Let It Ride poker – How to play
Let It Ride is a variation of a standard five-card poker game. While it is an easy game to learn, its deceptive simplicity has cost players millions of dollars since its inception in 1993, in large due to the failure of most players to familiarise themselves with the game’s basic playing strategy. But before we get into strategic considerations, we’ll review the basic components of Let it Ride, including general play, payout schedules and hand ranking.
Let it Ride basics
For most people, the draw of Let It Ride seems to be based on their familiarity with poker and the relative ease by which it is played. If you are familiar with this game, you will agree that with no real opponent and no way for your actions to affect the outcome for other participants, it is one of the least-threatening casino table games.
The table used is similar to that of blackjack, nothing more than an oval with betting areas to accommodate up to seven players. Directly in front of each player is an area with three separate circles which are individually marked in their centres with a 1, 2 and $ symbol.
The game utilises a standard 52-card deck, which is shuffled automatically before the dealing of the cards. Players are initially dealt three cards, which combine with the dealer’s two community cards. These “community” cards are used by every player at the table to make a standard five-card poker hand.
Play begins after each participant places at least the table minimum wager in each of the three betting circles. Most casinos have the minimum set for this game at $5, so the total bet on any single hand will be $15. Even though $15 is bet to begin the game, only a third of the total amount is truly at risk. Players are given the option as the game proceeds to remove up to two of those three bets.
In addition to the standard three betting circles, many casinos offer a $1 bonus game, similar to that of Caribbean Stud Poker. It is an optional bet placed before the start of the game, and yields additional payouts for specified hands. We will go into more detail later, as well as take a look at a sample of a typical pay schedule.
The goal of this game is to draw a hand that is of sufficient strength to qualify for one of the payouts. The payout schedule is written on the felt in front of each player, and has a range from 1-1 for a high pair, to 1000-1 for the royal flush. Typically the lowest hand that will qualify as a winner is a pair of tens, which pays the lowest amount, 1-1.
Common Let It Ride payout schedule
Below is an example of the typical payout schedule for Let It Ride poker, but note that there may be variations depending on where you play.
| Hand | Pay scale |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 1000-1 |
| Straight Flush | 200-1 |
| Four of a kind | 50-1 |
| Full House | 11-1 |
| Flush | 8-1 |
| Straight | 5-1 |
| Three of a kind | 3-1 |
| Two pair | 2-1 |
| Pair of 10’s or better | 1-1 |
While the above payout schedule will be the most common one found, especially in the larger casinos, you might find some tables where the royal flush payout is only 500-1. Granted they are not common, but you should keep an eye out for them, as they do give even more of an edge to the house.
Let It Ride rules
The object of Let It Ride is to draw a hand containing a minimum of a pair of 10s by using your initial three cards plus the two community cards. You are never actually playing against any other player at the table, nor are you playing against the dealer. Your only objective is to have one of the winning hands listed above.
Unlike other poker games, there is no exchange of cards. Your total consists solely of your three cards plus the dealer’s two. You do not draw any other cards. Also, since this is a game where up to 40 per cent of the entire hand is hidden, players are forbidden to communicate with each other as to the contents of their hands. In other words, you are not allowed to know what any other player has, since that would give you an unfair edge over the casino.
As you can tell, it is a simple game, one that is non-threatening and easy to understand. You do not have to be an experienced poker player to win, since there are no opponents, and such nuances as bluffing are unused. However, you must have at least a basic understanding of the ranking of hands and a basic knowledge of strategy. Below is some general information about the rank of each hand.
Let It Ride poker: hand ranks
Let it Ride poker follows standard poker hand rankings:
1. Royal flush: 10, J, Q, K, Ace, all of the same suit, diamond, heart, spade, or club, is termed a royal flush.
2. Straight flush: Any five cards of the same suit that follow a numerical sequence, the highest card being less than an ace, is a straight flush. (If the highest card were an ace, you would then have a royal flush). The ace can be used as the lowest card, such as A, 2, 3, 4, 5.
3. Four of a kind: When you are dealt four out of five cards that are of identical numerical value, such as Q, Q, Q, Q, 2, this is called four of a kind. The fifth card is irrelevant.
4. Full house: A hand that contains three cards of identical numerical value, and two additional cards that have identical numerical value, you have a full house. For example, if you were dealt A, A, A, 3, 3, you have a full house.
5. Flush: The term flush refers to a poker hand where all five cards are of the same suit. For example, if you had a 2, 4, 7, K, and A, all in the suit of diamonds, you would have a flush.
6. Straight: A straight consists of five, non-suited cards in numerical sequence. For example, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, of varying suits, is a straight. When the straight contains an ace, the ace can be considered either a high or low number.
7. Three of a kind: Three identical cards within a hand, in conjunction with two non-identical cards. For example, 7, 7, 7, 2, 9 is read as three sevens.
