How To Play 2 Card Poker

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2-Card Poker is a fast-action table game from American Gaming Systems that is found in many casinos.The name itself is a bit misleading since both the dealer and the player are dealt four cards, but there's already Four-Card Poker and Crazy 4 Poker, so 2-Card it is. Two-card poker is a poker variation that you can play with several friends. It is a quick-moving game that allows you to play a number of hands instead of playing the few long, complicated rounds that are associated with other types of poker. The two-card poker game can be used as the only poker variation you play for.

On This Page

Introduction

Two Card Joker Poker is a poker-based game seen at the Foxwoods casino in April, 2009. It is similar to Three Card Poker, except a regular deck with two jokers is used, and each hand consists of only two cards.

Rules

  1. A 54-card deck is used, including two jokers. The jokers may only be used to complete a pair.
  2. Player makes an Ante and/or Pair Up bet.
  3. The dealer gives each player and himself 2 cards. The player may examine his cards. The dealer's cards are dealt face down.
  4. If the player made the Ante bet, he must fold or call.
  5. If the player folds, he forfeits his Ante wager.
  6. If the player calls, he must make a Call bet, exactly equal to his Ante bet.
  7. The dealer will reveal his cards.
  8. The dealer needs a Queen high or better to qualify.
  9. If the dealer does not qualify, the player wins even money on the Ante bet.
  10. If the dealer qualifies, the dealer's hand is compared to the player's hand according to the hand ranking chart below, the higher hand wins.
  11. If the dealer has the higher hand, then the Ante and Call bets lose.
  12. If the dealer has an identical hand, then the Ante and Call bets push.
  13. If the player has the higher hand, then the Ante bet pays even money and the Call bet pays according to the pay table below.
  14. The Pair Up bet pays based solely on the rank of the player's hand, as shown in the Pair Up section below.

Pay Table

HandPays
Pair of Jokers8 to 1
Royal Flush5 to 1
Straight Flush3 to 1
All other1 to 1
Learn how to play 2 card poker

Strategy

Strategy for the ante bet is extremely simple: raise with Queen-Five or better, and fold with Queen-Four or lower. For example, King-Two is higher than Queen-Five, and Jack-Nine is lower thanQueen-Five.

Ante Game Analysis

The following table lists all possible outcomes. The lower-right corner shows a house edge of 3.15%. The average wager is 1.672956 times the Ante bet, which makes the element of risk for this game 1.88%, a better bet than Three Card Poker.

Ante Return Table

How To Play 2 Card Poker
EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Win with Pair of Jokers98940.0004710.00424
Win with Royal Flush635600.0018760.011257
Win with Straight Flush4432520.0227940.091177
Win with Straight21306760.0688670.137734
Win with Pair21118640.0589530.117906
Win with Flush21144600.0603210.120643
Win with High Card2523440.0275860.055171
Dealer Not Qualified13897360.2053940.205394
Push051780.0027290
Fold-16205680.327044-0.327044
Lose-24249740.223965-0.447929
Total18975061-0.031451

Pair Up Side Bet Analysis

The Pair Up side bet is similar to the Pair Plus bet in Three Card Poker, and can be made in addition to or instead of the ante wager. The following table shows the different possible outcomes for this bet. The lower-right cell shows a house edge of 2.0964%.

Pair Up Return Table

EventPaysCombinationsProbabilityReturn
Pair of Jokers4010.0006990.027952
Royal Flush2040.0027950.055905
Straight Flush5480.0335430.167715
Straight31560.1090150.327044
Pair11820.1271840.127184
All other-110400.726765-0.726765
Total14311-0.020964

Detailed Hand Analysis

The following table shows the expected value of every possible hand. Hands with an expected value greater than -1 should be called, because they will lose less on average than the unit that would be lost by folding.

