A player must be aware of how to place bets in three card poker. The playing area both live and online will have three areas where you place bets. The three areas are as follows:

1) Ante

Here one places a bet at the start of the game and it is mandatory. You place this bet before you see your cards.

2) Play (sometimes called Raise)

Here one places an amount equal to the ante if you want to see the dealer's cards. You will be able to see your cards before placing this bet. If you are not happy with your hand, you can fold at this stage and do not place any money on the Play area.

3) Pair+

Here you place an optional bet in the hope of you getting a pair or better three card poker hand. You can place any amount here and you must place this bet before you see the cards you are dealt. If you do get a pair or better hand you get paid out an extra bonus amount.

The payout of the winnings is determined if the dealers hand "qualifies". The term "qualifies" means if the dealer's hand has a queen high or better hand.

If the dealer qualifies and you beat him, the dealer covers your bet and raise. For example, if you placed $10 on the ante and then raise the dealer, you will get paid back $40. The $40 is split as follows $20 that you placed and $20 dollars from the dealer to cover your bets.

If you placed money on the Pair+, and you get a pair or higher hand, you will get paid out an extra bonus over and above your ante and raise bet.

If you placed money on the Pair+, and you get a pair or higher hand, you will still get paid out the bonus even if the dealer beats you. In this scenario you would still lose your ante and raise bet though.

If the dealer does not qualify with his three card poker hand, the following scenarios could occur:

? When you beat the dealer, you get your ante covered and your raise gets pushed (pushed means you just get your money back). For example, if you placed $10 on the ante and then raise the dealer, you will get paid back $30. The $30 is split as follows $20 that you placed and $10 dollars from the dealer to cover your ante.

? When you beat the dealer with a pair or higher and have placed a bet on the Pair+, you get your ante covered, your Pair+ bonus and your raise gets pushed. For example, if you placed $10 on the ante, $10 on the Pair+ and then raise the dealer, you will get paid back $30 plus a bonus. The $30 is split as follows - $20 that you placed and $10 dollars from the dealer to cover your ante.

Stanley Majors is an experienced online poker journalist who writes articles on a range of poker topics. You can read more on Three Card Poker Betting. Plus find other articles at Texas Holdem Net, which provide useful and factual poker information and insight.