Live Dealer Three Card Poker

Where These Rules Apply

The regulations quoted on this page are Pennsylvania's. Chapter 649a of 58 Pa. Code specifies this game for the physical tables Pennsylvania licenses, and it is quoted here because it is the clearest published specification of how the game is dealt and paid. Pennsylvania's own interactive gaming rule, 58 Pa. Code § 816a.1(d), carries only three things across to a live-dealer stream — the surveillance requirement at § 465a.9, the dealer training standards in Chapter 611a, and game approval under Chapter 816a — so this chapter does not itself govern the stream you open. Outside Pennsylvania the table is specified by the operator and by whichever regulator licenses it, and the figures can differ.

What Live-Dealer Three Card Poker Is

Live-dealer three card poker is a hand dealt by a person in a studio, with the ante, the play-or-fold decision and any side bets taken through the interface. The player competes against the dealer's three-card hand rather than against the other players. Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.7 describes the two routes into a round: competing against the dealer's hand with an ante wager and then a play wager of equal size, or competing solely against a posted paytable with a Pair Plus wager.

The Studio Is Regulated as Well as the Game

In Pennsylvania the live studio has its own chapter. 58 Pa. Code § 816a.1 requires Board approval to simulcast authorised table games and separate approval for the studio's location, and the entity producing, hosting or otherwise providing the live studio service must be licensed before it does so. Table game simulcasting must run through a simulcast control server that gives the player real-time visual access, prevents anyone accessing the outcome before a wager is finalised, records dealer-verified game results before posting, and can void a result. Dealers come under Chapter 611a, where the minimum curriculum for banked card games is 100 hours of instruction over a five-week period, at least 80 of which must be in blackjack — so at most 20 of those hours cover three card poker and every other banked card game between them. § 611a.2(b)(1) then sets 60 hours over three weeks for a dealer already trained on one card-game type who moves to another.

The Deck and the One Decision

Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.3(a) requires one deck of cards identical in appearance and one cover card, except as provided in subsection (b): where an automated card shuffling device is used, § 649a.3(b) permits two decks of the same design with the backs of one a different colour from the other, one deck shuffled and stored in the device while the other is being used to play the game, and the two continuously alternated in and out so that each is used for every other round. One deck is in play at a time either way. Three cards go to each player and three to the dealer, and § 649a.11 makes each player responsible for their own hand, with nobody other than the dealer and the player dealt the cards permitted to touch them. The dealer then asks each player in turn whether to make a play wager equal to the ante or to forfeit the ante and end their participation in the round. That is the whole of the decision.

Settlement

The dealer must hold queen high or better. Under § 649a.11, where the dealer's hand is lower than a queen high the dealer pays each player's ante wager and returns the play wager. Where the dealer qualifies, the hands are compared and § 649a.12 pays each winning ante wager and play wager at 1 to 1. One rule deserves its own line: a player who has placed an ante wager and a Pair Plus wager but does not make a play wager forfeits both. A Pair Plus bet is settled whatever the dealer holds, but not if the player leaves the round.

The Bonuses Are Where the Variation Is

A player who places an ante and a play wager is paid a bonus on the ante for a strong hand regardless of whether it beats the dealer, and seven paytables are licensed for it across three sections. Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.12(b) sets out three — a straight flush at 5 to 1, 5 to 1 or 4 to 1, three of a kind at 4 to 1, 3 to 1 or 3 to 1, and a straight at 1 to 1 on all three. § 649a.12(c) sets out three more, for the version of the game described in § 649a.7(e) in which the ante and the Pair Plus wager are linked; those three carry two suited-high-card lines the first three do not, paying an ace, king and queen of spades 50 to 1 on all three and the same three cards in another suit 5 to 1, 50 to 1 or 10 to 1, and they pay a straight flush 4 to 1, 8 to 1 or 6 to 1, three of a kind 3 to 1, 6 to 1 or 3 to 1, and a straight 1 to 1. § 649b.4(b) adds the seventh, Paytable D, at a straight flush 6 to 1, three of a kind 5 to 1 and a straight 1 to 1 — more than any of the three in subsection (b), though the highest licensed figures for both of those hands sit on § 649a.12(c) Paytable B, at 8 to 1 and 6 to 1. Pair Plus has five licensed paytables: a straight flush at 35 to 1 or 40 to 1, three of a kind at 25 to 1 or 30 to 1, a straight at 5 to 1 or 6 to 1, a flush at 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 and a pair at 1 to 1. A sibling section licenses a further variation rather than a further Pair Plus paytable: § 649b.3 permits a Player bonus wager in place of Pair Plus, on four paytables of its own that pay a suited ace, king and queen 50 to 1 or 40 to 1. Where an operator chooses to add a mini-royal flush payout, § 649a.12(g) sets a floor rather than a price — no less than 40 to 1 on a Pair Plus paytable, and no less than 5 to 1 on a subsection (b) ante bonus paytable. Which paytable applies is the operator's filed choice, which is why a single quoted paytable for three card poker is one licensed answer among several. Chapter 649b is temporary: § 649b.3, § 649b.4 and § 649b.5 were added on 22 August 2025, took effect on 23 August 2025 and expire on 23 August 2028, so each is licensed now and each carries a date to re-check it against.

