If you are a fan of poker, or indeed card games in general, then bet365 Games offers an 
excellent choice of options for players to enjoy. In the past we have taken a look at the games of Baccarat and Blackjack in a bit more detail to explore more about what these games offer to players and how you can play them at the casino.
In this new article, we are going to focus on a game which many people feel is one of the most under-rated and under-appreciated card games available on the market today. That game is 3 Card Brag and although it is a name that may be familiar to many, there are still a large number of people that are unaware of exactly what the game is, how you play and perhaps most importantly, how you can land a win.
The good news for those people, is that 3 Card Brag is essentially a very simple game to understand once you have grasped the basics and in this article, we are going to give you a quick run through of how you can enjoy the version of the game available at bet365 Games.
If you want to sign up to play 3 Card Brag at bet365 Games, click here for more details!
The good news for players not based in a part of the world where bet365 Games is available, such as Pennsylvania in the United States, is that there are alternative sites that offer you a wide range of card games to play and you may well find 3 Card Brag amongst them. If you like the idea of signing up to play then be sure to check out the latest playsugarhouse bonus code details in the link for more information on the offers available to you when you sign up.
Let’s now talk a walk through the process of playing the 3 Card Brag game available at bet365 Games and explain how it works, the decisions you need to make and exactly why this game is so simple, quick to play and easy to enjoy.
Bet365 Games 3 Card Brag
When you load up the game the first thing you need to note is the table limits. These are 
shown on the left corner of the table and they are a minimum bet of £1 to play the game and a maximum bet of £100.
Now is a great time to explain what bets are available to you. The first bet you can make is the Ante bet and this can be between £1 and £100 per game. You can select the chips in the bottom left corner of the screen to place your chosen Ante bet. As a beginner to 3 Card Brag, I would always advise starting with the lowest possible bet value (£1) until you are more confident and familiar with how the game plays.
The second bet you can choose to make is on the Pair Bonus. This is a bet on the player receiving a hand that has either a pair or greater value of cards within that hand. This is an optional bet, players do not need to make it, but if they do, then they can qualify for a Pair Bonus depending on the value of their hand. If the players hand does not contain a pair or greater value hand, then the Pair Bonus bet will be lost, regardless of whether the player wins the hand or not.
Players can elect to not make an Ante bet and instead play a Pair Bonus bet of £1 or more on their hand if they so wish. Whatever bet or bets they choose to make is up to them, provided that £1 or more is wagered on the hand, then the deal can commence.
Once a player has made their bet or bets, then the hand will be dealt, and the next phase of the game will begin.
The Deal
Once bets are placed and the deal button is clicked then the cards are dealt. The player will 
receive three cards face up, while the dealer will receive three cards face down. Based on the value of their cards, the player must then decide whether they want to play (by making a play bet to the same value as your Ante bet), or to fold (which means you lose the hand and any bets you have placed on it, but do not have to make the Play bet).
The decision on whether you play should be based on the strength of your hand and also, to an extent, on the bets you have made. To gauge this, you need to understand the strength of the hands available in 3 Card Brag. They are as follows, ranked from lowest to highest value.
- High Card – this is the most common hand you will have from your three cards. It comprises of three cards of different values and of at least two different suits. The highest value card in your hand is your high card and will be used should the dealer also have a High Card valued hand.
- Pair – Any pair is the next highest hand and of course, pairs are ranked in the standard order from the 2s through to the ace. If the dealer also has a pair then the highest pair is declared the winner.
- Flush – A flush is simply three cards of the same suit. If the dealer also hits a flush then the highest card within the flush will be used to determine the winner.
- Run – A run is three consecutive cards in value, but not in the same suit. Unlike other games where Queen, King, Ace would be the highest run, in 3 Card Brag, Ace – 2 – 3 is the highest value run in this game. If both players land runs, then the highest value run wins.
- Running Flush – A running flush is simply a run of cards in order and also in the same suit, such as the Ace – 2- 3 of hearts.
- Prial – A prial is the rarest hand and it is three cards of the same value dealt to the player or dealer. The highest value prial is not three aces, but instead three threes.
The key things to consider when deciding whether or not to play your hand at this point (bearing in mind, you cannot see the dealers hand) are:
- The strength of your hand based on the ranking system above.
- The total size of your bet.
- Whether you have played a Pair Bonus bet or not.
This last point is important as if you have played both an Ante bet and a Pair Bonus bet, if you fold, then you will lose both bets, even if you have a winning Pair Bonus hand within your three cards. Not that anybody would ever fold a winning hand, but it can happen by mistake at times. Generally, players only tend to fold if they have a very low high card hand (nine or below), otherwise they tend to play.
When you play, you then make a bet to the value of your Ante bet into the Play bet box. This is completed automatically by the game when you click on the play. At this point, the dealer’s cards are then turned face up.
The Dealer’s Cards and Completing the Hand
Once the dealer’s cards are revealed then the first thing that happens is that the dealer’s hand reveals whether the dealer will play or not. To play, the dealer must have a hand ranked as a Queen High or better in their cards.
If the dealer does not play due to having a hand of a Jack High or lower, then the hand is declared over, the player receives their Play portion of their bet back in full, and they also receive an even money payout on their Ante bet. So, for example, if you bet £1 on an Ante Bet and £1 on a Play bet and the dealer doesn’t play, you would receive the £1 Play bet back, your £1 Ante Bet back and a payout of an additional £1 for the Ante bet, so a £1 profit on the hand (£3 total return).
If the player’s hand does qualify, then the hands are compared and if the dealer wins the hand, then the player loses both their Ante Bet and the Play Bet. If the Player Wins the hand, then they receive an even money pay out on both the Ante Bet and Play Bet. If the hand is a tie, then the player receives their stake money back.
However, it is at this point that any bonus bets won can be calculated.
Pair and Ante Bonuses
The first bonus a player can land is an Ante bonus, which is calculated based on their Ante bet and the strength of their hand. If the player lands a Run and wins the hand, then they receive an additional bonus of 1x their Ante Bet. If they land a Running Flush that bonus increases to 4x their Ante Bet and if they land any Prial, then this bonus is 5x your Ante Bet.
So for example, if a player bet £1 on their Ante Bet, was dealt three fives, and then Played the hand (making the Play Bet) and won. They would receive both bets back, plus an additional £1 for the Play Bet, another £1 in winnings for the Ante Bet and then a £5 bonus for the Ante Bet prial. A total of £9 return from a £2 total bet.
If the player had also placed a Pair Bonus bet, then they would also land a Pair Bonus prize too for this hand. Pair Bonus bets pay out based on any hand ranked a Pair or above at the following multiples:
- Pair – Even Money
- Flush – 4/1
- Run – 6/1
- Running Flush – 30/1
- Prial – 40/1
So if, in the example above, the player had also placed a £1 bet on the Pair Bonus bet and landed the prial of fives, then they would receive £40 from this bonus bet (a total return of £49 for a £3 total bet).
One good thing to note is that even if a player loses the hand after Playing, if their Pair Bonus bet is a winner, they will be paid out on this bet. However, if they fold without playing, then this bet is always a loser.
Essentially, that is the game of 3 Card Brag in a nutshell. It is an incredibly easy, fast and fun game to play and can be very rewarding, but it is always advisable to start with the smallest possible denomination bets until you are conversant with t his enjoyable card game at bet365 Games.
