Let It Ride - Poker in reverse

11.02.2008

Let It Ride has been on the online gaming circuit for about 15 years. Though its popularity is nowhere near that of poker or blackjack it does draw a lot of interest from the online fraternity. One reason is that it is played as poker in reverse in a way. In poker players increase the bets as more cards are revealed. In Let It Ride players bet the maximum upfront and then withdraw bets if they are unhappy with the cards that are exposed.

Each player makes three equal but separate bets by placing his chips in the three allocated positions on the table. These are referred to as Bet 1, Bet 2 and Bet 3. The players are then dealt three cards face down and two community cards are also dealt face down on the table. The players then get to see their own cards. Though players do not compete against each other in Let It Ride they are not allowed to see the cards of other players. That would reveal which cards cannot be in the community cards and hence give the players an unfair advantage. After seeing his or her own cards the players have the option of withdrawing Bet1 or letting it ride. Then one of the community cards is turned face up. The players again reassess their hands and have the option of withdrawing Bet 2. Finally the second community card is turned face up. The final hand is composed of the player’s three own cards and the two community cards. If the final hand is tens or better then the player is paid out as per the payout table.

There are four betting options. The player may let both Bet 1 and Bet 2 ride, in which case he will have staked all three bets against the final outcome. The player may have let Bet 1 ride and have withdrawn Bet 2, in which case he will have staked two bets against the final outcome. The player may have let Bet 2 ride and have withdrawn Bet 1, in which case also he will have staked two bets against the final outcome. Or the player may have withdrawn both Bet 1 and Bet 2, in which case he will have staked only one bet against the final outcome. Let us see how it works. The player places three bets of $5 each to start with. After seeing his three cards he feels he has a potentially good hand and lets Bet 1 ride. But when the first community card is turned face up he realizes that his chances are not that good and withdraws Bet 2. After the final community card is exposed he has a pair of jacks. This pays at 1 to 1. The player has Bet 1 and Bet 3 on the table, which amounts to $10. Hence the player gets his $10 back.

On of the most interesting aspects about Let It Ride is the optional $1 side bet. This provides a $2,000 bonus for a straight flush and a $20,000 bonus for a royal flush and also the opportunity to get free entry in million dollar tournaments.