A Detailed Guide of Four Card Poker 

Four Card Poker is an exciting Poker variant that was developed by Roger Snow of Shuffle Master, a leading manufacturer of automatic slot machines. While Four Card Poker draws its inspiration from traditional Poker games, it comes with several notable tweaks that make the overall gameplay pretty exciting.

In this guide, we take a look at the basics of Four Card Poker to help you get started. Also, we dive deep into the working and payouts of Four Card Poker so that you can make more informed decisions.

Basics of Four Card Poker

Whether you play Four Card Poker at a live casino online or in a land-based gambling venue, you need to know the betting options available in the game. So, here’s a look at the bet types in Four Card Poker:

Ante bet

– This is a mandatory bet that players need to place to be able to receive cards and compete against the dealer.

Aces up bet

– This is an optional wager in Four Card Poker. As with the Ante wager, this bet needs to be placed before any cards are given to the players. Placing the Aces up bet means you wager that your four-card hand will have a pair of Aces or better.

Play bet

– The Play bet is an additional bet that players can place in Four Card Poker. Amounting anywhere between one to three times your ante wager, the Play bet must be placed if you wish to stay in the competition.

How to play Four Card Poker

Now that you know the basics of Four Card Poker, let’s take a look at how the game is played at UK online casinos and other online gambling platforms.

As with Blackjack online, the Four Card Poker game is played against the dealer. While the live variant of the game has multiple players playing at the table, their hand rankings don’t affect your winning chances. In Four Card Poker, the thing that matters is how well you perform against the croupier.

The game starts with you placing the mandatory Ante bet. At this point, you can also choose to place the Ante up wager. But that is optional.

After this, each player receives five cards face down – to form their best four-card hand. The dealer also gets five face-down cards, along with an additional face-up card.

Then you view your cards and go with either of the two options:

• Fold – Here, you surrender your wager and the dealer collects your Ante amount.
• Play (Raise) – This betting option can be used if you think that your four-card hand will beat the dealer’s four-card hand. With the Play bet, you need to wager an amount that’s 1 to 3 times your ante.

Once all players are done choosing their betting option, the dealer reveals and compares his four-card hand with the players’ four-card hands.

If your four-card hand manages to beat the dealer’s four-card hand at the new mobile casino, you get paid 1:1 (even money) on your Ante and Play bets. And this applies to having a tie as well. In Contrast, you lose both your Ante and Play wagers if your four-card hand is lower than that of the dealer’s.

Hand rankings in Four Card Poker

The hand rankings of Four Card Poker are somewhat different from other traditional variants of the game like Caribbean Stud Poker that have been popular throughout Poker history. That being said, here are the Four Card Poker hand rankings, from highest to lowest:

Four of a Kind

– These are four cards of the same rank, irrespective of the suit.

Straight Flush

– This hand consists of four cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking.

Three of a Kind

– As the name implies, these are three cards of the same rank. The same suit requirement doesn’t apply here.

Flush

– These are four cards of the same suit, irrespective of rank.

Straight

– This hand is made up of four cards in sequence.

Two Pair

– This Poker hand consists of two cards of the same rank and two other cards of the same rank.

Pair

– These are two cards of the same rank, irrespective of the suit.

Payouts in Four Card Poker

Below we list the payouts for the various bet types in Four Card Poker.

Three of a Kind bonus

This bonus is automatically paid if you’ve placed both the Ante and Play bets, and your hand is among the top three hands. The payout for the best three hands is as follows:

• Four of a Kind – Pays 25 to 1
• Straight Flush – Pays 20 to 1
• Three of a Kind – Pays 2 to 1

Note that this Four Card Poker bonus is paid even if you lose your wager to the dealer.

Aces Up bet

As mentioned earlier, this Four Card Poker bet is paid if your hand has a pair of Aces or better and can beat the dealer’s hand. The payout for this wager is given below:

• Four of a Kind – 50 to 1
• Straight Flush – 40 to 1
• Three-of-a-kind – 8 to 1
• Flush – 5 to 1
• Straight Flush – 4 to 1
• Two Pair – 3 to 1
• Pair of Aces – 1 to 1

Four Card Poker basic strategy

Just like when you play Roulette online, there’s nothing that can ensure guaranteed wins during a Four Card Poker gameplay. However, you can use the following Four Card Poker basic strategy to improve your overall chances of winning.

• If your four-card hand has a pair of 2 or fewer, you need to fold. While you lose your ante wager with that, it’s always better than losing a significant amount.
• If your hand consists of a pair between three and nine, bet at least 1 time your ante bet.
• If you receive a pair of ten’s or better, increase your bet size to 3 times your initial wager.

Again, note that this strategy isn’t full-proof and you may experience occasional losses during the gameplay. As such, make sure you manage your Poker bankroll properly to avoid ending up losing large amounts in Four Card Poker.