Professional Casino Gambling Tips - Let It Ride

Let It Ride is a fun casino game that offers a unique variation of poker that can be a nice break from the usual Holdem grind. It is unique in that unlike other casino games where you call or raise an initial ante bet, in Let It Ride you place your maximum bet and then reduce your bet as cards are dealt based on your confidence in your hand. This opposes the usual thinking patterns of other casino games and there is some strategy that can be employed to give yourself the best chance of a big payout.

Clearly your goal is to draw to a straight flush or royal flush as the payout tables are heavily weighted to these combinations.

An "outside straight" refers to a combination of four connecting cards where one card on either end of the sequence will make the straight. For example 9, T, J ,Q would make a straight with an 8 or K. An "inside straight" refers to four cards with one card missing inside the sequence in order to make the straight. So for example 2, 3, 5, 6 is drawing to an inside straight, as only the 4 will complete the sequence. So it translates that an outside straight with eight possible "outs" to make a straight is a better holding than an inside straight which only has four "outs" to a straight.

Based on the standard payout table, the following rules should be adopted during your play:

With three cards you should only "let it ride" if you have:

• A pair of tens or better


• Three of a kind


• Any three cards to a royal flush


• Three suited cards in a row except A, 2, 3 and 2, 3, 4


• Three cards to a straight flush with at least one high card

With four cards you should only "let it ride" if you have:

• A pair of tens or better


• Two pair


• Three of a kind


• Any four to a royal flush


• Any four to a straight flush


• Any four to a flush


• Any four to an outside (open-ended) straight


• Any four to an inside straight with 4 high cards

The house edge on the standard payout for Let It Ride is 3.51%. However the optional Side Bet feature offers an unexciting house edge of 13.77%, even when based on the best payout table. This is one of the worst house edge bets of any casino game for the player. This means that your optimal strategy should be to avoid playing the Side Bet at all costs.

One final tip, if playing in a live casino, is to be observant. Sometimes casino punters who have been enjoying themselves too much during the evening can be careless when opening up their hole cards. The observant player may be able to catch a glimpse of other cards, which may assist you in making borderline decisions and reduce the house edge very slightly.

Ed note: Play Let It Ride at Golden Palace Casino and play with their money with a $300 bonus when you deposit $100!

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