Simple and Effective Four Card Poker Strategy
There are dozens of casino tables games to choose from, with cards games proving particularly popular. Three Card Poker is a popular game in online casinos and the bricks-and-mortar world, but Four Card Poker is increasing in popularity.
Four Card Poker is strikingly similar to Three Card Poker. Roger Snow invented the game, which Shuffle Master owns the rights to. Various payout variations are possible, changing the house edge from 1.98% to 6.15% That is a low house edge for a table game.
The game is simple, as are most casino card games. Making the best four card poker hand is the ultimate goal. You do this from the five cards the dealer gives you. The dealer also receives five face down cards but also a sixth card face up.
A Four Card Poker Game In Action
There are two available bets in any Four Card poker game: the ante and the aces up. You must place a wager on at least one of them.
The dealer gives you five cards face down, and deals himself six; five are face down. The player making an ante bet either raises or folds. Folding forfeits your ante bet. A raise is at least the size of the initial ante, but up to three times the ante bet.
The player discards one of his five cards and keeps the best four cards. At this point, the dealer turns over his cards and makes the best four card poker hand from the six cards in his possession. Hands are ranked from high card, pair, two pair, straight, flush, three of a kind, straight flush, and four of a kind.
You lose your ante and raise if the dealer’s hand is higher than yours. Your ante and raise bet is paid one-to-one if your hand is equal or higher than the dealer’s hand.
Receiving three of a kind or better pays a bonus regardless of the dealer’s holding. Three of a kind pays 2-to1, a straight flush pays 20-to-1, and four of a kind awards a 25-to-1 payment.
Your aces up bet pays as shown in the table below, regardless of if you beat the dealer or not.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Four of a kind | 50 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 40 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | 8 to 1 |
| Flush | 5 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 |
| Two pair | 3 to 1 |
| Pair of aces or better | 1 to 1 |
A Basic Strategy
Four Card Poker is a game of chance with an element of skill involved. This means there is a basic strategy to employ. Adhering to the strategy reduces the house edge to 2.78%, when playing using the payouts mentioned in this article. However, the element of risk is only 1.30% due to the average final bet under the strategy.
A super-simple Four Card Poker strategy of rising 3X with a pair of tens or better, 1x with pairs of twos through nines, and folding everything else creates a house edge of 3.396%. It is effective, but renders the game rather robotic and, therefore, boring.
A More Advanced Strategy
Going more in-depth with your Four Card Poker strategy keeps matters interesting and lowers the house egde.
Bet 1X with a pair of twos or AKQ if the dealer’s upcard matches a rank in your hand, otherwise fold.
Always bet 1X with a pair of threes, fours, fives, sixes, or sevens. A pair of eights is worthy of a 3X bet unless the dealer’s upcard in a two. Bet 1X in this scenario. You should bet 3X with nines and tens but only 1X if the dealer’s upcard is higher than your pair.
Hang in there because we are almost done! Jacks, queens, and kings can be bet 3X but only if the dealer’s upcard is lower than your pair or matches a rank in your hand. Otherwise, bet 1x>
Finally, always bet pairs of aces or better 3X.
Now is the time to put your Four Card Poker strategy to the test. Sign up to an online casino, grab a bonus, and take on the dealer!
