| Red Dog
Poker
Red
Dog is a card game similar to Acey-Deucey and
In-Between. It was also known as Between The Sheets. The
history of the game is not well known but was
undoubtedly played in the Wild West. At one time a
variety of it was known as Montana Red Dog. After
Blackjack, it was also the most common game played by
servicemen during both World Wars.
The
game is played on a blackjack-sized table with two
betting spots, bet and raise, using a 52-card deck.
Only three cards are played per hand.
Card suit is not relevant in Red
Dog.
The
popularity of Red Dog is largely due to its simplicity.
As the pros say, if you can remember the number seven
and know how to subtract, then you can play
Red Dog
as well as anyone
in the world.
Objective�
As
a player, you place an opening bet and the dealer will
deal two cards. The object of the game is to bet on the
likelihood that the rank of a third card is going to
fall between the first two. If it does fall between, you
win. If it doesn't, you lose.
So
far, it's too simple. This is where the raise and bet
comes in and it's based on the spread. Spread is the
number of card values that lie between the two initial
cards.
Card
Values
The
card values for the game are as follows:
Two
through ten are worth their face value
Jacks
are worth������� 11
Queens
are worth���� 12
Kings
are worth��������
13
Aces
are worth��������
14
A
couple of examples are worthwhile. Let's say the dealer
deals a 7 and a 10. What's the spread? Since 5 and 6
fall between the 4 and 7, the spread is 2. Ok, let's say
the next hand plays a 4 and a 5. The spread? Since the
cards are consecutive, no cards fall between 4 and 5,
it's called a tie; you keep your money and the hand is
over.
The
interesting part of Red Dog is betting on the spread.
This is an optional second bet where you go for a bonus
payout. The house sets the odds based on a simple
principle: the narrower the spread, the higher the
potential payout.
Betting
As
indicated, you open with a bet and the dealer deals two
cards. The cards are placed face up on the table and the
dealer will place marker to indicate (a) the spread and
(b) the odds the house offers on an additional bet (the
raise).
������
If
you bet no further, you will win your original bet at
even money if you win the hand.
������
If
you do decide to raise, you're betting at house odds as
printed on the Red Dog table. If you win, you get your
original bet at even money and the raise bet at the odds
indicated
������
If
the first two cards are consecutive cards, known as a
tie, the bet is pushed. ie you keep your bet.
������
If
the two cards are a pair, betting stops but you'll get
paid at 11:1 if the third card makes it three of a kind.
Otherwise you lose your bet.
������
Finally, if the third card matches either of the first
two, you lose your bet.
�
Payoff
In
a winning hand, opening bets are always paid out at even
money.
Raise
bets are paid out based on the spread as follows:
�
|
Spread |
Payout |
|
1 |
5 to 1 |
|
2 |
4 to 1 |
|
3 |
2 to 1 |
|
4 to 11 |
Evens |
|
Pair |
11 to 1 with third matching card |
This
is probably the shortest game strategy that ever needs
to be written:
Only
Raise on Spread of 7 or better.
It�s
simple; the player only gets an edge when the spread is
7 or more. This is actually quite obvious. At Spread 7,
7 cards will give you a winning hand. And since there
are 13 cards from Deuce to Ace (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, J, Q, K, A), that means that only 6 cards will cause
you to lose.�
Spread
7 gives the player about a 54% chance of winning and it
gets better from there on up to around
85% at Spread 11. So
the strategy is to only Double on the Spreads that give
you an edge, namely 7 through 11. Spreads below 7 give
the house an increasingly stiff edge and should be
avoided.
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