The Six Card Bonus and the 1000-to-1 Figure

The Six Card Bonus is a separate wager that the player's three cards and the dealer's three will form a five-card poker hand of three of a kind or better. Under § 649a.12 its licensed paytables pay a royal flush 1,000 to 1, a straight flush 200 to 1, four of a kind 50 to 1 or 100 to 1, a full house 20 to 1 or 25 to 1, a flush 15 to 1 or 20 to 1, a straight 9 to 1 or 10 to 1, and three of a kind 5 to 1, 7 to 1 or 8 to 1. Two licensed paytables go further than any of those odds. § 649a.12(f) Paytable E adds a Super Royal, paid as a flat amount rather than as odds — $1,000,000 for a Super Royal of diamonds and $100,000 for one of hearts, spades or clubs. And § 649b.5(b) adds Paytable F, which pays a six-card royal flush, nine to ace, at 20,000 to 1. So the list above is the ordinary range rather than the ceiling. Evolution publishes the Pair Plus and Six Card Bonus bets together as a chance to win up to 1000 to 1 no matter what hand the dealer achieves, and the regulation places that figure on the Six Card Bonus royal flush — the highest fixed payout enumerated on the five Pair Plus paytables in § 649a.12(d) is a straight flush at 40 to 1. A separate Progressive Payout wager pays 100% of a meter for ace, king and queen of spades and 500 for 1 for the same three cards in another suit.

The Live Product

Evolution publishes a Live Three Card Poker created in partnership with Scientific Games, with the dealer needing a Queen High to play, an Ante Bonus for a straight or better regardless of the dealer's hand, and optional Pair Plus and Six Card Bonus bets that are evaluated separately at the end of each game so that each provides an entirely separate opportunity to win. Pennsylvania's interactive gaming rule 58 Pa. Code § 816a.2 requires a live studio provider to file a Rules Submission specifying which options it will use and to have it approved before the game is offered, and § 816a.1 requires the payout odds, the number of decks used and the table minimum and maximum to be readily available on the site before play begins and throughout play.

House Edge and Return Figures

No regulator, government gaming agency, provider or testing lab publishes a house edge for three card poker, or a return figure for a named live three card poker table. Table limits are a different case: § 816a.1 requires each operator to publish its own table minimum and maximum before and during play, so the figure exists — it is just set table by table and read off the table, not published in one place that could be quoted.

What Is Being Streamed

A live-dealer three card poker round is a physical hand dealt by a person in a studio, with the ante, the play-or-fold decision and any side bets taken through the interface. In Pennsylvania the studio is regulated separately: 58 Pa. Code § 816a.1 requires Board approval to simulcast authorised table games and separate approval for the studio's location, requires the entity producing or hosting the live studio service to be licensed, and requires the simulcast control server to give the player real-time visual access, to prevent anyone accessing the outcome before a wager is finalised, to record dealer-verified game results before posting, and to be able to void a result. Dealers come under Chapter 611a, whose minimum curriculum for banked card games is 100 hours of instruction over five weeks.

The Deal

Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.3(a) requires one deck and one cover card, except as provided in subsection (b): where an automated card shuffling device is used, § 649a.3(b) permits two decks alternating in and out of play, with one deck in play per round and the other shuffled and stored in the device. Each player receives three cards and so does the dealer. Under § 649a.11 each player is responsible for their own hand, and nobody other than the dealer and the player dealt the cards may touch them.

How a Round Runs

1. An ante wager is placed, plus any optional Pair Plus or Six Card Bonus wager.
2. Three cards go to each player and three to the dealer.
3. The dealer asks each player in turn whether to make a play wager equal to the ante, or to forfeit the ante and leave the round.
4. The dealer's hand is revealed.
5. Where the dealer's hand is lower than queen high, the dealer pays each player's ante wager and returns the play wager.
6. Where the dealer qualifies, the hands are compared and winning ante and play wagers are paid 1 to 1.

Folding Forfeits the Pair Plus Bet Too

Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.11(b)(1) is explicit that a player who has placed an ante wager and a Pair Plus wager but does not make a play wager forfeits both. Not every side bet goes with it: § 649a.11(b)(3) provides that a player who folds does not forfeit a Six Card Bonus, a Five Card Hand Bonus or a 5 of 6 Progressive Payout wager. Which side bet is on the layout is what settles whether folding costs it.

The Ante Bonus

A player who places both an ante and a play wager is paid a bonus on the ante for a strong hand, regardless of whether the hand beats the dealer. Seven paytables are licensed for it. Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.12(b) sets out three — a straight flush at 5 to 1, 5 to 1 or 4 to 1, three of a kind at 4 to 1, 3 to 1 or 3 to 1, and a straight at 1 to 1 under all three. § 649a.12(c) sets out three more for the version of the game described in § 649a.7(e), which add an ace, king and queen of spades at 50 to 1 on all three and the same three cards in another suit at 5 to 1, 50 to 1 or 10 to 1, and which pay a straight flush 4 to 1, 8 to 1 or 6 to 1, three of a kind 3 to 1, 6 to 1 or 3 to 1, and a straight 1 to 1. The seventh is § 649b.4(b) Paytable D, a temporary provision running to 23 August 2028, paying a straight flush 6 to 1, three of a kind 5 to 1 and a straight 1 to 1.

