How to Play Let it Ride Poker
A popular card game at most Australian online casinos is Let It Ride, also known as Let Em Ride. This game is a variant of poker where your only objective is to make your best five-card poker hand. The game looks very similar to Texas Hold’em Poker, but plays more like Video Poker.
Today, we will teach you the basics of playing Let It Ride and give you some basic strategies for playing the game. By the time you’re done reading this, you should be ready to play the game.
Rules of Let It Ride
Let It Ride is similar to Texas Hold’em poker, but rather than playing against other players or even the dealer, you are simply trying to make your best five-card poker hand. The only thing you need to know to play this game is basic poker hand rankings. Below are the hand rankings for poker with hand rankings listed from highest to lowest.
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of Kind
- Two Pair
- Pair
- High Card
Note that in this game, only hands ranging from a pair of tens and up pay out. Anything less than a pair of tens is a losing hand. Below are the basic rules of how to play Let It Ride poker.
- You’ll start by making three bets of equal size.
- Next, the dealer will give you three cards and two cards face down to serve as community cards
- If you don’t like your hand, you can pull back your first bet. Otherwise, you can choose to Let It Ride.
- Next, the dealer will turn over the first community card. If you don’t like your hand, you can pull back your second bet. Otherwise, you can Let It Ride.
- Finally, the dealer will turn over the second community card. Your third bet plays regardless and may not be pulled back.
- The dealer evaluates all hands and pays out according to the pay table.
Below is a standard pay table for Let It Ride:
- Royal Flush – 1,000 to 1
- Straight Flush – 200 to 1
- Four of a Kind – 50 to 1
- Full House – 11 to 1
- Flush – 8 to 1
- Straight – 5 to 1
- Three of a Kind – 3 to 1
- Two Pair – 2 to 1
- Pair of Tens Through Aces – 1 to 1
Basic Strategy For Playing
The strategy for Let It Ride is pretty simple and requires that you exercise patience. You’re going to be folding a lot of bets in this game, so get used to that upfront. Below is some basic strategy for when to Let It Ride.
You should Let It Ride after the three-card deal in the following situations:
- You already have a paying hand (Tens or better or three of a kind).
- Any three cards to a Royal Flush,
- Three suited cards in sequence (such as 5-6-7).
- Three cards to a straight flush with a single high card (such as 7-8-10 suited)
- Three cards to a straight flush with two high cards (such as 8-10-J suited)
That’s it! All other hands should be folded.
After the first community card has been shown, these are the situations where you should Let It Ride:
- Paying hands (Tens or better, two pair, or three of a kind)
- Four suited cards
- Any open-ended straight draw (such as 5-6-7-8), as you have eight cards in the deck that can help you.
- Any four high cards (such as 10-J-Q-A)
That’s it! All other hands should be folded. You might be tempted to draw to a low inside straight (such as 5-7-8-9) but it is not a winning move long-term.
Some Let It Ride games will offer side bets such as 3-Card and 5-Card bonus. These are not smart wagers and just drain your bankroll. They should be avoided.
Many online casinos in Australia offer Let It Ride poker and the game is a fun change of pace from pokies. Now you have the knowledge necessary to play and win at Let It Ride poker.