Three Card Poker History

3 Card Poker was invented by British professional poker player Derek J. Webb in mid-1990. It was derived from old card games called Brag and Flush which had been popular in England and India for quite some time. Originally called Brit-Brag or Casino Brag, the name was eventually changed to the much more descriptive Three Card Poker. Shuffle Master bought the game from Derek Webb in 1999. (Yes, the same company that sells the card shufflers to casinos.) With the sales and marketing capabilities Shuffle Master brings to the "table" they were able to turn 3 Card Poker into the wildly popular game that it is today. With over 1,200 tables currently installed it is easy to see why 3 Card Poker is one of the hottest table games in the casino. As a matter of fact, it has become so popular there is now a Three Card Poker Championship! Follow the tips in my web site and you could be the next World Champion walking away with $500,000.

Press Releases

Press release by Derek Webb

A few hundred years ago, in the time of Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII, the British played a betting game called Primero. Each player had three cards and could win with the highest numerical total, the highest card, the highest pair or the highest three of a kind.

With time the numerical value aspect disappeared and the name changed to Post-and-Pair, describing the winning bet features. As the betting rounds became more significant, Wild Cards were introduced called Braggers and the name of the game changed yet again to Brag.

Although there is a reference to [American] Generals playing Brag before a Civil War battle, the name Brag had generally disappeared [from America] with the British after the Revolution. In common with other poker derivative games, the straight, flush, and straight flush were added to three card rankings and the game split into a variety of forms and names throughout the States.

All these games, such as Guts, Survival, Texas Western, Three Toed Pete, and Three Card Ante have the common feature of fast, exciting action with only three cards.

Press release by Prime Table Games

Three Card Poker was invented by Derek Webb, a successful poker player based in Britain. When Derek visited Vegas with his British friends, they played the poker derivative games available, but found them to be slow and boring. Derek was aware that the British Casino Association wanted to introduce new games and felt that having invented versions of poker for dealers' choice games; he could invent a new poker game for the British casinos.

It was immediately obvious that the best game to base the new game on would be Brag, which is still played in Britain. Derek set to designing a game that had the attractive aspects of the original historical game with the multiple win opportunities and providing a choice of play modes, part of the appeal of craps and roulette.

The game was initially shown to the casino industry as Casino Brag, and whilst this name was acceptable in the first European location, American operators wanted something different.

Three Card Poker was the best choice as it describes exactly and simply what the game is. This was confirmed in a player survey conducted by Prime Table Games, Webb's marketing vehicle.

It is ironic that the game invented for Britain is still waiting to be introduced there... However, in the British offshore island Isle of Man Casino, the game is now more popular than blackjack. The first U.S. state to approve Three Card Poker was Mississippi, where it now is played in most casinos. Here the game is so popular that the statewide action on Three Card Poker exceeds that on established poker derivatives such as Pai Gow, Let it Ride, and Caribbean Stud. Again, in the limited stakes market of Colorado and South Dakota, Three Card Poker is more popular than Let it Ride...

Webb says: "Players can quickly see how fair and easy to play Three Card Poker is, while also being very exciting and sociable. I've got real lucky to hit on a game that is going to be a natural winner in the fight for space on the casino floor."