1. (1) Three-card poker shall be played at a table having betting positions for no more than nine players on one side of the table and a place for the dealer on the opposite side.

2. (2) In addition to the requirements of section 5324.30(a) of this Part, the layout for a three-card poker table shall contain, at a minimum:

   1. (i) a separate designated betting area at each betting position for the placement of ante wagers;
   2. (ii) a separate designated betting area located immediately behind each ante wager betting area from the dealer’s perspective for the placement of play wagers;
   3. (iii) a separate designated betting area located immediately in front of each ante wager betting area from the dealer’s perspective for the placement of pair plus wagers;
   4. (iv) inscriptions advising players of the payout odds for ante and player wagers, pair plus wagers and ante bonuses and an inscription indicating that “dealer plays with queen high or better”; and

   5. (v) in the event that the gaming facility elects to offer the side bonus provided for at paragraph (c)(7) of this section, a separate designated betting area for the placement of six-card bonus wagers.

      (b) Three-card poker rankings.

3. (1) The rank of the cards, in order of highest to lowest rank, shall be: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2. Notwithstanding the foregoing in this paragraph, an ace may be used to complete a straight flush or a straight with a 2 and 3.

4. (2) The permissible poker hands in the game of three-card poker, in order of highest to lowest rank, are:

   1. (i) straight flush, a hand consisting of 3 cards of the same suit in consecutive ranking, with ace, king and queen being the highest straight flush and 3, 2 and ace being the lowest-ranking straight flush;
   2. (ii) three of a kind, a hand consisting of three cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, with three aces being the highest-ranking three of a kind and three 2s being the lowest-ranking three of a kind;
   3. (iii) straight, a hand consisting of 3 cards of consecutive rank, regardless of suit, with ace, king and queen being the highest-ranking straight and 3, 2 and ace being the lowest-ranking straight;
   4. (iv) flush, a hand consisting of three cards of the same suit, regardless of rank; and
   5. (v) pair, a hand consisting of two cards of the same rank, regardless of suit, with two aces being the highest-ranking pair and two 2s being the lowest-ranking pair.

5. (3) When comparing two hands that are of identical poker hand rank pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subdivision, or that contain none of the hands authorized in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, the hand that contains the highest-ranking card as provided in paragraph (1) of this subdivision that is not contained in the other hand shall be considered the higher-ranking hand. If the hands are of identical rank after the application of this subdivision, the hands shall be considered a push.

   (c) Wagers.

6. (1) Types.

   1. (i) A player may compete solely against the dealer by placing an ante wager in an amount within the posted minimum and maximum wagers and then placing a player wager in an equal amount.
   2. (ii) A player may compete solely against a posted payout ledger by placing a pair plus wager, which wager may be in any amount within the posted minimum and maximum wagers.
   3. (iii) A player may compete against both the dealer and the posted payout ledger by placing wagers in accordance with the requirements of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph.
7. (2) All wagers at three-card poker shall be made by placing chips or plaques and, if applicable, table game promotional coupons on the appropriate betting areas of the table layout. A verbal wager accompanied by cash shall not be accepted.
8. (3) Only players who are seated at a three-card poker table may wager at the game. Once a player has placed a wager and received cards, that player shall remain seated until the completion of the round of play.
9. (4) All ante wagers and pair plus wagers shall be placed prior to the dealer announcing “no more bets” in accordance with the dealing procedures in subdivision (d) of this section. No wager shall be made, increased or withdrawn after the dealer has announced “no more bets.”
10. (5) The gaming facility may permit a player to place wagers at two betting positions during a round of play provided that the two betting positions are adjacent to each other.

11. (6) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subdivision, the gaming facility may offer a version of the game of three-card poker requiring:

    1. (i) as a precondition to the placement of a pair plus wager, the placement of an ante wager in an amount at least equal to the pair plus wager;
    2. (ii) as a precondition to the placement of a pair plus wager, the placement of an ante wager in an amount at least equal to one-half the pair plus wager; or
    3. (iii) the compulsory placement of an ante wager and a pair plus wager, provided that one wager may be placed in an amount up to a maximum of five times the amount of the other wager without regard to which wager is the greater of the two.

12. (7) The gaming facility may give each player who makes a pair plus wager the option to make a side wager known as a six-card bonus wager. Prior to the first card being dealt for each round of play, a player who has made a pair-plus wager may make a six-card bonus wager by placing chips, plaques or, if applicable, table game promotional coupons on the designated betting area at such player’s betting position. The dealer shall then announce “no more bets” and deal the hand to all players. A six-card bonus wager shall have no bearing upon the outcome of any other wager made by a player at the game of three-card poker and no other wager made by a player at the game of three-card poker shall have any bearing upon the outcome of a six-card bonus wager made by a player. A six-card bonus wager shall win if the three cards dealt to the player and the three cards dealt to the dealer during that round of play may be used to form one of the following five-card poker hands, listed in order of highest to lowest rank:

    1. (i) royal flush, a hand consisting of an ace, king, queen, jack and 10, all of the same suit;
    2. (ii) straight flush, a hand consisting of five cards all of the same suit and in consecutive ranking;
    3. (iii) four of a kind, a hand consisting of four cards all of the same rank, regardless of suit;
    4. (iv) full house, a hand consisting of a three of a kind and a pair;
    5. (v) flush, a hand consisting of five cards of the same suit, regardless of rank;
    6. (vi) straight, a hand consisting of five cards of consecutive rank, regardless of suit; and

    7. (vii) three of a kind, a hand consisting of three cards of the same rank, regardless of suit.

       (d) Procedures for dealing the cards.

