You begin by placing a bet on the table. You will then receive two cards face up. The dealer will receive one card face up and one face down. The down card is called the "hole card" and will remain face down until you have completed your play.

If the dealer up card is an Ace, the insurance option will be offered. You may accept or decline this offer (see Insurance for details.) The dealer will then check for Blackjack (if the dealer's up-card is a 10-value card, the dealer hand will be checked without revealing the hole card.) If the dealer has Blackjack, play ends and your wager is lost, unless your hand also contains a Blackjack (resulting in a "push" or tie)

If there is no dealer Blackjack and you have a Blackjack, the dealer will not take any hits. You automatically win US$1.50 for every US$1 of your original wager.

If no Blackjack is present, you must decide whether to keep your hand as is ("stand"), or take additional cards in an attempt to increase the value of your hand. The decision to take an additional card is called a "hit" or a "draw." There is no limit to the number of hits you can take. If you "bust", by going over 21 while taking a hit, you lose and play is over. When you are done taking hits, you must "stand" and await the results of the dealer's hand.

Now it is the dealer's turn. First, the "hole card" will be revealed. If the dealer's hand totals 17 to 20, the dealer must stand. If the value is 16 or less, the dealer must take hits until the value of the hand is 17 or higher. If the dealer "busts" while taking additional cards, the dealer hand automatically loses.

If the value of your hand is closer to 21 than that of the dealer, you win an amount equal to your original bet. If the dealer's hand is better, you lose your bet. If the hands are of equal value the deal is a push and your money is returned.

After each game has been played, the used cards are shuffled back into the deck.

The game begins with each player making an 'ante' which is an initial bet. The dealer will deal 3 cards to each player faced down. Then comes the betting round, the options are: -

• Call - If you "call" it means that you do not want to raise anymore and that you have paid enough to stay in the game.
• Raise - If you "raise" then it means that you raise the bet by so much, a table can have a betting limit, but some do not. If you raise say $10, then everyone else on the table has to raise $10 also. If someone has raised before you then you must raise that amount before you raise any further. For instance Bob raised $50 before you, you put $80 in the pot, so therefore you have raised $30, Bob must put in $30 to stay in the game. Bob still may want to raise you even further if he is confident that he has a good enough hand.
• Fold - When you "fold" then you drop out of the game whatsoever. In the case of 3 Card Poker, you will lose your PairPlus bet aswell as your Ante And Up bet.

If you raise you go against the dealers hand, bare in mind that the dealer's hand needs to contain at least 1 queen or above to continue. Below are all the possible outcomes: -• Dealer Doesn't Qualify - 1:1.
• Dealer Qualifies And Player Wins - Both games (PairPlus and Ante And Play) win 1:1.
• Dealer Qualifies And Beats Player - Lose Everything.
• Dealer Qualifies And Player And Dealer Draw - Push.

Also, Ante And Play has a feature like PairPlush that does not depend on the dealers hand, here are the odds: -

• Straight - 1:1.
• Three Of A Kind - 4:1.
• Straight Flush - 5:1.

So now that you have set your session start amount and you have decided on a betting system, you are ready to start thinking about setting goals and the action you will take when you reach those goals. Determine Your First Goal
Deciding on what your first goal should be for a session is a little like deciding how much you will bet on each spin. The higher your goal is, the higher your risk is, primarily because the higher a goal is the longer it may take to achieve. And once again, the longer you are exposed to the game, the more likely it is that the house will get your money. Therefore, if you have a $100 session start amount and your bet start amount is $5 then setting a goal to double your money is not practical. A goal of 10-30% is achievable, however. Don't worry if this doesn't sound like a lot, we are not done yet. Determine Your First Goal Action
Next you need to decide what you will do when you reach your goal. There are two basic choices. The first is the simplest. You take your money and leave the table! This is the least risky thing to do and will ensure you keep everything you won. Now some of you are probably saying, stop after winning only $30? You must be kidding. Let's go back to our investment analogy. A broker tells you he has a great deal. He only needs your investment for half and hour or so and you will gain 30%. Will you take that or will you tell him your not interested unless you will gain 50-100%. I think you will most likely take the thirty. The second choice you have after reaching a goal is to pocket some of the money and continue to play. After all, if you feel you are on a winning streak, you don't want to stop. By pocketing, we mean take the money out of play for the session. Set it aside and don't touch it again. On your first goal, you should always pocket at least the entire start amount. This protects your initial investment and allows you to use it again at another session. You should also pocket some portion of your winnings as well. Recurring Goals
If you decide you want to continue to play, there are three more decisions you will need to make:

• What will your next goal be
  
• How much will you pocket when you reach the goal
• How will you adjust your betting system

• Set new goals by a fixed amount
  When you reach a goal, add a fixed amount to the total bank amount to set the new goal. For instance, you could set a new goal that is $20 greater every time you reach a goal.
  
• Set new goals by an increasing amount
  When you reach a goal, add an increasingly larger amount. So, on a first goal, you might add $20. When that goal is reached you might add $40 and then $60 and so on.