Three Card Brag Rules and Information

Introduction

Brag is a popular British gambling game. It is sometimes said to be similar to poker, but in fact it is much older and the method of betting is different. The basic game of three-card Brag was one of the games described by Hoyle, and therefore dates from the late eighteenth century or earlier. It is almost identical to the popular Indian game Teen Pathi ("three cards").

On this page, Three Card Brag and its Four-card and Five-card variations will be described. There are other games known as 6-card, 7-card, 9-card and 13-card Brag; but they have a very different mechanism and will are covered on a separate page.

This page has been put together from a variety of sources, and I am grateful to those who have contributed, including: Jon Garibaldi, Thomas Olsson, Dave Phillips, Jamie Prestidge, Chris Roberts, Phill Rogers, Brian Rollo, Justin Thurkettle.

Three Card Brag

Players, cards and preparation

A standard 52 card pack without jokers is used. The cards in each suit rank in the usual order from high to low: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2. The number of players can vary, but it is probably best for about 4 to 8 people.

Three Card Brag is a gambling game. Before starting it is essential that the players agree on the stake and have a common understanding of the rules. It is necessary to agree:

• the initial stake or ante - which is the amount (if any) that everyone must put into the pot before each deal;
• the minimum and maximum initial bet - the amount that the first player bets in order to stay in the hand;
• the limit (if any) on the amount by which the bet can be increased by each subsequent player;
• any variations to the basic rules, such as use of wild cards.

Ranking of hands

The order of the possible three-card Brag hands, from highest to lowest, is as follows. Combination Examples Explanation

Prial 3-3-3A-A-A. . .2-2-2 "Prial" - short for "pair royal"

is the name in Brag for a set of three cards of equal rank. The best is threes, and the other prials follow in the rank order of the cards: A-A-A, K-K-K, Q-Q-Q, etc. down to 5-5-5, 4-4-4, 2-2-2, three twos being the lowest prial.

Running flush 3-2-AA-K-Q. . .4-3-2

A running flush is a set of three consecutive cards of the same suit. A run is a set of three consecutive cards of mixed suits. Although the ace is high, A-2-3 counts as a valid run - or a valid running flush if all the cards are the same suit. In fact A-2-3 is the highest run or running flush, A-K-Q of a suit is the second highest, then K-Q-J, and so on down to 4-3-2, which is the lowest. 2-A-K is not a valid run or running flush. Any running flush beats any run with mixed suits - so for example 4-3-2 beats 3-2-A or A-K-Q. Run 3-2-AA-K-Q. . .4-3-2

Flush A-K-J. . .5-3-2

A flush consists of three cards of the same suit - not all consecutive, or it would be a running flush. When comparing flushes, the highest card is compared first, then if these are equal the middle card, and finally if necessary the lowest. Therefore K-9-2 beats Q-10-5, which beats Q-10-3, which beats Q-9-8.

Pair A-A-K. . .2-2-3

A pair consists of two cards of equal rank. The third card is of a different rank, otherwise you would have a prial. When comparing pairs, the rank of the pair is compared first (aces are highest), and if two players have the same pair the odd card determines which and is higher. So for example 9-9-3 beats 8-8-K, which beats 8-8-J.

High card A-K-J. . .5-3-2

Three cards that do not form any of the above combinations. As with flushes, these rank according to the highest card; if the highest cards of two hands are equal the second highest cards are compared, and if these are equal too then the third highest. So J-6-3 beats 10-9-7, which beats 10-9-6.

There is no order of suits, so it is possible for two hands to be equal in rank - for example 7-7-Q is equal to 7-7-Q. In a contest between two equal hands the calling player (the player who paid to see the other hand) loses (see betting, below). Poker players should take care to note that the 'run' and 'flush' in Brag rank in the opposite order to Poker.

Ante and Deal

Before each deal, each player must place the agreed initial stake (ante) in the pot. Deal and play are clockwise, and the turn to deal passes to the left after each hand.

If it is the first deal of the session, the dealer shuffles. For subsequent deals, the cards are only shuffled if the previous hand was "seen" and won by a prial. Apart from that, the cards not normally shuffled between hands. The cards from the previous hand are just added to the bottom of the pack and the dealer deals the new hands from the top, without shuffling.

The dealer deals out the cards one at a time, face down to the players, until everyone has three cards. Players may look at their own cards, or may choose not to, if they wish to play "blind" - see below. Cards must never be shown to any player other than the person to whom they were dealt, unless the betting ends with a "see". In that case the cards of the two players involved (but none of the others) are exposed for everyone to see.

The Betting

When the cards have been dealt, the betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. This person can 'fold' (throw in their cards and take no further part in the hand) or can bet any amount from the agreed minimum to the agreed maximum. If all the players except one fold, the last remaining player takes all the money in the pot, and the next hand is dealt.

If any player bets, every player after that must either fold or bet at least as much as the previous player who bet. A player may bet more than the previous player, but there may be an agreed limit to the amount by which the bet can be increased. The betting continues around the table as many times as necessary.

When there are only two players left in the game, all the others having folded, a third option becomes available. Either player can see the other. Seeing costs twice as much as the previous player's bet. When you pay to see another player, they expose their three cards first. If your cards are better than your opponent's, you expose your hand to prove this and win the pot. If your cards are equal to your opponent's or worse, your opponent wins the pot - you do not have to show your cards in this case. Note that if the hands are equal, the player who paid to see loses.

Poker players should notice that there is no concept of equalising the bets. At each turn, to stay in you have to put into the pot at least as much new money as the previous player put in. Here are some examples from a four player game:

Player A bets 2 chips, B folds, C bets 2 chips and D bets 2 chips. In order to stay in, A would have to bet another 2 chips. Player A bets 2 chips, B folds, C bets 4 chips and D folds. Player A can now see player C by paying 8 chips (twice C's bet) or pay at least 4 chips to stay in, or fold, allowing C to win the pot. If A pays 4 to stay in, C now has the same options: put 8 in the pot to see A, to bet at least 4 and allow A another turn to bet, or to fold and allow A to win.

Betting continues until either all players but one have dropped out (folded) (in which case the remaining player obviously wins, but does not show their cards), or two players are left and one player pays double to see the other.

As each player folds, that player's cards are added to the bottom of the pack ready for the next deal. At the end of the betting the cards of the last player left in, or the cards of the two players involved in the see, are added to the pack in the same way.