8. Two pair: Two sets of numerically equal cards, and a fifth, unmatched card is called two pair. An example of this is Q, Q, 6, 6, K. You have a queen-high two pair.
9. One pair: A pair is one set of numerically equal cards, along with three unmatched cards. For example, in the hand K, K 3, 6, 10 you have a pair of kings. Pairs are ranked in order of value, with aces being the highest, and twos being the lowest. In the game of Let It Ride, the minimum strength hand required for a payout is 10s.
10. Any other pair: Any pair that has a value that is less than 10 is considered a non-winning pair, and subsequently will not receive any payment. For example, a hand that consists of 2, 7, 9, 9, K is a pair of nines, and while it is still a pair, it is a loser.
Let it Ride poker strategy
Now that you understand the basics of Let It Ride, it’s time to begin delving into the various strategies that you can employ to increase your chances of winning. Bear in mind, however, that these strategies will only reduce the house edge to the lowest possible, 3.5%. The player can never achieve an edge over the house, and indeed it is, in the end, a negative expectation game.
To begin with, let’s look at the first part of Let It Ride’s basic strategy, Three-Card strategy.
Strategy before the community cards
The main strategic considerations associated with Let It Ride centre around the first four cards, and the first two betting circles. These circles allow the player to decide whether or not the first four cards are strong enough to let the bets “ride”. In other words, there are two decisions to be made on the first four cards, one for each of the two betting circles where the wager can be removed.
The first decision takes place after you have received your cards from the dealer, and see what your first three cards are. These cards give us a fairly good indication about the strength of our hand, and our chance for success.
Since we can see three of the cards in the hand immediately, we know three-fifths, or 60%, of the possible hand. We can therefore make some pretty good assumptions about the likely outcome for that hand. With these assumptions, we make the decisions concerning our bets.
Sometimes we are dealt what are commonly called “no-brainers”; that is, a hand where the decision is already made for us. For example, if you were dealt three kings, it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out we should “let it ride”. This is a winning hand, and has a guaranteed payout of at least three times each bet. With some luck, that hand may even improve to a full house, or four of a kind.
Other times, we’re given hands that have enough potential to win, such as three cards to a royal flush, so we let that hand ride as well. On the other side of the coin, we may be dealt complete junk and know that our chances for success are so limited, that it would be best to take back as many bets as possible! Now let’s take a look at the correct choices for the three card strategy. The following table outlines the proper strategy to follow based on the first three cards dealt.
| Three Card strategy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First three cards | Let it ride | Remove bet | rule number |
| Pair of 10’s higher | Yes | No | 1 |
| Three of a kind | Yes | No | 2 |
| 3 card straight flush | Yes | No | 3 |
| 3 card royal flush | Yes | No | 4 |
| Flush/straight with two 10 value cards | Yes | No | 5 |
| J,9,8/10,9,7/10,8,7 suited | Yes | No | 6 |
| K,Q,J/Q,J,10 | Yes | No | 7 |
| Pairs 2-9 | No | Yes | 1.1 |
| 9,10,J | No | Yes | 2.1 |
| A,K,Q | No | Yes | 3.1 |
| All others | No | Yes | 3.1 |
Three card strategy hand explanation
The following rules explain the decisions found in the above table. Both the playable and non-playable hands will be reviewed. We’ll start by discussing the playable combinations.
1. Pair of tens or higher: This is an obvious play. Since you have already secured at least a 1-1 payout, you let all three bets stay and hope for an improvement.
2. Three of a kind: Once again, this is an automatic win, with a guaranteed payout of 3-1 on all three bets. Let it ride.
3. Three cards to a straight flush: There are numerous possibilities for winning with this hand. You are sitting with a possible straight, flush, straight flush, and if you have any high cards, a possible winning pair. The strategy for this hand is to let all three bets ride.
4. Three cards to a royal flush: As above, there are many chances to win, and you may possibly hit a jackpot. Let this bet ride.
5. Three cards to a flush/possible straight with two 10 value cards: In this game, it’s simply not a strong enough hand to “let it ride” on three cards when you just have a flush or a straight possibility, because the chances for either of those two hands with two cards remaining isn’t great. The combination of all of the above increases the possibility for success greatly.
6. Three-card flush with J, 9, 8, 10, 9, 7 or 10, 8, 7: These hands are not as powerful as the other hands so far listed, but when you take into consideration the possibilities for a flush, straight, straight flush, and high pair, plus the rare two pair and three of a kind possibilities, you have a decent enough chance for a win. Let the first bet ride, and see what develops.
7. K,Q,J or Q,J,10: Both of these hands have the possibility of catching a high pair, or straight, a chance at a two pair or three of a kind with the dealer’s two cards. This is the most marginal of all of the three-card hands, but you should still let the first bet ride.
