How To Play Three Cards Whist

Three Card Whist is a casino table game, played with one standard pack of playing cards without jokers. The Player competes against the Dealer and not against other Players. From one to six Players can play each round. Each Player and the Dealer are dealt three cards per round. An additional card is dealt face up and its suit becomes the trump suit. Any card that is the same suit as the trump suit is called a “trump card” or simply a “trump.”

The cards are ordered by rank, with Deuce low and Ace high, so that a card of higher rank and of the same suit as another card beats that card. A trump card always beats a card that is not of the same suit as the trump suit. The Dealer reveals his three cards sequentially. If the Player plays a card that beats the current Dealer card, the Player wins a “trick.” The Player tries to win as many tricks as possible against the three Dealer cards. There are two additional bets available to the player each round, a Bonus Bet wager and an RnB wager. The Bonus Bet wager is independent of the main game of Three Card Whist. The resolution of the Bonus Bet wager depends solely on the Player’s three cards and the initial trump card. The RnB wager cannot be played without the main game or the Bonus Bet being played. The resolution of the RnB wager depends on the Player’s three cards, the Dealers three cards and the Trump card.

Rules for Three Card Whist

1. Each round the Player begins by placing an Ante wager in a designated spot on the layout. (The Player optionally places a Bonus Bet wager and/or RnB wager in addition to his Ante wager).
2. Each Player is dealt three cards, face down.
3. The Dealer is dealt three cards, face down.
4. Once all the cards have been dealt to each Player and the Dealer, an additional card is dealt face up. The suit of this card becomes the “trump suit.”
5. Each Player then decides if he wants to “Play” or “Fold” his hand.
6. If the Player Folds, then his cards are discarded and the player forfeits his Ante wager.
7. If the Player Folds, and does have a winning Bonus Bet and/or RnB Bet then the player should slide his cards under that relevant wager.
8. If the Player wants to “Play” then the Player must place a “Play” wager exactly equal to the amount of the Ante wager in a designated spot on the layout.
9. If one or more Players want to Play, then those Players compete against the Dealer to try and win as many tricks as possible.
10. The Dealer turns over his three cards in succession, one at a time.
11. As each Dealer card is exposed, the Player must play one of his three cards.
12. The Player must follow these rules for playing his hand:
• If the Player can play a card that is the same suit as the card the Dealer played, then the Player must follow suit
(this includes trumps). If the Player has two or more cards of the same suit as the Dealer suit, then the Player can choose which one to play. If the Player follows suit and the rank of his card is higher than the rank of the Dealer’s card, then the Player wins the trick. If the Player follows suit and the rank of his card is lower than the rank of the Dealer’s card, then the Player loses the trick.
• If the Dealer does not play a trump card and the Player has no cards that are the same suit as the Dealer’s suit, but
the Player has one or more trump cards, then the Player must play one of his trump cards. That is, the Player must
always trump, if possible. Trump cards beat all cards of other suits, regardless of rank, so in this case, the Player
wins the trick.
• If the Player cannot follow suit and the Player has no trump cards, then the Player can discard any card from his hand. The Player is free to choose which card to discard and there are no limitations on this discard. In this case the
Player loses the trick.
13. At the conclusion of the hand, the Player is paid according to the following pay table, based on the number of tricks the Player has won:
• If the Player wins 0 or 1 tricks, the Player forfeits his Ante and Play wagers.
• If the Player wins 2 tricks, the Player is paid 1-to-1 on his Ante wager and 2-to-1 on his Play wager.
• If the Player wins 3 tricks, the Player is paid 1-to-1 on his Ante wager and 3-to-1 on his Play wager.
14. If one dealer or two player’s cards are exposed during the deal, the hand is void.
15. If a hand requires reconstruction as the player didn’t follow suit, the player will be allowed to reconstruct their hand but they must be instructed of rules and monitored.

Rules for Three Card Whist Bonus Bet Game

1. The Bonus Bet game can be played without playing the Main Three Card Whist game.
2. The Player optionally places a Bonus Bet wager at the start of each round of Three Card Whist as per step 1 in the Rules for Three Card Whist.
3. If the player is playing the Main game then they follow the steps 2-14 above.
4. If the player pays the ante on the main game and does not want to play the main game but does have a Bonus Bet hand then they can place their cards under the bonus bet.
5. Once the main game is finished the dealer then reviews the players hand to see if they are eligible for a bonus bet payout according to the pay table in figure 1.
6. In the case a Player is eligible for more than one payout according to this pay table, the Player is paid only for the highest payout he has won.

Three Card Whist – Bonus Bet

Rules for Three Card Whist RnB Bet Game

1. The RnB Bet game cannot be played without playing the Main Three Card Whist game or the Bonus Bet.
2. The Player optionally places an RnB Bet wager at the start of each round of Three Card Whist as per step 1 in the Rules for Three Card Whist.
3. If the player is playing the Main game then they follow the steps 2-14 above.
4. If the player pays the ante on the main game and does not want to play the main game but does have an RnB Bet hand then they can place their cards under the RnB bet.
5. Once the main game is finished the dealer then reviews the players hand to see if they are eligible for an RnB bet payout according to the pay table in figure 2.
6. In the case a Player is eligible for more than one payout according to this pay table, the Player is paid only for the
highest payout he has won.

Three Card Whist – RnB Bet

House Edge
Game: 1.87%
Bonus bet: 4.87%
RnB Bet: 2.64%