Let It Ride Poker

The Let It Ride rules are fairly easy and the optimal strategy gives you a short list of plays to remember. Free games are available at most of the online casinos for practice. You might also print this page and clip out the strategy to take to a real casino game. Look for the full payouts that are shown below. These payouts along with optimal play will put the theoretical house advantage at about 2.82%. . . .Not too bad.

Let It Ride is a poker hand game played on a blackjack type table, with a standard 52 card deck. Players try to get a pair of tens or better with up to three bets "riding". The bet placement table layout, from the players view, is shown at the right.

As in Video Poker, players do not compete against other players or the dealer, but are rewarded for good poker hands received. . All the players combine their three dealt cards with two community dealer cards to make their final poker hands.

Let It Ride Poker Rules and How to Play Procedure

Players make three equal bets in the three circles marked "1", "2" and "$" right to left (as illustrated above). The dealer deals three cards to each player and then two community cards, face down, to himself.

After the player looks at his three cards, he may cancel his bet in Circle 1 by signaling the dealer to push it back to him, or he can "let it ride" and stay in play. Once the player chooses to let a bet ride it must stay on the table until the end of the hand. Likewise when a bet is withdrawn, it stays out of play.

The dealer then turns one of his two cards face up. The player can now take his Circle 2 bet back or he can let it ride. His Circle 1 decision does not restrict his Circle 2 option in any way. After the player makes his Circle 2 choice the betting is over because the $ Circle bet always stays in play.

The dealer then completes all the players' hands by turning his second card face up.

At this final stage, if the combined five card hand does not give the player a pair of tens or better, the dealer collects the $ Circle bets and any others that the players let ride. If any of the players have a pair of tens or better, the dealer pays the $ Circle bet and any others left in play, in accordance with the payout table.

EXAMPLE GAME: Player has three $15 bets in the circles and is dealt 2 fives and a jack. He pulls his Circle 1 bet back. The first card the dealer turns up is a five. Now the player has three fives (a sure winner) so he lets his Circle 2 bet ride. The dealer's other card turns out to be a nine. Player didn't improve his hand but still has a winning "Three of a Kind". At the 3-1 payout for this hand, the dealer pays him $45 for his $ Circle bet and $45 for his Circle 2 bet. Player wins $90.

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Some regular and online casinos offer a side bet that you can play with each hand of Let It Ride, if you like. The cost is usually $1 and you can receive from $6 to $20,000 for good hands from two pair to a royal flush.

One Online Casino offers the side bet at the payoffs shown in this graphic. Although these rates are as good as you will find, the house edge is still a little over 13%, which makes this a very bad bet that should be ignored. (Once in a while, I play it anyway). . . . BB

Let It Ride Poker Strategy, Tips and House Edge

The "$" bet stays in play on every hand and leaves no strategy decision for the player.

The chart on the right lists the correct play for bets "1" and "2" with a 3 and 4 card hand respectively. Everything should be self-explanatory with the exception of the 3 cards to an Inside Straight Flush. To put it simply, any sequence of 3 cards missing a card in the middle and one on either end is considered an Inside Straight Flush. For example, 3-5-6 can be completed with a 4-2 or 4-7. However A-3-4 would not be considered playable since it can only be completed with cards 2-5.

Sticking to the optimal strategy will yield a house advantage of 2.82%. Keep in mind the percentage is based on an average of millions of hands and wins or losses can be exaggerated in the short term.

Players should be aware that some casinos impose an artificial table limit on payoffs and should bet accordingly. For example, a wager of $50 for the "$", "1" and "2" bets equals a total bet of $150. Multiplying this number by 1000 for a Royal Flush yields a payoff of $150,000. If the casino imposes an artificial payoff maximum of $50,000 players need to compensate by lowering their bets.

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"Bullet Bob's" Picks for Casinos offering Let It Ride Poker

Casino	Software	Let It Ride Poker Games	Bonus	Download Casino Software	Visit Website / Flash Casino
	Playtech	Omni is the only casino here that offers Full Payout Let It Ride on both the Ante and Bonus bets.	133% Wecome Bonus up to €/£/$133 FREE	Download	Website / Flash Casino
	Cryptologic	Play multi-player Let It Ride (Play with friends) at InterCasino and get Full payout on the Ante. Bonus bet is NOT full payout.	100% Welcome Bonus up to €/£/$250 FREE with bonus code GET250	Download	Website / Flash Casino
	Net Entertainment	Play Let It Ride Professional at NordicBet Casino and get Full Payout on the Ante. Don't bother playing the Bonus bet.	100% Welcome Bonus up to €100 FREE with Bonus Code NB100	Download	Website / Flash Casino