Four Card Poker is a house-banked table game in which the player receives five cards, the dealer receives six, and each side uses its best four-card poker hand. A player who starts with an Ante must choose between folding and making a Play wager of one, two, or three times the Ante. An optional Aces Up wager is settled from the player’s hand alone.
There is no bluffing and no competition against the other seated players. The meaningful decisions are whether to continue, how much to raise under the permitted rules, and whether the separate side-bet paytable is worth its price.
The round at a glance
| Stage | Player action | Dealer action |
|---|---|---|
| Before the deal | Place Ante, Aces Up, or both, subject to house rules | Close betting and deal |
| Initial cards | Receive five cards | Receive six cards, commonly with one exposed |
| Decision | Fold the Ante or place Play at 1×, 2×, or 3× Ante | Wait until decisions are complete |
| Hand selection | Best four of five cards count | Best four of six cards count |
| Settlement | Ante/Play compare with dealer; Aces Up uses paytable | Read hands, collect losses, pay wins and bonuses |
The dealer normally always qualifies. That is a major difference from games in which an Ante pushes or receives special treatment when the dealer fails a qualification standard.
The dealer’s extra card gives the house a stronger raw hand distribution. The player’s counterweight is choice: weak hands can be folded, while stronger hands can support a larger Play wager.
Four-card hand rankings are not five-card rankings
Four Card Poker uses this order from highest to lowest:
- four of a kind;
- straight flush;
- three of a kind;
- flush;
- straight;
- two pair;
- one pair;
- high card.
Because only four cards count, several familiar five-card assumptions change. Three of a kind ranks above a flush and a straight. A full house cannot exist as a four-card final hand. The best hand is selected from the cards dealt; unused cards are ignored after they help determine the best four.
An ace can commonly be low in A-2-3-4 for a straight or straight flush. Suits do not break otherwise equal hands under standard rules.
Three wagers that must be kept separate
Ante
The Ante opens the comparison against the dealer. If the player folds, the Ante is lost. If the player continues, the Ante and Play are resolved against the dealer’s best four-card hand.
Play
Play is the continuation wager. Standard rules allow an amount from one to three times the Ante. That flexibility is the central strategy element: the game is not accurately described as “always raise the maximum” or “always make the same bet.”
A $10 Ante can therefore lead to a $10, $20, or $30 Play wager. The final main-game exposure becomes $20, $30, or $40 before any optional side bet is counted.
Aces Up
Aces Up is a paytable wager on the strength of the player’s best four-card hand. It can win even when the dealer beats the player, and it can lose even when the main game wins. Common qualifying schedules begin with a pair of aces, but the payouts above that threshold vary by approved table.
The correct question is not only “What does four of a kind pay?” The full schedule matters because frequently occurring lower awards contribute heavily to the side bet’s return.
One round, counted correctly
Suppose a player posts:
- $10 Ante;
- $5 Aces Up.
The player receives A♠ A♦ 9♣ 7♥ 3♠. The best four-card hand is a pair of aces with 9 and 7 kickers. The player chooses a $10 Play wager.
The dealer’s best four-card hand is a pair of kings.
The settlement is separated into two tracks:
- Ante and Play: the player’s pair of aces beats the dealer’s pair of kings, so both $10 wagers win at the posted main-game payout, commonly even money.
- Aces Up: the pair of aces qualifies at the specific posted side-bet paytable.
The total money placed during the round was:
$10 Ante + $10 Play + $5 Aces Up = $25 total action
The table minimum described the smallest opening wager, not the player’s final exposure.
Ties, bonuses, and variations
Published Massachusetts rules pay both Ante and Play at 1 to 1 when the player’s hand is higher than or equal to the dealer’s hand. Other details, optional bonuses, progressives, and proprietary add-ons can vary, so the table signage and approved house rules must be checked rather than assumed.
An Ante bonus may pay for three of a kind or better regardless of whether the dealer comparison wins. Optional products can add a progressive, Cover All, bad-beat, or another side wager. These additions are separate bets with separate qualification rules and should not be merged mentally into the base game.
The official Massachusetts Four Card Poker rules define the five-card player hand, six-card dealer hand, 1×–3× Play range, hand order, and multiple Aces Up schedules. Nevada also publishes an official Four Card Poker rules-and-procedures document. A casino may offer only the options approved for that property and jurisdiction.
What strategy actually controls
A strategy decision changes how often the player:
- folds and loses the Ante;
- continues for 1×;
- increases the Play wager to 2× or 3×;
- exposes more money when holding a stronger distribution of hands.
It does not change the cards already dealt. A good strategy balances the value of continuing against the dealer’s six-card advantage and the amount placed on Play.
This overview does not reproduce a full decision chart. Use Four Card Poker rules for the precise sequence and Four Card Poker odds for strategy thresholds, return, and paytable analysis.
Why one published house-edge number can mislead
The main game and Aces Up have different mathematical structures. The main-game percentage also depends on whether the player follows an appropriate raise strategy. The Aces Up percentage depends on the exact payout schedule.
For a mixed round, dollar expected loss should be calculated by component:
Expected loss = (main-game action × main-game edge) + (Aces Up action × Aces Up edge)
Suppose a simplified comparison assumes:
- $30 of average main-game action at a 3% edge;
- $5 Aces Up at an 8% edge.
Then:
- Main-game expected loss: $30 × 0.03 = $0.90
- Aces Up expected loss: $5 × 0.08 = $0.40
- Combined expected loss: $1.30 per comparable round
Those percentages are illustrative, not a claim about every table. Replace them with the analyzed strategy and posted paytable for the version actually offered.
Five things to read on the felt before betting
Four Card Poker tables can share the same name while offering different optional products. Before placing chips, confirm:
- whether Ante can be played without Aces Up;
- whether Aces Up can be played by itself;
- the permitted 1×, 2×, and 3× Play amounts;
- the full Aces Up schedule, especially the awards for pair of aces, two pair, straight, flush, and three of a kind;
- whether a progressive or another bonus requires a separate wager.
Do not infer a payout from a table at another casino. A change in a frequently hit lower award can matter more to return than a dramatic top prize that is rarely reached. Likewise, a progressive meter does not improve the base Ante/Play comparison; it belongs to the separate progressive wager and its own contribution and eligibility rules.
Four Card Poker should also not be confused with Crazy 4 Poker. Both use four-card rankings, but their required opening wagers, dealer qualification rules, and continuation structures are different. A strategy from one game cannot be transferred merely because the names sound similar.
From the dealing side
Four Card Poker looks simple once the cards are out, but the dealer must protect several points:
- give each player five cards and the dealer six;
- expose only the card required by the approved procedure;
- enforce the permitted Play range;
- identify the best four cards without applying five-card rankings;
- settle folded Ante wagers without incorrectly killing an independent Aces Up wager;
- compare main hands before or alongside separate bonus settlements under house procedure;
- preserve hand order when a dispute may require reconstruction.
A hand-reading error can affect the Ante, Play, Aces Up, Ante bonus, and any linked progressive in the same round. That is why clean layout order and deliberate settlement matter more than theatrical speed.
Before playing, read the complete felt. Four Card Poker is not one wager with one price; it is a main decision game surrounded by optional products. Compare the total amount you expect to place per round, not only the posted table minimum.