According to many of the gaming industry’s leading experts and analysts playing a wide range of today’s online casino games involves far more than might otherwise be obvious to the casual observer, and this is particularly true when it comes to the economic aspects of the games. One example of this has been illustrated by that popular hybrid of poker, Three Card Poker. In the event that any casino makes the decision to introduce this popular table game to its range it must first go through the copyright holder of the game, the Las Vegas-based company Shuffle Master Inc., where it can choose to either rent a table or buy one outright. Either way, the undertaking can be an expensive one for a casino.
Shuffle Master keeps a close check on the numbers and they are acutely aware of just how popular this game is in casinos. As a result, the costs of renting a table for the game are very much reflected in the popularity as dictated by the market forces of supply and demand, and buying a table outright is a major expense and should be seen by companies as a long-term investment.
Three Card Poker appears to be somewhat unique as opposed to many of the other poker hybrids like Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker, which takes much of its popularity on the back of the craze for poker, as it has very much carved out its own popularity and dedicated following. The game itself is played with a 52-card deck and each player position has three wagering spots, which are Ante, Play and an optional Pairs Plus choice. In the beginning every player must make an ante or Pairs Plus bet, and every player – and the dealer – will be dealt three cards which they receive face down. The object for all players in the game is to defeat the dealer or have a successful Pairs Plus combination.
The game also has a qualifying rule by which in the event that the dealer doesn’t have queen high or better players will win their ante bets whilst play bets are a push. The Pairs Plus bonus, however, will not be affected by the qualifying rule, and players will be paid even in the event that the dealer’s hand should beat their own.
For casinos that decide to lease the game Shuffle Master currently makes twelve different bonus pay tables available to those casinos that choose to rent the game, and it is the ability to tell the good ones from the bad that will make a player’s decision of just where to play the game either good or bad in the end. Experts also agree that Three Card Poker has a favorable house advantage for most players as compared to some other table games – depending on which pay table is in force. As a result of this, the game can be a volatile one for casinos.
