Poker Tips and Strategies – Overview

In this article on poker tips and strategies, we break down the most popular ways of improving your gameplay. Keep in mind, there are many forms of poker and a bunch of different variants. Thus, we have highlighted three of the most popular poker games. Namely, Pai Gow Poker, Red Dog and Casino Triple Edge Poker. Continue reading to find out more.

Poker Tips and Strategies: An Introduction

In many online casinos, poker is still one of the most popular games to play. Essentially, there are two types of poker. One of them is called casino poker – in which players are required to defeat another player’s hand or the dealer. The other type is video poker, in which players are paid by holding a strong hand (such as a pair of Jacks or better).

Many jackpot games are also interlinked to poker. They will give players the chance to win the biggest of prizes. Most of the jackpots involved are progressives, meaning they continue to grow until they are eventually won.

Pai Gow Poker

Pai Gow is a thought-provoking game that is a combination between an Ancient Chinese card game and poker. It can be enjoyed by both experienced players and newcomers, though if you want to give yourself a better chance of winning, it is good to have some kind of strategy. Of course, you can build up your own strategies by playing the game and learning along the way, but it is definitely more fun when you are winning, and you can form your own conclusions about how to play after you are more experienced.

Basically, this is a game where you are dealt 7 cards and you need to divide this into two hands. There is a high hand, which will have 5 cards, and a low hand with only 2 cards. The hands are ranked on how high the highest valued cards are, so you will need to distribute your cards wisely. The dealer will then draw 7 cards for the house, with the first 5 becoming the high hand and the remaining 2 the low hand. If both your hands are higher than the dealers, then you will collect your winnings. If only one of your hands beats the house, then the round ends in a tie.

It seems simple enough, but if you are playing for the first time then making decisions can be daunting. Even if you know what you are doing, there are some tips and tricks you can learn which will help increase your chances of beating the house.

Learn all the Types of Hands

Of course, it is not only about having high ranking cards, but there are also some special “poker” hands in the game that rank higher than having an A (which is the highest ranking card). These include card hands such as pairs, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, and more. You can find out more about the hands in the game description, which will tell you how these hands are formed and their priority.

How to Distribute Hands

Knowing how you want to distribute your cards is the most crucial part of Pai Gow. Fortunately, with the online game you will not fall into the trap of putting your highest ranking cards into the low hand, as you can only lose if you do so. This is an advantage for newcomers as it will save them from making mistakes in the game that can be costly.

• If you do not have a pair, straight, or flush in your 7 dealt cards, then you should play the highest valued card in your high hand, and the next two highest ranking cards in your low hand
• When you have two pair, where the high pair is As, then you should split. If the top pair is Ks then you should split them except for when the other pair is deuces, then you should play both pairs together in the high hand and put the remaining 2 highest cards in the low hand
• If your two pair are Js through to As then split, with the highest pair in the high hand
• When your pair is 7s through 10s, then split unless you have an A. If you have an A then you should play the pair together with the A and put the next highest card in the low hand
• If you have a pair of 6s or lower, then split them unless you have an A. If you have an A, then play them together and put the next highest card in the low hand
• When you have three pair, put the highest pair in the low hand

Advanced Strategy

• If you have three of a kind, then always play them together unless the cards ar A. If they are A, then play a pair of A in the high hand and put the remaining A in the low hand, along with the next highest card
• When you have a full house, then always split it, putting the pair in the low hand and the three of a kind in the high hand
• If you have a straight or a flush, keep the one that gives you the highest card for the low hand. If there are two pairs included with the straight or the flush, then split them according to the two pair rules
• When you have four of a kind, then keep them in the high hand if they are 6 or lower. If they are four 7s through 10s, then split into two pairs, unless you also have an A to play in the low hand
• If you have four of a kind of face cards, then always split unless you have another pair which you can play in the low hand
• When you have five As then split them unless you also have a pair of Ks. If you have a pair of Ks then play that pair in the low hand and keep the 5 As in the high hand

These tips will increase your chance of beating the house, and though it may seem like a lot, it does not take much time to learn. The most important tip is how to split two pairs, as you may find yourself in that situation more often than drawing four of a kind or full house.

