Each round begins with placing two bets – one for your 3-card hand and another for the 21 bonus game. A 21 (total) pays 1:1. A pair pays 1:1. A flush pays 3:2. A straight pays 2:1. A three of a kind pays 5:1. A straight flush pays 15:1. A 3-card royal flush pays 50:1. A 3-card royal flush in.
3-card poker’s pretty new compared to other casino card games. A guy named Derek Webb invented the game in 1994.
Shortly after he invented it, he started shopping it around to different casinos to see if anyone would be willing to offer it in their casino on a trial basis.
After a few rejections, Webb got a bite from a casino in Mississippi. There, Derek hustled; he helped integrate the game into the casino and train the dealers, all at no cost.
Webb later parlayed his initial success into trials with Las Vegas and Reno casinos. Between pitching his game and training staff, he was kept busy. Life was looking good.
Then he was hit by a patent infringement lawsuit from Progressive Games.
Derek then met with Joseph Lahti, the president of Shuffle Master. Lahti offered to help Webb defend the patent claims in court.
He also offered Webb $3 million for partial rights to 3-card poker – which Webb agreed to.
But there was a chance Derek could have gotten a lot more. So, he countersued Progressive Games. He claimed their lawsuit against him forced him to sell his (intellectual) property at a lower price than it’d be worth otherwise.
3 Card Poker Casino Rules
Progressive Games must have thought so, too. Or they didn’t want to see what a judge and jury would think. Because they settled out of court…
…and paid Derek Webb $20 million.
It sounds like we should be investing in games instead of writing about them, doesn’t it?
How Do You Play Three Card Poker At A Casino
Anyway, that’s the short and sweet story about where 3-card poker comes from. Now let’s take a few minutes to learn how to play it.