Hunches Not the Best Strategy for Three Card Poker
Three Card Poker is easy to play and it is a fun game to play with a group of people because you can socialize between hands. The strategy is equally as simple and if you stick to it you face a house edge of around three percent. I was surprised to see my friend Yumi was playing hunches instead of following basic strategy while she played. If the dealer did not qualify on the previous hand she would play any cards that were dealt to her on the next hand. She said she knew it was incorrect to play that way but she felt lucky.
When you play any casino game you want to reduce the house edge to the minimum. If there is a correct mathematical strategy that will do this I do not understand why you would not want to use it. She was probably increasing the house edge against her by a few percentage points playing the way she did, but since she was gambling her own money I did not say a word about it. I make it a point never to try to convince others they are playing foolishly. Here is the correct strategy for Three Card Poker.