Poker Tips and Strategies: Red Dog

Red Dog is a great alternative to poker and it is extremely easy to learn. It is a game where two cards are drawn and placed face-up, and you have to guess whether the third card will be between them in rank. It does not require much skill or calculation, though there are ways to increase your edge against the house.

How to Play Red Dog

As mentioned before, this is a guessing game. Two cards will be drawn and you have to guess the value of the third. The suits do not matter, and the cards rank from 2 up to A. To make a bet, you will have to place an ante bet. Once you do that, two cards will be drawn and you will be presented with two options, raise or stand. Making a raise will require you to place down a second bet, equal to your first bet, and then the third card will be drawn.

If it is between the first two cards in value, then you win. If it is not, then you will lose your ante bet and your raise. Should you decide to stand, you do not raise the money, and the third card is dealt. Just as in the raise option, if the third card ranks between the other two, you win, and if not then you lose.

Pay Table Rules

It does not take long to master, and once you play a few rounds you will know the rules with confidence. Onto the winning, there is a table that shows how much you can win if certain cards are drawn. The spread row has a list of numbers from 1 through to 11. The pays row gives you the payout you can expect to receive if you win on one of the spreads. Basically, a spread is the number of cards that rank between the first two drawn cards. If a 4 and 9 are drawn, the spread is 4 – because you will need a 5, 6, 7, or 8 to win. Here is the paytable in its entirety:

• 1 – pays 5:1
• 2 – pays 4:1
• 3 – pays 2:1

4 through 11 – pays 1:1

There are three more categories in the table

• Cons – when the two cards are consecutive, for example, 4 and 5, then the round ends in a tie and your ante bet is returned
• Pair – when there are two cards of the same rank, for example, Q and Q, then the round ends in a tie and your ante bet is returned
• 3 of a kind – when the first two cards are a pair then the third card is drawn automatically without the option to raise or stand, and if it is of the same rank as the other two then you receive a payout of 11:1. For example, if the first two cards are 7 and 7, and the third card is also a 7, then this is 3 of a kind

Red Dog House Edge

Red dog powered by Betsoft uses 8 decks. The house has a calculated edge of 2.34% which is lower than if the game used 1, 2, or 6 decks – in which case the house would have an edge of 2.67%, 2.61%, and 2.38%, respectively. The probabilities to draw cards that fall in the spread are basically calculated by how many different cards are there left in the deck and what cards fit the criteria for the spread.

The formula is: possible cards/414 (8 decks minus 2 cards). The percentage of winning is the solution to the fraction multiplied by 100. Percentage of winning multiplied by the payout, and the solution subtracted by 100 = house edge percentage.

The Numbers

• 1 – 32/414. Percentage of winning is 7.72%, the payout is x6, the house edge is 53.62%
• 2 – 64/414. Percentage of winning is 15.45%, the payout is x5, the house edge is 22.7%
• 3 – 96/414. Percentage of winning is 23.18%, the payout is x3, the house edge is 30.43%
• 4 – 128/414. Percentage of winning is 30.91%, the payout is x2, the house edge is 39.13%
• 5 – 160/414. Percentage of winning is 38.64%, the payout is x2, the house edge is 22.70%
• 6 – 160/414. Percentage of winning is 46.37%, the payout is x2, the house edge is 7.24%
• 7 – 224/414. Percentage of winning is 54.1%, the payout is x2, the house edge is -8.21%
• 8 – 256/414. Percentage of winning is 61.83%, the payout is x2, the house edge is -23.67%
• 9 – 288/414. Percentage of winning is 69.56%, the payout is x2, the house edge is -39.13%
• 10 – 320/414. Percentage of winning is 77.29%, the payout is x2, the house edge is -54.58%
• 11 – 352/414. Percentage of winning is 85.02%, the payout is x2, the house edge is -70.04%

Red Dog Summary

The safest way to play red dog is to always raise when you have the advantage over the house edge. That means to always raise when the spread is 7 or higher. You can see that the edge is reduced when the spread is 6, 5, or 2, which means that you should also raise in those cases.

