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Triple Shot Rummy

Introduction





I first saw Triple Shot Rummy at the 2015 Global Gaming Expo. As far as I know, its casino debut was at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas on February 11, 2016. Aside from a change in side bets, it is the same as Vegas Three Card Rummy, which has been played at some Internet casinos for years. The rules are similar to Three Card Poker, except hands are scored much differently.

Rules




Rack card


  1. The game is played with a single 52-card deck.
  2. All cards are ranked according to their poker value, except aces are always low.
  3. The object is to have fewer points than the dealer.
  4. Play starts with the player making an Ante bet plus an optional Pair Plus bet.
  5. The player and dealer each receive three cards. The dealer cards are dealt face down. Both hands are scored according to the table below. In the event a hand may be scored more than one way the lower total will be used.
  • Singleton aces count as 1 point, 2 to 10 count according to pip value, and faces cards are 10 points.
  • Pairs, three of a kind, and runs of at least 2 suited cards count as zero points. For purposes of runs, aces count as low only (although they can be high for purposes of the Pair Plus bet).


  • After the player reviews his hand, he has the choice of raising or folding. If the player raises, then he must make an additional Play bet equal to his Ante bet.
  • The dealer will turn over his cards.
  • The dealer must have 20 points or less to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify, then any remaining Ante bets will pay even money and raise bets will push.
  • If the dealer does qualify, then the player and dealer totals will be compared, the lower total wins.
  • If the player has the lower total, then the Ante will pay even money and the raise according to following table. If the dealer has the lower total, then the Ante and Play will lose. A tie will result in a push.

    • Play Pay Table

    Player Points Pays
    0 4 to 1
    1 to 5 2 to 1
    6 or more 1 to 1


  • The Pair Plus bet will pay according to the pay table below.

    • Pair Plus Pay Table

    Event Pays
    Straight Flush 40 to 1
    Three of a Kind 30 to 1
    Straight 6 to 1
    Flush 3 to 1
    Pair 1 to 1
    All other Loss




    Ante Bet Analysis



    The following table shows the possible outcomes of the ante bet assuming optimal player strategy. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 3.23%.

    Ante Bet Return Table

    Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
    Player beats dealer with 0 points 5 1188508 0.002919 0.014595
    Player beats dealer with 1-5 points 3 24911320 0.061182 0.183545
    Player beats dealer with 6 or more points 2 59776920 0.146811 0.293621
    Dealer doesn't qualify 1 91156848 0.223879 0.223879
    Tie 0 11459864 0.028145 0
    Player folds -1 132800192 0.326154 -0.326154
    Dealer beats player -2 85876748 0.210911 -0.421822
    Total 407170400 1 -0.032337


    The player will raise 67.38% of the time, for an average bet of 1.6738 units. The element of risk is thus 3.2337%/1.6738 = 1.93%.

    Pair Plus Analysis



    The following table shows the possible outcomes of the bonus bet. The lower right cell shows a house edge of 7.28%.

    Pair Plus Return Table

    Event Pays Combinations Probability Return
    Straight flush 40 48 0.002172 0.086878
    Three of a kind 30 52 0.002353 0.070588
    Straight 6 720 0.032579 0.195475
    Flush 3 1,096 0.049593 0.148778
    Pair 1 3,744 0.169412 0.169412
    Nothing -1 16,440 0.743891 -0.743891
    Total 22,100 1.000000 -0.072760

    Strategy



    On the Ante bet, the player should have the same folding point as the dealer, raising with 20 or fewer points, and folding with 21 or more.

    In my opinion, for purposes of comparing one bet to another, the element or risk should be used, which is 1.96% for the ante bet and 7.28% for the Pair Plus bet. So between the two, the Ante is the much better bet.

    External Links



    Discussion of Triple Shot Rummy in my forum at Wizard of Vegas.

    Written by: Michael Shackleford