, designed it in 1994. Shuffle Master acquired the rights outside the British Isles in 1999 and spread it through US casinos; it is now part of Light & Wonder.

Can you play 3 Card Poker online in the US?

Yes, at state-licensed online casinos in the states that allow them, and at offshore sites such as Bovada, which runs live Tri Card Poker tables. Offshore sites have no US state licence and offer no regulator protection.