Free Ride Poker Payouts
Free Ride is a casino variation of poker, played against the casino rather than against the other players. The game's relatively slow pace and the chance to pull back two of the three bets has made Free Ride popular with older players and table game neophytes.
Free Ride is a variation of five-card stud where the player wagers on a poker hand consisting of three cards in the player's hand and two community cards in the dealer's hand. Like in video poker, the payout is determined by the ranking of the player's hand and the payout schedule.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 1,000:1 |
| Straight Flush | 200:1 |
| Four of a kind | 50:1 |
| Full house | 11:1 |
| Flush | 8:1 |
| Straight | 5:1 |
| Three of a kind | 3:1 |
| Two pair | 2:1 |
| Pair of 10's or better | 1:1 |
Like blackjack and video poker, player decisions in this game affect the house edge. The strategy outlined below assumes the standard payout structure shown above. With correct strategy, the casino's edge in Free Ride is about 3.5%.
When deciding whether to let bet (1) ride, you should pull your bet back unless you have one of the following:
- Any paying hand. (A pair of tens or better.)
- Any three cards to a royal flush.
- Any three suited connectors where the lowest card is three or above.
- Three to a straight flush, spread four, with at least one card that's ten or higher.
- Three to a straight flush, spread five, with at least two cards ten or higher.
When deciding whether to let bet (2) ride, you should pull your bet back unless you have one of the following:
- Any paying hand. (A pair of tens or better.)
- Any four to a flush.
- Any four to an outside straight.
- Any four to an inside straight, if the four cards are ten or higher.
An outside straight is a draw to a straight that can be completed by two different cards, like 4-5-6-7. Any 3 and any 8 will complete the straight. There are eight cards in the deck that will complete an outside straight draw.
An inside straight is a draw to a straight that can only be completed by one specific card, like 4-5-6-8. Any 7 will complete the straight. There are only four cards in the deck that will complete an inside straight draw.
Practice you Free Ride Poker strategy in our favorite free online Free Ride Poker game!
