How to Play Let it Ride
Let it Ride is a fairly simple game that can be found at almost any online casino or live casino. The idea of the game is to make the best possible five card poker hand by combining the player’s three cards with two community cards. If the player makes a pair of tens or better, he wins. What makes Let it Ride unique is that the player can choose how much of the money they begin with stays on the table; if a hand looks weak, the player has the ability to remove most of their bets from the table before the hand is over.
Let it Ride Rules
Each player begins play by making three bets of equal size. Each player is then dealt three cards, while two community cards are placed face down in the middle of the table.
Each player now has the opportunity to look at their hand. At this point, the player can choose to take back one of their bets, or to “let it ride.” After each player has made their decision, the dealer reveals one of the community cards. Once again, each player gets the choice to take back a single bet or let it ride.
Finally, the dealer reveals the final card. At this point, all hands are revealed. Any player who has made a pair of tens or better wins an amount based on a pay table that should be printed somewhere on the playing surface. Each of their remaining bets is considered to have won, so leaving three bets on the table will win the player three times as much as if they had only left a single bet in play. Pay tables can vary greatly, but the following one is fairly standard for most casinos:
· 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 (Tens or higher): 1-1
Let it Ride Strategy
Given the pay table listed above, the house edge for Let it Ride is a pretty reasonable 3.5%. However, in order to take advantage of this, a player needs to know the optimal Let it Ride strategy.
Let it Ride strategy is based on knowing when to pull back a bet and when to let it ride. When holding three cards, it’s best to let it ride when you have any hand that’s already paying, like three of a kind or a high pair. You should also let it ride with three cards that could potentially make a royal flush, and any three card straight flush of 3-4-5 or higher. In addition, you should keep a three-card straight flush with a single gap if you hold at least one high card (ten or higher), or with two gaps if you have at least two high cards. With any other hand, the correct play is to take a bet back.
After seeing the first community card, you should let it ride with any hand that’s already good enough to win. Also let it ride when holding any four cards of the same suit, or any open-ended straight. With all other hands, take back a bet. By following this let it ride strategy, you’ll maximize your returns and keep the house advantage as small as possible.