Ante Bet Expected Value Table

How To Play 2 Card Poker

HandExpected ValueCorrect Play
Pair - Jokers6.393665Call
Suited KA4.351433Call
Suited TJ3.061086Call
Suited 9T3.036199Call
Suited JQ3.031674Call
Suited 893.018100Call
Suited 783.000000Call
Suited QK2.995475Call
Suited 672.981900Call
Suited 562.963801Call
Suited 452.945701Call
Suited 342.927602Call
Suited 232.916290Call
Suited 2A2.855204Call
Wild Pair - AA1.518854Call
Unsuited KA1.497738Call
Unsuited QK1.464555Call
Unsuited JQ1.446456Call
Unsuited TJ1.426094Call
Unsuited 9T1.387632Call
Unsuited 891.351433Call
Unsuited 781.315234Call
Unsuited 671.279035Call
Unsuited 561.242836Call
Unsuited 451.206637Call
Unsuited 341.170437Call
Unsuited 231.136501Call
Unsuited 2A1.099548Call
Pair - AA1.078431Call
Pair - KK1.042232Call
Wild Pair - KK1.031674Call
Wild Pair - QQ1.001508Call
Pair - QQ1.000000Call
Pair - JJ0.993967Call
Wild Pair - JJ0.989442Call
Wild Pair - TT0.957014Call
Pair - TT0.947210Call
Wild Pair - 990.926848Call
Pair - 990.904977Call
Wild Pair - 880.896682Call
Wild Pair - 770.866516Call
Pair - 880.862745Call
Wild Pair - 660.836350Call
Pair - 770.820513Call
Wild Pair - 550.806184Call
Pair - 660.778281Call
Wild Pair - 440.776018Call
Wild Pair - 330.745852Call
Pair - 550.736048Call
Wild Pair - 220.717949Call
Pair - 440.693816Call
Pair - 330.651584Call
Pair - 220.613876Call
Suited JA0.577677Call
Suited QA0.568627Call
Suited TA0.566365Call
Suited 9A0.557315Call
Suited 8A0.548265Call
Suited 7A0.539216Call
Suited 6A0.530166Call
Suited 5A0.521116Call
Suited 4A0.512066Call
Suited 3A0.503017Call
Suited JK0.469080Call
Suited TK0.457768Call
Suited 9K0.448718Call
Suited 8K0.439668Call
Suited 7K0.430618Call
Suited 6K0.421569Call
Suited 5K0.412519Call
Suited 4K0.403469Call
Suited 3K0.394419Call
Suited 2K0.384615Call
Suited TQ0.352187Call
Suited 9Q0.343137Call
Suited 8Q0.334087Call
Suited 7Q0.325038Call
Suited 6Q0.315988Call
Suited 5Q0.306938Call
Suited 4Q0.297888Call
Suited 3Q0.288839Call
Suited 2Q0.279035Call
Suited 9J0.267722Call
Suited 8J0.258673Call
Suited 7J0.249623Call
Suited 6J0.240573Call
Suited 5J0.231523Call
Suited 4J0.222474Call
Suited 3J0.213424Call
Suited 2J0.203620Call
Suited 8T0.174962Call
Suited 7T0.165913Call
Suited 6T0.156863Call
Suited 5T0.147813Call
Suited 4T0.138763Call
Suited 3T0.129713Call
Suited 2T0.119910Call
Suited 790.096531Call
Suited 690.087481Call
Suited 590.078431Call
Suited 490.069382Call
Suited 390.060332Call
Suited 290.050528Call
Suited 680.030166Call
Suited 580.021116Call
Suited 480.012066Call
Suited 380.003017Call
Suited 28-0.006787Call
Suited 57-0.024133Call
Suited 47-0.033183Call
Suited 37-0.042232Call
Suited 27-0.052036Call
Suited 46-0.066365Call
Suited 36-0.075415Call
Suited 26-0.085219Call
Suited 35-0.096531Call
Suited 25-0.106335Call
Suited 24-0.115385Call
Unsuited QA-0.161388Call
Unsuited JA-0.170437Call
Unsuited TA-0.199849Call
Unsuited 9A-0.226998Call
Unsuited 8A-0.254148Call
Unsuited 7A-0.281297Call
Unsuited 6A-0.308446Call
Unsuited 5A-0.335596Call
Unsuited 4A-0.362745Call
Unsuited 3A-0.389894Call
Unsuited JK-0.496229Call
Unsuited TK-0.525641Call
Unsuited 9K-0.552790Call
Unsuited 8K-0.579940Call
Unsuited 7K-0.607089Call
Unsuited 6K-0.634238Call
Unsuited 5K-0.661388Call
Unsuited 4K-0.688537Call
Unsuited 3K-0.715686Call
Unsuited 2K-0.749623Call
Unsuited TQ-0.842383Call
Unsuited 9Q-0.869532Call
Unsuited 8Q-0.896682Call
Unsuited 7Q-0.923831Call
Unsuited 6Q-0.950980Call
Unsuited 5Q-0.978130Call
Unsuited 4Q-1.005279Fold
Unsuited 3Q-1.032428Fold
Unsuited 2Q-1.066365Fold
Unsuited 35-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 36-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 37-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 38-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 39-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 3T-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 46-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 47-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 48-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 49-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 4T-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 57-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 58-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 59-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 5T-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 68-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 69-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 6T-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 79-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 7T-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 8T-1.115385Fold
Unsuited 24-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 25-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 26-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 27-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 28-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 29-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 2T-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 3J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 4J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 5J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 6J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 7J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 8J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 9J-1.122172Fold
Unsuited 2J-1.128959Fold

For academic purposes only, a strategy that raises every hand would yield a house edge of 6.8067% and an element of risk of 3.4034%.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank J.B. for his analysis of this game.

