back, not necessarily
a win, once every six spins. So why would anyone
play Let It Ride if the prospects for victory are
so bleak? Well, why would anyone play a slot machine?
The answer is as simple as 1, 2,300!
Let me explain. The
reason people play slots is for the opportunity
to win some significant change in the blink of an
eye and with a seemingly small initial investment.
True, you tend to lose the overwhelming majority
of your spins, but the spins you do win are often
for sizeable sums. So on slots, you lose a little
at a time in the hopes of winning a lot all at once.
So, too, with Let It
Ride. You might find yourself losing hand after
hand for the first half hour, only to come roaring
back with a premium hand paying large sums. The
many “downs” merely whet a player’s
appetite for a significant “up.”
And the game easy to play, too.
In front of each player
are three betting squares labeled “1”
and “2” and “$.” The player
places a bet in each square to start.
The object of the game
is to make the best poker hand that is a pair of
tens or better with your three cards and two community
cards. You are not playing to beat the dealer as
in Caribbean Stud, blackjack or Three-Card Poker,
merely to get a good hand that pays a bonus according
to a set payoff schedule. This bonus schedule applies
to all hands. If, at the end of play, you have three
bets working, you will receive the bonus on all
three bets. If you only have one bet working, you
will only receive the bonus on that one bet.
The dealer gives each
player three cards and puts two cards face down
as “community” cards. The players now
look at their three-card hands.
The players can now decide to withdraw their number
“1” bet or let it ride. To let a bet ride,
a player must put his three cards face down under
his wager or behind his number “1” bet.
To withdraw the number “1” bet, the player
must scratch the felt to indicate to the dealer
that the bet is to be returned. Players are not
allowed to touch their chips once they are on the
layout so the players cannot take back their bets
themselves. The dealer will push the bet back if
the player so desires.
Once the players have
decided what to do with bet number “1”
and the dealer has returned all withdrawals from
play, the dealer now turns over the first of the
two community cards. Again the players can decide
whether to take off their number “2” bet
or let that bet ride.
An important point
to note is that the player who allows his number
“1” bet to ride does not have to let his
number “2” bet ride. Each bet is handled
separately and there is a distinct strategy for
each round of play [see my book Bold Card Play:
Best Strategies for Caribbean Stud, Let It Ride
and Three Card Poker]. The “$” bet cannot
be taken down.
Finally, the dealer
turns over the second community card and the players
are paid off according to the payoff schedule or
their losing bets are collected, as the case may
be. Some casinos have begun to offer a “Bonus”
jackpot for an additional side bet, as is done with
Caribbean Stud. You place this bet at the beginning
of the round and it is not returnable as are bets
number “1” and number “2.”
If you use the simplest
possible strategy, letting all bets ride when you
have a pair of tens or better or a possible straight
flush on rounds “1” and/or “2,”
you can expect to win bet “1” approximately
93 percent of the time, although the “1”
bet will only be “in action” about seven
percent of the time. On the “2” bet, you’ll
win approximately 90 percent of the time, and the
bet will be “in action” about 16 percent
of the time. Many of these wins on bets “1”
and “2” could be for significant money
as well. This will almost, but not quite, make up
for the fact that you’ll only win around 24
percent of your “$” bets -- and that’s
how the casino makes its $.
Still, Let It Ride
is fun, and with the right strategy, plenty of patience,
and a small bet to bankroll ratio, it can give the
casino player a hell of a ride!
Visit Websites Of The Scoblete Network
www.goldentouchpoker.com
www.goldentouchcraps.com
www.goldentouchblackjack.com
www.scoblete.com
www.gscobe.blogspot.com
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