These seven hands are the strongest hands for the player to open up to, and give the greatest chance for winning. While some of them may seem a little bit risky, these are the statistical decisions that will reduce the casino’s vigorish down to the lowest amount of 3.5%. To ignore these rules is to hand over even more of an edge to the casino.
Fourth card strategy in Let it Ride
At this point in Let It Ride poker, we have to make a decision based not only on the three cards we were dealt, but also on the fourth card, the first of the dealer’s exposed cards.
Since at this stage we have already made our first decision, and now know 80 per cent of the hand, our options, and possibilities, become even more limited. Once again, we are faced with the question, should we let our money ride or not? That all depends on what you had from the start, and what has developed with the dealer’s exposed card.
Just as we do during the third card strategy, we will make our choice based on the existing possibilities of the hand. We will play only those hands where we have a positive expectation for winning, and remove the bets from the second circle for those hands where the expectation is negative. In some cases, where we have the no-brainers, that is a guaranteed win (a pair of 10s or better), the decision is already made. We keep the second bet up.
There will also be times when we have hands that, while not guaranteed, still have sufficient strength and potential to warrant letting the second bet stay. Four cards to a royal flush is a good example of this. In that instance you have numerous possibilities, royal flush, straight flush (depending on the needed card), flush, straight or even a high pair. In fact, if the straight flush is open-ended, the odds for drawing it are about 22-1. That’s a big jump from almost 650,000-1, the starting odds for drawing a royal flush. Most of the time, however, this will not be the case and the best course of action will be to remove the second bet, and add it back into our bankroll.
Now let’s look at the rules for playable hands.
Rules for playable hands
Below are listed the various hands where you will let the second bet ride. These are the only hands where it is to your benefit to keep as much money in action as you can. Afterwards, we will look at those hands which people make mistakes on most often, and discuss why playing them works against the player.
1. Four of a kind: This is an easy one for a decision. Since this hand is a guaranteed winner, paying out at 50-1, there is no question that for this hand you should let your bets ride.
1. Three of a kind: Not only is this an excellent hand to be sitting with because you are guaranteed a payout of 3-1 for each of your bets, it also has room to become an even better hand, such as four of a kind, or a full house. Let the second bet ride.
2. Two pair: This hand is also an instant winner, paying out at 2-1, and it, too, can be improved upon to a full house. Do not remove the second bet.
3. Pair of 10s or higher: This is one of the more common hands that you will see, occurring about 20 per cent of the time. It is a classic no-brainer that can even be improved on. Let the bet ride.
5. Four cards to a royal flush: While this bet may not be a guaranteed winner, there are so many possibilities that it is to your advantage to let the second bet ride. You have a hand where you have a possible royal flush, straight flush, flush, straight or high pair, most of which will pay extended amounts.
6. Four cards to a straight flush: While this hand may not have the same extended possibilities as the four to a royal flush, it still can yield some excellent results. You have a possible straight flush, flush, straight, and high pair if you have any high cards.
7. Four to a flush: Since you’ve already beaten the 23-1 odds on filling a flush with three cards, and reduced the odds to about 4½-1 for a hand that will pay 8-1, you’ve got the makings of a good statistical edge. This hand may also be assisted with any high cards that could result in a winning pair, though this is not necessary. The hand should always be played.
8. Four cards to an open-ended straight. This hand also has possibilities and should be played, though without any high cards in the hand there will be no winning pairs possible, and it will eventually balance out in the long run. The odds for drawing the fifth card to an open-ended straight are 5-1, the exact odds that this hand pays out. Neither you, nor the casino has the edge for this hand.
9. Four cards to a high straight: This is the most marginal of all of the hands that we will play. The odds for drawing to an inside straight are 11-1 against you, but that value is buffered by the sheer amount of high cards that comprise your hand, which could yield a winning pair. This bet should ride.
Avoiding non-playable hands
At times in Let It Ride, we are confronted by hands that seem to show promise, but in fact are best discarded, as they hold either too limited a potential, or offer payouts lower than the odds for making the hand. These hands are:
1. Inside or one-way straight: These hands just do not have the mathematical likelihood to be considered a good hand. A straight pays off at 5-1 in this game, and the chances of drawing to an inside straight are 11-1. The casino odds do not justify letting this bet ride, even if there is a high card involved.
How to play Let It Ride Poker online
Let It Ride Poker is available at many of the top online casinos, with these including some of the biggest brands in the world. The best poker sites will potentially have Let It Ride available in live dealer format, although it is probably more common to find it powered by RNGs. For instance Apricot Gaming and Playtech, two of the gambling industry’s giants, both have random number generated versions of Let It Ride poker.
Let It Ride poker in RNG format might also be available in free play casino mode, with this potentially the only way some people can play, given they may be under strict gambling laws. For instance Australian are unable to play real money casino games online because of restrictions placed on them by their government. Other countries like the United Kingdom have full regulated online casinos and online poker sites where you will find various versions of Let It Ride poker.