Apr 14 2026
Top Carding Three Card Poker
A few months back I was delivering a game protection seminar at a casino that was locked down tight. They had no obvious issues, so I was struggling to find something meaningful to present to them. As I examined their Three Card Poker (3CP), I observed it was dealt from an iDeal shuffler. The cards were made by one of the top companies (Angel), hence no edge sorting.
Card Counting the Shortie Blackjack Side Bet
Shortie (SBJ) is a blackjack side bet that is an extreme version of the “Under 13” bet (see this post). Quite simply, SBJ wins if the player’s first two cards total 9 or less (where Aces always count as 1).
Top Carding Caribbean Stud
Caribbean Stud (CS) is not a common game in U.S. casinos, but worldwide it continues to have a strong presence. CS has a well-known vulnerability to player collusion, where a full table of seven players can get a practical edge of about 1.4% over the house.
Three Card Poker Hole-Card Play: Update #1
Hole-carding 3CP was one of the first advanced plays I was involved with. Back in 2002, when I saw a dealer flash her hole-card in 3CP at my local casino, I was excited and quickly computed optimal strategy and the edge. I thought this was a one-off, that I would not see 3CP hole-cards anywhere else.
