Three Card Poker

Three card poker is a casino table game based on poker. It is the most profitable proprietary table game ever when measured by win generated for casinos or by revenue generated for the rights owners.

The casino variant of Three Card Poker was first "invented" by Derek Webb in 1994. He had a vision for a game that combined the excitement of poker and the speed of regular casino games. It was important to Webb that he got the mix of three important factors for any casino game correct; the game rules were easy to understand, the payouts were large enough to attract players and the house edge was enough that casino owners would be interested in adopting the game.

Webb established a marketing entity called Prime Table Games in an attempt to market the game in both the USA and Great Britain. The British Casino Association, now known as the National Casino Industry Forum (NCiF) suggested that Webb gain some experience in the US first, since the United Kingdom had regulations against such a table game and his application was not strong enough to convince regulators to make significant changes to their rules and regulations for a new game.

The first person to adopt the game was Vice President of Grand Casino Gulfport (Mississippi), Barry Morris, after Webb had unsuccessful sales pitches with casino owners in Reno, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City. Webb sealed the deal with Morris after agreeing to train the dealers in his casino at no extra cost. Webb stood by the tables for hours daily, enticed punters to play and taught them the rules while making sure the dealers were dealing the game correctly.

Prime Table Games continued marketing Three Card Poker until 1999, when Shuffle Master acquired the rights to the game outside the British Isles. United Kingdom gambling regulations were changed to allow the introduction of Three Card Poker in 2002.

The sale of Three Card Poker to Shuffle Master by Prime Table Games was prompted by litigation by a predecessor company of Progressive Gaming International Corporation (PGIC). Shuffle Master agreed to defend that litigation as part of the 1999 Three Card Poker purchase. Subsequently in 2007, in United States Federal Court in Jackson, Mississippi, Prime Table Games proved that the 1999 PGIC litigation was based on fraudulent and invalid patents. Further, Prime Table Games filed suit against Shuffle Master in 2008 in the same court alleging in part that Shuffle Master had undisclosed knowledge of the PGIC fraud prior to the 1999 Three Card Poker purchase.

Three Card Poker incorporates two modes of play. The Ante and Play wagers play in competition on the player hand against the dealer hand. The Pair Plus wager is paid on a pay scale basis that the player hand will be a pair or better. In most casinos both the Ante and the Pair Plus are optional, but there are some casinos in which the Ante is mandatory. After all Ante and Pair Plus wagers are placed, three cards are dealt to each player and the dealer. Players that have placed the Ante wager have a choice to either fold or continue in the game by placing a Play wager equal to the Ante. Hands are then exposed and wagers resolved. The dealer hand must be Queen high or better for the dealer hand to play.

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