How to Play Three Card Rummy Successfully

1. Introduction to the Game

Three Card Rummy is most often played as a single-deck card game, using a standard 52-card deck. If you find it in a land-based casino, odds are the shoe will carry 6 or 8 decks. But as I said above, Three Card Rummy is rarely played live. It first appeared over a decade ago in Cryptologic and Microgaming online casinos. Due to sluggish player interest, operators know it works far better online than on land.

This is a house-banked game, meaning that players compete only against the dealer (a.k.a. the house), not other players. Like most online casino games, it is a single-player affair, competing against a computerized house. In a real casino, multiple players could participate, up to as many as seats as the table provides.

2. How to Play Three Card Rummy

This is a very easy game to pick up, especially if you’re already familiar with any Rummy style games (Mille, Rummy 500, Gin Rummy, Contract Rummy, etc). It’s all about receiving cards of matching ranks (sets) and suited sequences (runs).

A game begins with the placement of an Ante bet. The dealer will then deal three cards to you (the player), and to himself. Your cards are dealt face up; the dealer’s face down.

Reading Your Hand

A hand’s value is determined by assigning points. Points are equal to a card’s pip value, with Aces being 1 and Face cards 10.

A hand of 5-8-K would score 23 points. But a high score is not a good thing. In fact, 30 is the worst possible hand you can have. It is the lowest score that wins; the best being 0.

Pairs & Sets: If your hand consists of two or three cards of matching rank (pair or three of a kind), the value of the matching cards drops to 0.

• 7♥-7♠-7♦ = 0
• 4♠-7♥-7♣ = 4
• A♦-3♣-3♥ = 1

Suited Runs: If your hand consists of two or three cards of the same suit, and in sequence, the value of those cards drops to 0.

• 6♥-7♥-8♥ = 0
• 9♠-10♠-K♣ = 10
• A♦-2♦-6♠ = 6

Fold or Play?

Based on your current hand, you must make a decision – to Fold or to Play. If you fold the hand, your Ante bet is lost and the game is over. If you choose to play, you must make a Play bet. A Play bet is a second bet, equal to the Ante (i.e. raise).

After choosing to play, the dealer will reveal his cards. The two hands are compared, determining all wins, losses and payouts.

3. Winning Conditions & Payout Schedule

First things first, if the player’s hand beats the dealer’s hand, the Ante is paid 1 to 1. This occurs regardless of anything else.

The Play bet is determined first by whether the dealer’s hand qualifies. In order to qualify, the dealer’s total cannot exceed 20. A total of 0-20 qualifies; 21-30 does not.

If the dealer does not qualify, the Play bet will be returned as a Push (tie). Even if your hand scores worse than the dealer’s non-qualifying hand (e.g. Player 22, Dealer 21), the Play bet will still Push (although in this case, you’ll have lost the Ante bet). Also, if your hand ties the dealer’s hand, it is a Push.

If the dealer does qualify, and the player beats the dealer, you will win an amount according to the following pay table.

4. Optional Bonus Bet & Payouts

Every set of Three Card Rummy rules I’ve come across has offered an optional Bonus Bet. This is a side bet that your hand will achieve some special score or precise rank. If your hand score is 12 or below, you’ll win, irrespective of the base game result. Be warned, however, that the house edge on this wager is 3.46%; nearly twice that of the main game.

The Bonus Bet winning conditions and payouts are as follows.

Note: The payouts and scores are not in numerical order. A total of 11 or 12 is worth more than a total of 1 thru 10. That is not a typo. The payouts are based not on score value, but the range of numbers and probability of achievement.

5. Three Card Rummy Strategy and House Edge

Learning how to play Three Card Rummy with perfect strategy is far easier than learning to play the game itself. In fact, you just have to remember these three very simple rules…

• Play if your hand value is 0 thru 20.
• Fold if your hand value is 21+.
• Never place the Bonus side bet.

When you adhere to this optimal strategy, you will achieve the highest possible RTP of 98.07% (house edge 1.93%). Deviate from this strategy in any way, and your RTP will drop.