ReadyBetGo's Guide to Let it Ride
The Roller Coaster Game of Let It RideBasics of Let It RideLet it Ride Probabilities and Strategy
ReadyBetGo's Guide to Other Table Games
Playing Large - Baccarat Playing Strategy for Beginners to the AdvancedThe Roller Coaster Game of Let It RidePai Gow Poker Basic StrategyBasics of Baccarat
Henry Tamburin on Casino Gambling
by Henry Tamburin
One of the most prolific and respected authors on the subject of gambling presents more than 75 of his previously-published articles from many other publications, now under one cover. In 8 chapters, he covers a wide spectrum of games, including the basics of craps. blackjack, slots, video poker, roulette and poker.
Online Let Them Ride Poker?
Let Them Ride Poker is an online version of the popular table game Let it Ride. The game is played with the same rules and strategy that would you find at brick and mortar casinos. Check out Let Them Ride at Casino Tropez!
Let it Ride Probabilities and Strategy
The probability of getting any of the winning poker hands in Let it Ride without any draw cards is summarized in Table 2. Note that the probability of getting a royal flush hand with no draw cards
Henry Tamburin is the editor and publisher of the Blackjack Insider Newsletter and author of the best-selling Blackjack: Take the Money & Run. He is also the lead Instructor for the Golden Touch Blackjack course, a feature writer for Casino Player magazine (and 6 other publications); an owner of a casino gambling publishing company (www.rsucasinobooks.com) and the host of www.smartgaming.com. For a free three month subscription to the Henry's Blackjack Insider Newsletter with full membership privileges go to www.bjinsider.com/free. Henry's website is www.smartgaming.com is about once per 650,000 hands (about 13,000 hours of play). This is the reason a royal flush hand is rare in Let It Ride. About 24% of the hands will result in some payoff and 76% or 10 out of every 13 hands will result in no payoff. You can expect wild swings in your bankroll because Let It Ride offers high payoff/low probability bets.
Ideally you should lose only a single bet in the $ betting circle on the 76% of the hands that you end up losing. On the other hand, if you play skillfully you will have more than one bet riding on the 26% of the hands that end up with a pair of tens or better.
Henry Tamburin is the editor and publisher of the Blackjack Insider Newsletter and author of the best-selling Blackjack: Take the Money & Run. He is also the lead Instructor for the Golden Touch Blackjack course, a feature writer for Casino Player magazine (and 6 other publications); an owner of a casino gambling publishing company (www.rsucasinobooks.com) and the host of www.smartgaming.com. For a free three month subscription to the Henry's Blackjack Insider Newsletter with full membership privileges go to www.bjinsider.com/free. Henry's website is www.smartgaming.com is about once per 650,000 hands (about 13,000 hours of play). This is the reason a royal flush hand is rare in Let It Ride. About 24% of the hands will result in some payoff and 76% or 10 out of every 13 hands will result in no payoff. You can expect wild swings in your bankroll because Let It Ride offers high payoff/low probability bets.Ideally you should lose only a single bet in the $ betting circle on the 76% of the hands that you end up losing. On the other hand, if you play skillfully you will have more than one bet riding on the 26% of the hands that end up with a pair of tens or better.
TABLE 2 -- Let it Ride Probabilities
| Hand | Probability |
| Royal Flush | 1 per 649,740 hands |
| Straight Flush | 1 per 72,193 hands |
| 4-of-a-kind | 1 per 4,165 hands |
| Full House | 1 per 694 hands |
| Flush | 1 per 508 hands |
| Straight | 1 per 255 hands |
| 3-of-a-kind | 1 per 47 hands |
| Two pair | 1 per 21 hands |
| Pair of 10’s or better | 1 per 6 hands |
| No pays | 10 out of every 13 hands |
Basic Playing Strategy
The following basic playing strategy will reduce the casino's edge and improve your chances of winning.