Poker Tips and Strategies: Casino Triple Edge Poker

Triple Edge Poker is a type of Three Card Poker where you have to play against the dealer. It is a fast-paced game that requires quick decision making and it can be highly fun to play, if you know what you are doing.

How to Play Triple Edge Poker

You can play up to three hands during each round. For each hand, you will be required to put an ante bet – which is the price of playing the round. Once you put the ante bet for one or more hands, you can click on the deal button and you will be dealt three cards face-up and the house will be given three cards face-down.

After the deal, you can decide to “Ride” – which is to put a call bet, equal to the amount you put for the ante bet, or you can “Fold”, in which case the cards are thrown away and you lose the round. If you call the bet, the dealer will reveal the three house cards, and if your hand is better then you will win. If you have a hand that is equal in value to the dealer’s hand, the round is pushed and you receive your stake back.

Triple Edge Poker Paytable

Triple edge poker is not just about winning a hand, you can win more if the dealer qualifies. What this means is that the house’s hand is a straight, a flush, a pair, or at the minimum a high card that is at least a Q. If the dealer does not qualify and you beat them, it means that you will win but with a slightly smaller payout;.

If the dealer qualifies and you have a better hand, you will receive both the ante bet and call bet stake back with a profit of 1:1 for each. For example, if you bet 1.00 on the ante bet and a further 1.00 on the call and win, you will receive 4.00 back – which is a 2.00 profit.

If the dealer does not qualify and you have the better hand, then you will receive your ante bet back with a profit of 1:1, but the call bet will be pushed, which means it will be returned without any profit. For example, if you bet 1.00 on both bets and you beat the dealer but they do not qualify, you will receive 3.50 back – a 1.50 profit.

There are even greater payouts if you happen to draw certain hands. These are the straight, three of a kind, and straight flush.

• Straight: Three consecutive cards any suit, this pays 1:1
• Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank, such as three 7s or three Js, and so on. This pays 4:1
• Straight Flush: Three consecutive cards of the same suit, this pays 5:1

These are bonuses on top of what you may win if you beat the dealer. If you lose to the dealer, you will still be paid the ante bonus.

Triple Edge Poker Sidebet

One of the key elements of triple edge poker is the sidebet, which can pay rich prizes. With the side bet, it does not matter whether the dealer qualifies or whether you beat the dealer’s hand or not. It is a bet on what type of hand you will be dealt and you can take advantage of the great payouts it has to offer.

• Pair 1:1
• Flush 4:1
• Straight 6:1
• Three of a Kind 30:1
• Straight Flush 40:1

While its true that most of the time you will not win the sidebet, it only takes one time for you to pocket a win, and if you hit three of a kind or a straight flush, you will pick up a tidy profit.

Triple Edge Poker Strategy

When you want to play a round, you will have the option to play with one hand or with three. It is completely up to you whether you want to go with 1, 2, or 3, but it is recommended to take up all three places. It will not necessarily give you a better chance against the dealer, but if the dealer fails to qualify, it is better to have three hands making a profit than one.

Triple edge poker is not extremely complicated to play, and because there is only one step in the game where you have to make a decision, there are not many strategies and calculations that you will need to stick to. It goes without saying that any pair, straight, flush, or three of a kind you should always ride with.

When you do not have a combination but the hand is determined by high cards, then you should only ride in the following case:

• Your highest card is Q or better
• Your second highest card is 8 or better

The highest card is not always the most important card of the hand because if the dealer has the same high card, you will need a high second card to beat them with. Of course, the round can be decided by a third card, but this is a very rare case.

Poker Tips and Strategies: The Bottom Line

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