KEY ELEMENTS
Like all variations of stud poker, Three Card Stud Triple Draw™ is a stud game played against an up card and on the draw. Oddly, that combination of features makes Three Card Stud Triple Draw™ unique among casino poker games, as the incumbent stud poker adaptations often have one feature but not the other; Caribbean Stud™, for example, is played against a dealer up card but not on the draw, while Mississippi Stud™ is played on the draw but against a paytable rather than against an opposing dealer hand. Still other casino poker games declare themselves to be stud games while being played neither against an up card nor on the draw.
But more to the point, Three Card Stud Triple Draw™ is a purpose built, metric monster designed to achieve a never-before-seen combination of playability and max-bet frequency, while delivering both scalable betting and scalable payoffs -- all off a single forced bet, and while giving the player an extra card over the dealer, More importantly, the game is easy enough to pick up, as the player starts with what amounts to a two-card hold'em hand against an up card, with three cards to come == the "triple draw" == while featuring a largely intuitive strategy intended to appeal to a more sophisticated crowd of gamblers.
That group includes millennials who have come of age during and after the poker boom of the 2000s.
That said, there are really seven key elements to Three Card Stud Triple Draw™:
Combinatorics
The dealer has four cards to make a three-card hand, while the player has five cards to make a three-card hand. But because the player has to use both of his hole cards and only one of the three community cards, the player only has three three-card combinations, while the dealer has four three-card combinations. Thus the house advantage despite everything that follows.
Big Draws
Given the combinatorics advantage, both playability (betting frequency) and max-bet frequency are further maximized by the fact that the last bet comes with three cards to come, materially enhancing the value of drawing hands. Any suited hand has 11 outs to make a flush, and with three cards to come is a favorite to hit, completing the flush 56.0% of the time. Meanwhile, suited connectors such as J♠10♠ have 17 outs to a straight or flush, and with three cards to come hit 80.5% of the time.
But more to the point, Three Card Stud Triple Draw™ is a purpose built, metric monster designed to achieve a never-before-seen combination of playability and max-bet frequency, while delivering both scalable betting and scalable payoffs -- all off a single forced bet, and while giving the player an extra card over the dealer, More importantly, the game is easy enough to pick up, as the player starts with what amounts to a two-card hold'em hand against an up card, with three cards to come == the "triple draw" == while featuring a largely intuitive strategy intended to appeal to a more sophisticated crowd of gamblers.
That group includes millennials who have come of age during and after the poker boom of the 2000s.
That said, there are really seven key elements to Three Card Stud Triple Draw™:
- Combinatorics
- Big draws
- Variable dealer up card
- Scalable betting and scalable payoffs
- Betting Frequency and max-betting frequency
- Win frequency and payoff frequency
- Largely intuitive strategy
Combinatorics
The dealer has four cards to make a three-card hand, while the player has five cards to make a three-card hand. But because the player has to use both of his hole cards and only one of the three community cards, the player only has three three-card combinations, while the dealer has four three-card combinations. Thus the house advantage despite everything that follows.
Big Draws
Given the combinatorics advantage, both playability (betting frequency) and max-bet frequency are further maximized by the fact that the last bet comes with three cards to come, materially enhancing the value of drawing hands. Any suited hand has 11 outs to make a flush, and with three cards to come is a favorite to hit, completing the flush 56.0% of the time. Meanwhile, suited connectors such as J♠10♠ have 17 outs to a straight or flush, and with three cards to come hit 80.5% of the time.
Draw Completion Percentage
Hand Type
|
Example
|
Draw
|
Outs
|
Completion %
|
Suited Connectors
Suited One-Gappers Suited Hands Connectors One-Gappers Pairs |
J♠10♠
10♠8♠ 9♠2♠ 8♠7♦ 7♦5♥ A♠A♣ |
Flush Draw + Open-Ended Straight Draw
Flush Draw + Gutshot Flush Draw Open-Ended Straight Draw Gutshot Trips |
17
14 11 8 4 2 |
80.5%
68.4% 56.0% 42.7% 23.0% 12.0% |
Variable Dealer Up Card
The variable dealer up card provides natural fluctuations in game action by having a material effect on strategy. When the dealer has a higher up card, the player will fold more often and min-bet (1x) more frequently; but when the dealer has a smaller up card, the player will max-bet (3x) more often, creating larger pots.
