Let it Ride Poker

True to its name, Let It Ride poker is a variation of the game that is known for its slower pace. Players that like to sit it out at casino tables or that prefer more time to think like Let It Ridge because it offers poker players a good alternative to the all-action aspect of some of the more popular variations.

What Is Let It Ride Poker?

Let It Ride poker is a variation of five card stud. As with five card stud, the player is betting on their three personal cards plus the two communal cards on the table. What is unique about Let It Ride is that you are playing neither your fellow table mates nor your dealer. A Let It Ride player is playing the casino and the odds. Payout is based on a table and is totally unassociated with anyone else’s hand.

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Let It Ride Rules

Each player makes a bet before the cards are even dealt. Then each player is dealt their three cards, and then the dealer places two additional cards in front of them. After viewing the cards, the players have the option of retracting their first bet or “Letting it ride” (hence the name of the game), at which point they may place a second bet.

The first community card is revealed, and the players may either retract their second bet or let it ride again placing a third bet. After players have pulled back or let it ride, the dealer will reveal the second community card, then will reveal each player’s card in turn starting at their right hand and moving counter-clockwise. Players that have lost will lose all bets that rode and players that have won will be paid according to the table.

A lot of conservative players favor Let It Ride because you can play through your personal cards with no losses. After the first communal card is dealt, you can still cut your losses but cannot recoup your first bet.

Because the house advantage in Let It Ride is maintained through straight odds (players only see their own cards and the two communal cards), once players view their cards once they are not allowed to touch them again, hence the dealer turning them. In truth though, few casinos penalize players for seeing cards; whereas many poker games consider a revealed card a forfeit of the hand, most Let It Ride dealers will let the players off with a warning.

Another unique feature of Let It Ride is that the players must have qualifying hands to win. Because you are not competing with another hand, there is no payout for high cards or low pairs. You must have at least a pair of 10’s to receive any payout.

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Let It Ride Strategy

To play Let It Ride to your full advantage, the idea is not so much to win every hand as to reduce your losses. The house edge is a reasonable 3.5%, but how you choose to play your cards throughout the hand can limit your losses considerably. Unlike other poker games where you may use your betting to give yourself an advantage over other players, betting on nothing in Let It Ride is just giving your money away.

The most tried and true basic strategy is to reassess your hand at every stage and to pull back your bet or let it ride depending on the increasing or decreasing strength of your hand. Obviously any paying hand represented by your personal cards is worth betting on. Other than this, the only cards you should let it ride on the first time around are three consecutive suited cards, three suited face cards, or three cards toward a straight flush with a spread of four and at least one card of 10 or higher.

The second time around, with four cards showing, you have the rare opportunity to reduce your losses mid-game and should only let it ride if you have already achieved a paying combination, have four suited cards, or have four cards to an outside or inside straight (with all cards in the inside straight being of 10 or higher value).

By limiting how and when you place your bets, you can limit your losses and maximize your wins. This is why Let It Ride’s unique pull back betting option is so popular among tight poker players.