The Side Bets

• Pair Plus is settled on the player's own three cards against a posted paytable. Five are licensed in § 649a.12. A straight flush pays 35 to 1 or 40 to 1, three of a kind 25 to 1 or 30 to 1, a straight 5 to 1 or 6 to 1, a flush 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 and a pair 1 to 1. A mini-royal flush payout may be added, and must then be no less than 40 to 1.
• Six Card Bonus combines the player's three cards with the dealer's three to form the best five-card hand of three of a kind or better. On the paytables in § 649a.12(f) a royal flush pays 1,000 to 1 and a straight flush 200 to 1; § 649b.5(b)'s Paytable F goes further, paying a six-card royal flush, nine to ace, at 20,000 to 1. Under § 649a.11(b)(3) this is one of the side bets a fold does not forfeit.
• Progressive Payout wagers pay 100% of the meter for ace, king and queen of spades under § 649a.12(e)(1), and fixed odds below that.

The Live Version

Evolution publishes a Live Three Card Poker created in partnership with Scientific Games, with the dealer needing a Queen High to play, an Ante Bonus for a straight or better regardless of the dealer's hand, and optional Pair Plus and Six Card Bonus bets that it describes as a chance to win up to 1000 to 1 whatever the dealer achieves. Evolution also publishes that the Pair Plus and Six Card Bonus bets are evaluated separately at the end of each game, so each is a separate opportunity to win. Which paytable a given live table uses is set in the provider's filed rules: Pennsylvania's interactive gaming rule 58 Pa. Code § 816a.2 requires a live studio provider to submit a Rules Submission specifying which options it will use and to have it approved before offering the game, and § 816a.1 requires the payout odds and the number of decks to be readily available on the site before play begins and throughout play.

The One Decision

Three card poker gives the player a single choice per round: having seen three cards, match the ante with a play wager or fold and forfeit the ante. Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.11 has the dealer put that question to each player in turn. Everything else about the round is fixed — the dealer qualifies on queen high or better, and winning ante and play wagers are paid 1 to 1.

Folding Costs the Pair Plus Bet as Well

This is the rule most easily missed. Under Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.11(b)(1) a player who has placed an ante wager and a Pair Plus wager but does not make a play wager forfeits both the ante wager and the Pair Plus wager. It does not reach every side bet: § 649a.11(b)(3) leaves a Six Card Bonus, a Five Card Hand Bonus and a 5 of 6 Progressive Payout wager standing after a fold. A Pair Plus bet is often described as paying regardless of the dealer's hand, and under the regulation it does — but only if the player stays in the round.

The Paytable Is the Variable, Not the Game

Pennsylvania's table-game rule 58 Pa. Code § 649a.12(b) licenses three ante bonus paytables, § 649a.12(c) licenses three more for the version of the game described in § 649a.7(e), § 649b.4(b) adds a seventh, and § 649a.12(d) licenses five Pair Plus paytables; the operator files which it uses. Across the seven ante bonus paytables a straight flush pays 8 to 1, 6 to 1, 6 to 1, 5 to 1, 5 to 1, 4 to 1 or 4 to 1, and three of a kind pays 6 to 1, 5 to 1 and 4 to 1 on one paytable each and 3 to 1 on the remaining four. The 8 to 1 and the 6 to 1 at the head of those two lists are both § 649a.12(c) Paytable B, which also pays an ace, king and queen of spades 50 to 1 and the same three cards in another suit 50 to 1. On Pair Plus, a straight pays 6 to 1 on four of the five paytables and 5 to 1 on the other, and three of a kind pays 30 to 1 on three and 25 to 1 on two. A strategy article that quotes one set of figures as the three card poker paytable is quoting one licensed answer out of several, and on a live table the operator's filed choice is what applies. § 816a.1 requires the payout odds to be readily available on the site before play begins.

Where the Big Numbers Actually Live

Evolution publishes the Pair Plus and Six Card Bonus bets together as a chance to win up to 1000 to 1. The regulation shows which bet that figure belongs to: under § 649a.12(f) the Six Card Bonus pays a royal flush 1,000 to 1 — and § 649b.5(b)'s Paytable F pays a six-card royal flush, nine to ace, at 20,000 to 1 — while the highest fixed payout on the five Pair Plus paytables in § 649a.12(d) is a straight flush at 40 to 1. Where an operator adds a mini-royal flush payout to Pair Plus it must be at least 40 to 1. The only licensed three card poker payout attaching 100 to a suited ace-king-queen is on the separate Progressive Payout wager, and it is 100% of a meter rather than odds of 100 to 1.

House Edge and Return Figures

No regulator, government gaming agency, provider or testing lab publishes a house edge for three card poker or a return figure for a named live three card poker table. The payouts are published and are set out above; the cost of each bet is not published. Nothing a player does makes any of these wagers positive in expectation.