By Henry Tamburin
The object of the game is to hope your three-card poker hand beats the dealer's three-card poker hand (the classic 'you against the dealer'). Or, if you do not want to bet against the dealer, you can bet instead that your three-card hand will be at least a pair or higher.
The game is played on a blackjack size table using a single deck of cards. Prior to the cards being dealt by the dealer you must decide whether you want to bet against the dealer's hand or bet that your hand will be at least a pair or higher. You also have the option of betting both ways - against the dealer and against the pay schedule.
If you want to compete against the dealer's hand you must make a bet on the Ante. If instead you want to bet that your three-card hand will be at least a pair or higher, then you would wager on the Pair Plus. The betting spots for making these wagers are located directly in front of each player.
Let's assume that you wager on the Ante. Here's what happens next. The dealer will deal each player and himself three cards face down. You pick up your cards, look at them, and decide whether you want to stay in the game or fold. If you want to stay, you must make another equal wager in the Play betting spot. If you decide instead to fold, you would place your cards face down on the layout toward the dealer. If you fold, the dealer will remove your cards and you lose your Ante bet.
After every player has decided whether to fold or Play, the dealer will face his cards and check whether it contains at least a queen or higher. If it does the dealer's hand is said to 'qualify' and he will then face each player's hand that decided to stay in the game. If your hand has a higher poker rank than the dealer's hand, you win your Ante and Play wagers at even money (if you bet $5, you will win $5). If instead the dealer's hand beats the player's hand, the player's Ante and Play wagers are lost.
What if the dealer's hand doesn't qualify? This occurs if the dealer's hand does not have at least a queen or higher. When this occurs, the dealer will automatically pay each player who stayed in the game (i.e. wagered on the Play) even money on the Ante wager and return the Play wager to the player (it's a push)
Players who make an Ante wager are also eligible for a bonus payout that will be paid regardless of whether the dealer qualifies or whether your hand beats the dealer's hand. The latter point is not trivial. Many players are turned off to Caribbean Stud Poker because if the dealer doesn't qualify they get nothing for having a premium hand. This is not the case with Three Card Poker. If you have a straight, three-of-a-kind or a straight flush you will automatically be paid a bonus according to the following schedule:

How To Play Poker 2 Card Poker


Ante Bonus

Hand

Payout

Straight Flush

5 to 1

Three-of-a-Kind

4 to 1

Straight

1 to 1

If you don't want to compete against the dealer's hand, your other betting option is to wager on the Pair Plus. You win if your three-card hand contains at least a pair or higher. The higher the poker rank, the greater the payout. You lose the Pair Plus bet if you end up with less than a pair. A typical payout schedule for Pair Plus is:


Pair Plus Payouts

Hand

Payout

Straight Flush

40 to 1

Three -of-a-Kind

30 to 1

Straight

6 to 1

Flush

3 to 1

Pair

1 to 1

As mentioned earlier you could wager on both the Ante and Pair Plus from the get go (in fact in some gaming jurisdictions, you must wager on both). If you play both, you can bet different amounts. However, keep in mind this rule. If you decide to fold your hand, you would not only lose your Ante wager but also your Pair Plus wager if you made it as well. That seems like a bummer but in actually it's not because if you had a pair or higher and thus eligible for the Pair Plus payout you should not fold these hands.
The only playing decision involved in Three Card Poker is whether or not to make the Play wager or to fold. A simple basic playing strategy is to just mimic the dealer, that is make the Play wager if your hand contains a queen or higher, otherwise fold.
Stanley Ko in his excellent booklet Mastering the Game of Three Card Poker mathematically computed a more optimum playing strategy. He recommends making the Play wager only if you hold a Queen-6-4 hand or better. Since it's not that difficult to memorize Q-6-4, I'd suggest using Ko's optimized strategy.
The casinos edge for the Pair Plus is 7.27 percent and for the Ante wager it's 3.37 percent based on the initial bet. Note: Some casinos pay 4-1 for the flush on the Pair Plus and the house edge is lowered to 2.32%). Compared to the similar Caribbean Stud Poker and Let it Ride poker games, Three Card Poker is a better gamble.

How Do You Play 3 Card Poker

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