You would let your first bet ride if your first three cards contain any of the hands listed below; otherwise you should remove your bet. Generally to let your bet ride you want a paying hand, or three cards to a royal or straight flush with the exceptions noted below.
First Three Cards-Let It Ride
• Any paying hand (high pair, three-of-a-kind)
• Any three cards to a royal flush (e.g. 10, J, K or clubs)
• Three consecutive cards to a straight flush (e.g. 4,5,6 of spades) with the lowest card a 3 or higher (i.e. do not let the first bet ride with A, 2, 3 or 2, 3, 4 suited)
• Three almost consecutive cards to a straight flush where there is a 4 card spread with at least one high card (e.g. 7, 8, 10 of clubs)
• Three almost consecutive cards to straight flush where there is a 5 card spread with at least two high cards (e.g. 7,10, J of hearts).
First Three Cards-Let It Ride
• Any paying hand (high pair, three-of-a-kind)
• Any three cards to a royal flush (e.g. 10, J, K or clubs)
• Three consecutive cards to a straight flush (e.g. 4,5,6 of spades) with the lowest card a 3 or higher (i.e. do not let the first bet ride with A, 2, 3 or 2, 3, 4 suited)
• Three almost consecutive cards to a straight flush where there is a 4 card spread with at least one high card (e.g. 7, 8, 10 of clubs)
• Three almost consecutive cards to straight flush where there is a 5 card spread with at least two high cards (e.g. 7,10, J of hearts).
The 4 card playing strategy is straightforward. You generally need to have either a winning hand or close to a winning hand to let your second bet ride.
First Four Cards-Let It Ride
• Four cards to a royal flush
• Four cards to a straight flush
• Four cards to a flush
• Four-of-a-kind
• Three-of-a-kind
• Two pair
• A pair of 10’s, J’s, Q’s, K’s, or A’s
• Four consecutive cards to a straight with at least one high card.
• Four cards to a royal flush
• Four cards to a straight flush
• Four cards to a flush
• Four-of-a-kind
• Three-of-a-kind
• Two pair
• A pair of 10’s, J’s, Q’s, K’s, or A’s
• Four consecutive cards to a straight with at least one high card.
When you follow the above playing strategy here is how often you will win a hand. About 7% of the time you will have three bets riding with a win rate of 99%. You will have two bets riding about 8.5% of the time with a win rate of approximately 85%. These positive expectations will be offset by the fact that you will have one bet riding about 85% of the time with a dismal 11.5% win rate.
Expected Return
You can expect a return of 97.2% when you play Let It Ride. This means that per unit wagered the casino’s edge is about 2.8%. For every $100 wagered, a player’s expected loss is about $2.80.
You can expect a return of 97.2% when you play Let It Ride. This means that per unit wagered the casino’s edge is about 2.8%. For every $100 wagered, a player’s expected loss is about $2.80.
Cost of Playing
The average number of hands dealt per hour is about 50. For each hand you will bet on average 1.22 units betting units. If you are betting at a $5 level, the average amount you will wager per hand will be $6.10. Multiply by 50 hands per hour and the amount you wager per hour is $305. The casinos edge per unit bet is 2.8% therefore your cost per hour to play Let It Ride is about $8.50.
The average number of hands dealt per hour is about 50. For each hand you will bet on average 1.22 units betting units. If you are betting at a $5 level, the average amount you will wager per hand will be $6.10. Multiply by 50 hands per hour and the amount you wager per hour is $305. The casinos edge per unit bet is 2.8% therefore your cost per hour to play Let It Ride is about $8.50.
Let It Ride Video
In order to capitalize on the popularity of Let it Ride, a video version was introduced to the casinos. The payoff schedule is not as good as the regular table game and therefore the overall return to the player is slightly lower (about 96.4%).
In order to capitalize on the popularity of Let it Ride, a video version was introduced to the casinos. The payoff schedule is not as good as the regular table game and therefore the overall return to the player is slightly lower (about 96.4%).