       In addition to the requirements set forth in section 5324.2(d)-(e) of this Part, the dealer shall deal the cards as follows:

13. (1) If using a manual dealing shoe or dealing from the hand, the dealer shall, starting with the player farthest to the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise around the table, deal one card at a time to each player who has placed a required wager and deal to the dealer until every player who placed a wager and the dealer each have three cards. All cards shall be dealt face down.
14. (2) If using an automated dealing shoe, the shoe shall dispense cards in stacks of three cards. The dealer shall, starting with the player farthest to the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise around the table, deliver one stack of cards as dispensed by the automated dealing shoe face down to each player who has placed a required wager. The dealer shall then deliver a stack of three cards face down to the area designated for the placement of the dealer’s cards.

15. (3) If the gaming facility elects to use a cover card for the purpose of concealing from the players’ view the face of the dealer’s bottom card, the dealer shall first place a cover card into the automated dealing shoe under the dealer’s three cards or place the cover card on the layout next to the automated dealing shoe and place the dealer’s cards immediately on top of the cover card as such cards are removed from the shoe.

    (e) Procedures for completion of each round of play.

16. (1) After the dealing procedures required by subdivision (d) of this section have been completed, each player may examine such player’s cards.
17. (2) Each player who has placed an ante wager, after an opportunity to examine such player’s cards, shall have the option to either make a player wager in an amount equal to the player’s ante wager or forfeit the ante wager and end such player’s participation in the round of play. The dealer shall offer this option to each player, starting with the player farthest to the left of the dealer and moving clockwise around the table in order. If a player has placed an ante wager and a pair-plus wager but does not make a player wager, the player shall forfeit both the ante wager and the pair-plus wager. After each player has either placed a wager on the table in the player wager area or forfeited such player’s wager and hand, the dealer shall collect all forfeited wagers and associated cards, placing the cards in the discard rack. The dealer shall then reveal the dealer’s cards and place the cards so as to form the highest possible ranking hand. The dealer shall then, starting with the player farthest to the dealer’s right whose hand is still active, reveal the three-card hand of each player.

18. (3) After all losing wagers have been collected, all winning wagers shall be paid. All winning hands shall remain face up on the layout until all winning wagers have been paid by the dealer. Each winning wager that remains on the table shall be paid in accordance with the payout odds listed in subdivision (f) of this section.

    1. (i) The dealer shall pay all winning wagers beginning with the player farthest to the right of the dealer and continuing counter-clockwise around the table.

    2. (ii) After paying all winning wagers, the dealer shall immediately collect the cards of all players and the dealer and place such cards in the discard rack.

       (f) Payout odds.

19. (1) The following are the four payout types:

    1. (i) A player in competition against the dealer shall be paid at no less than odds of 1:1 on both the ante wager and the player wager if the player’s hand is ranked higher than the dealer’s hand. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the dealer does not hold a hand with a queen-high-or-better rank, the ante wager automatically shall be paid at no less than odds of 1:1 and the player wager shall be returned to the player.

    2. (ii) The gaming facility shall select one of the following pay tables to pay winning pair plus wagers:

       Hand	Pay table A	Pay table B	Pay table C	Pay table D	Pay table E	Pay table F	Pay table G
       Pair	1:1	1:1	1:1	1:1	1:1	1:1	1:1
       Flush	4:1	4:1	3:1	4:1	3:1	4:1	4:1
       Straight	6:1	6:1	5:1	5:1	6:1	6:1	6:1
       Three of a kind	30:1	33:1	25:1	30:1	30:1	30:1	25:1
       Straight flush	35:1	35:1	35:1	40:1	40:1	40:1	40:1

    3. (iii) A player placing an ante wager and a player wager shall be paid a bonus at no less than the following odds if the player’s hand consists of the following:

       Hand	Payout
       Straight	1:1
       Three of a kind	4:1
       Straight flush	5:1

       In the event that a gaming facility offers a version of three-card poker that offers pair plus payout odds in accordance with subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, a player placing an ante wager and player wager may be paid an ante bonus at no less than the following odds if the player’s hand consists of the following:

       Hand	Payout
       Straight	1:1
       Three of a kind	5:1
       Straight flush	6:1

20. (2) In the event that a player has placed a six-card bonus wager pursuant to paragraph (c)(7) of this section, such player shall be paid for the highest-ranking five-card poker hand that can be formed with the cards of the player and the dealer in accordance with one of the following pay tables selected by the gaming facility:

    1. (i) For the version requiring the player to place a pair plus wager:

       Hand	Pay table A	Pay table B	Pay table C	Pay table D
       Three of a kind	5:1	5:1	8:1	7:1
       Straight	10:1	10:1	9:1	10:1
       Flush	20:1	15:1	15:1	15:1
       Full house	25:1	25:1	20:1	20:1
       Four of a kind	50:1	50:1	100:1	100:1
       Straight flush	200:1	200:1	200:1	200:1
       Royal flush	1000:1	1000:1	1000:1	1000:1

    2. (ii) For the version requiring a player to place both an ante wager and pair plus wager:

       Hand	Pay table A	Pay table B	Pay table C	Pay table D	Pay table E
       Six-card diamond royal flush					$1,000,000
       Six-card heart, spade, or club royal flush					$100,000
       Three of a kind	5:1	5:1	8:1	7:1	5:1
       Five-card straight	10:1	10:1	9:1	10:1	10:1
       Five-card flush	20:1	15:1	15:1	15:1	15:1
       Five-card full house	25:1	25:1	20:1	20:1	20:1
       Four of a kind	50:1	50:1	100:1	100:1	100:1
       Five-card straight flush	200:1	200:1	200:1	200:1	200:1
       Five-card royal flush	1000:1	1000:1	1000:1	1000:1	200:1

(a) Equipment and layout.