Red Dog Poker

Summary - Red Dog is a casino table game where the player plays against the house.  The object of the game is to bet on various spreads between two cards and if the third card dealt falls between the first two cards the player wins.

Red Dog Poker is a casino table game played directly against the dealer which uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards.  The object of the game is to bet on a dealer card falling between two starter cards which have been dealt to the player.  Red Dog is extremely easy to learn and can be an entertaining game even though the house edge is quite high in the game.  In our red dog poker guide you will find the rules of red dog along with how a game of Red Dog is played.  We have also given an overview of the limited player strategy that can be used while betting in the game to increase your chances on minimizing losses and playing with optimal bets.

How To Play Red Dog

Below is an overview of how to play casino Red Dog games including the rules and betting methods for the game, along with associated player winning pay outs.  Red Dog is also available for free at many online casinos and if you are wanting to learn the game you are always welcome to practice for free at most online casino sites.

Red Dog Table

Rules of Red Dog

  • The object of Red Dog is to bet on a card value which is in between a high and a low card & the game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards
  • Cards are ranked according to face value, an ace as high and a 2 as low
  • Play begins once the player has placed their ante bet & cards are dealt
  • Dealer then deals two cards face up on the table as the high and low cards
  • If the cards are consecutive (ex. 6, 7) than the hand is a tie and is over
  • If the cards are the same (10, 10) then 3rd card is dealt and three of a kind pays back to the player 11:1 on their initial ante wager
  • If the cards are not consecutive or a pair, then the two first cards will stay
  • The player then has the option to place an additional wager equal to their ante bet and they are betting that the 3rd card dealt falls between the first two cards which were just dealt out by the dealer
  • The player may also stand with the first bet if the spread is unfavourable
  • The "Spread" between the first two cards dealt is used to determine the pay out structures for each hand and should also be used for strategy
  • For example is two dealt cards are 5 and 10, the spread for that hand is 5
  • 1 card spread pays player 5:1
  • 2 card spread pays player 4:1
  • 3 card spread pays player 2:1
  • 4 or more card spread pays player 1:1
  • If the third card dealt is between the first two, the player will win according to the spread pay out schedule listed above, if it is not the bet is lost

Red Dog Strategy

The only really strategy that we can recommend for playing casino Red Dog is to not raise when the spread is less than 4 cards which pays even money 1:1.  This is because your odds (obviously) significantly decrease the lower the spread in the game and you will most likely not hit these wagers consistently so raising on the low spreads can cause you to lose a lot of money very quickly.  Since Red Dog is such a simple game, this is really the only strategy that players should follow in addition to basic bankroll management skills.  There are no betting systems or card counting methods that work in Red Dog at this time, so your best bet it to enjoy the game for entertainment and see how your luck fares.  This game is not recommend for anyone looking to make money at the casino since the house edge is very high.