Scalable Betting and Scalable Payoffs
Only one prominent game currently on the market -- Mississippi Stud™ -- offers a combination of both scalable betting (the player has a choice of a range of bet sizes) and scalable payoffs (all winning play wagers are paid according to a paytable).
The variable dealer up card provides natural fluctuations in game action by having a material effect on strategy. When the dealer has a higher up card, the player will fold more often and min-bet (1x) more frequently; but when the dealer has a smaller up card, the player will max-bet (3x) more often, creating larger pots.
Scalable Betting and Scalable Payoffs
Only one prominent game currently on the market -- Mississippi Stud™ -- offers a combination of both scalable betting (the player has a choice of a range of bet sizes) and scalable payoffs (all winning play wagers are paid according to a paytable).
Betting Scalability and Payoff Scalability
Game
|
Forced Bets
|
Scalable Betting?
|
Scalable Payoffs?
|
|
Three Card Stud Triple Draw™
Mississippi Stud™ Four Card Poker™ Ultimate Texas Hold'em™ Crazy 4 Poker™ High Card Flush™ Caribbean Stud™ Three Card Poker™ |
1
1 1 2 2 1 1 1 |
Yes
Yes Yes Yes Semi Semi No No |
Yes
Yes No No No No Yes No |
Betting Frequency and Max-Bet Frequency
In Three Card Stud Triple Draw™, the player can correctly play 94.6% of hands, while max-betting (3x) on 42.1% of hands. No game can match this combination of playability and max-bet frequency, much less off a single forced bet, and while delivering scalable payoffs -- and while giving the player an extra card to boot.
Win Frequency and Payoff Frequency
When played optimally, the player will win 46.7% of hands, while pushing another 0.1% of hands for a payoff frequency of 46.8%. This is in the same range as Ultimate Texas Hold'em™ and Crazy 4 Poker™, games which both require two forced bets to achieve this.
In Three Card Stud Triple Draw™, the player can correctly play 94.6% of hands, while max-betting (3x) on 42.1% of hands. No game can match this combination of playability and max-bet frequency, much less off a single forced bet, and while delivering scalable payoffs -- and while giving the player an extra card to boot.
Win Frequency and Payoff Frequency
When played optimally, the player will win 46.7% of hands, while pushing another 0.1% of hands for a payoff frequency of 46.8%. This is in the same range as Ultimate Texas Hold'em™ and Crazy 4 Poker™, games which both require two forced bets to achieve this.
Betting Frequency and Max-Bet Frequency, Win Frequency and Payoff Frequency
Game
Three Card Stud Triple Draw™
Ultimate Texas Hold'em™ Four Card Poker™ Crazy 4 Poker™ Mississippi Stud™ High Card Flush™ Three Card Poker™ Caribbean Stud™ |
Betting Frequency
94.6%
80.8% 52.8% 76.5% 68.9% 67.9% 67.4% 52.2% |
Max-Bet Frequency
42.1%
37.7% 30.7% 18.6% 5.9%/21.2%* 3.1% -- -- |
Win Frequency
46.7%
46.6% 29.7% 47.3% 28.6% 44.8% 44.9% 38.6% |
Payoff Frequency
46.8%
49.8% 29.7% 47.3% 38.8% 44.8% 45.0% 38.6% |
Source: Derived from Wizard of Odds
*5.9% figure reflects max-bet (3x) on 3rd street only; player makes at least one 3x max-bet on 21.2% of hands in Mississippi Stud™
*5.9% figure reflects max-bet (3x) on 3rd street only; player makes at least one 3x max-bet on 21.2% of hands in Mississippi Stud™
Largely Intuitive Strategy
Again, it's basically a hold'em hand against an up card, with three cards to come. Moreover, it's a game that poker players can reason through conceptually, with the focus being on types of hands (e.g. suited connectors, one-gappers, overcards) rather than pivoting on fixed hands (like Q-6-4 as in Three Card Poker™). Visit the Strategy page for an in depth discussion of the strategy.
Again, it's basically a hold'em hand against an up card, with three cards to come. Moreover, it's a game that poker players can reason through conceptually, with the focus being on types of hands (e.g. suited connectors, one-gappers, overcards) rather than pivoting on fixed hands (like Q-6-4 as in Three Card Poker™). Visit the Strategy page for an in depth discussion of the strategy.