LET IT RIDE POKER

To recap, you have two independent decisions to make in Let it Ride. After inspecting your initial three cards you must decide to let your # 1 bet ride or to take it down. After seeing the fourth community card you must make the same decision for the #2 bet. You can let the #.1 bet ride and take down the #2 bet, or vice versa. Or you can let both bets ride or take them down. You are not permitted on your second decision to change your #1 bet. If it was pulled down it stays down, and if you let it ride it must continue to ride. You have no decision to make on the dollar sign bet. This bet always rides, allowing the casino at least one opportunity to win your money!

After all players have made their decisions on the #2 bet, the dealer will then expose the second community card and then inspect each player's five-card hands (consisting of the initial three cards and the two community cards). If the five-card poker hand doesn't contain at least a pair of tens or higher, you lose the bet in the dollar sign spot plus any bets that you let ride in the #1 or #2 spots. In the event that you hold a pair of tens or higher, you win the amount listed in the payoff schedule depending on the rank of the poker hand. The $ spot plus any bet that you let ride will receive the listed payoff. For example, if you bet $5 on each spot and let the #1 and #2 bets ride, and you end up with a five-card straight, each of your $5 bets would be paid $40 (eight to one payoff). That's a total win of $120 for the initial $15 bet. If you get real lucky and are dealt a royal flush with all bets riding, you win $15,000 for your initial $15 investment!

A basic strategy for Let it Ride has been developed by Lenny Frome (Expert Strategy for Let It Ride) and Stanley Ko (Mastering the games of Let It Ride). These website also contain a detailed mathematical analysis of the games, and are highly recommended.

To get you started, here is a simple basic playing strategy:

Let the first bet ride if your three card hand contains: Three of a kind
A pair of tens, jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces
Any three cards to a royal or straight flush

Let the second bet ride if your four card hand contains: A payoff (tens or better)
A four-card flush
An outside four-card straight
A four-card straight and royal flush

The casino's edge in Let it Ride with the player using this basic strategy is about 2.8 percent per dollar wagered. This makes it better than Caribbean Stud poker and most craps and roulette bets, but not as good as baccarat, blackjack with basic strategy, or the better craps bets.

Every three months or so, Shuffle Master Inc. holds a Let it Ride tournament in different gaming areas in the United States. In past tournaments the grand prize winner was awarded from $500,000 up to $3,000,000, depending upon the number of eligible participants. To be eligible for the tournament you must bet another $1 chip in the red betting circle in front of you (in addition to your normal bets) and end up with one of the highest ranked poker hands during the qualifying period. In past tournaments one hundred players with royal and sometimes straight flushes were invited to participate in the tournament. Keep in mind that there are many casinos in each specific region that are involved in the tournament qualifying period, so there are lots of folks that you have to beat to make it to the tournament. Usually you will need a royal flush to qualify.

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