Play Let it Ride poker online for real money at TwinSpires Casino

Here’s a fun poker game that you don’t play against other players or even the dealer. Instead, you not only have to make your best five-card poker hand (easy enough) – but you also must hold your nerve to win the best possible prize. Let me explain.

How to Play Let it Ride

This variant of poker has a novel gambling element to it that I haven’t found anywhere else in a casino. You have several betting rounds but can decrease your stake over the first two rounds if you are not that confident. But stick with your full stake, and you can rake in a bigger cash win. Or lose more, of course.

You begin each hand of a Let it Ride poker game, which is available now at TwinSpires Casino, by placing three equal bets in the three betting boxes in front of you. Let’s say it’s $2 each. At this stage, you have $6 invested in the hand.

Now, the dealer gives each player at the table three cards, then places two cards face down in the middle of the table. You are not meant to show your cards to other players in a live casino game.

The idea of the game is to end up with a five-card poker hand that is ranked as a pair of tens or better, using the combination of your three cards, plus the two "community" cards in the center.

The problem is, for the first round, you only get to see your own three cards. If they look like rubbish, you can elect to pull back one of your three bets leaving, in our example, just $4 on the table. If, however, your hand looks decent – perhaps you have at least a pair of tens already – you can elect to "Let it Ride," which means you basically stand, leaving your three bets on the table and play no further part.

Next, the dealer turns over one of the community cards. Players who withdrew one of their three bets now get to make another decision. If their hand still makes nothing, they can elect to withdraw one of their two remaining bets, leaving just $2 on the table. Or, if they now have a hand that can win, they choose to Let it Ride and stand.

Lastly, the dealer turns over the second of the two community cards. He now turns over each player’s three cards to see their five-card hands.

Every player will have at least one bet still invested. But some will have all three, others two. The players will lose those bets if they have failed to make at least a pair of tens. But if they make a hand, they win according to the paytable. Check each table you play, as payouts might vary from one casino to another. Here is a typical Let it Ride online paytable:

• Pair of tens or better 1:1
• Two pair 2:1
• Three of a kind 3:1
• Straight 5:1
• Flush 8:1
• Full House 11:1
• Four of a Kind 50:1
• Straight Flush 200:1
• Royal Flush 1000:1

As you can see, Let it Ride is a simple and entertaining game. You just need to understand poker hand rankings so that you realize how likely it is or not that you will make a certain hand.

Throw in your gambling instinct – such as letting it ride in the first round in the hope of completing a hand – and you have quite a game. Will you be brave and let it ride, or remove one of your bets and see what develops?

Play Let it Ride Poker at TwinSpires Casino

Let it Ride is great fun at either a bricks-and-mortar casino or at an online platform like TwinSpires Casino. To play online, register for your account and make a deposit. Be sure to claim your generous welcome bonus, then head to the platform and search for the Let it Ride casino game. Good luck!