3 Card Irish

Welcome to 3 card Irish, debuted at Loose Cannon last night. I’ve played this game before in a cash game, but never before in a tournament. The format was £20 buy in with optional rebuy/add-on. I ended up placing 3rd for a mighty £20 profit, but at least I am continuing my revival from earlier in the week, as well as hitting some flops pretty nicely.

For those who haven’t played 3CI before, you are dealt 3 cards pre-flop and then there is a round of betting. The flop comes down, then followed by another round of betting. At this point all players must discard one card, and then the hand plays out like holdem (i.e. you don’t need to use both cards like Omaha).

For me, it’s a game of straights. The flushes play pretty similar to holdem, in that your don’t get double flush draws like you do in Omaha. It’s nice to have a flush backup in your hand, but that is not the key to the game. You have to be careful in this game, as you will hit a good flop (i.e. 2 pair/trips/FH/quads) about 8% of the time compared to holdem’s 3.5%. If you bare in mind this is before the discard, and the fact that this does not factor in straight/flush draws you can see it is an action game. Arguably, you get more action than Omaha, due to the fact that you only have to use one of your hole cards, so have a back door route to 4 board flushes and of course it’s easier to have a full house.

My strategy for playing this game is to play tight, as you will get action no matter how dormant you have been. Best starting hands are (just my opinion so don’t take as gospel):

AAsKs - the nuts with flush and straight draw back up

KKsAs - huge pair with flush and straight draw back up

QsJs10 - gives multiple straight options which will always be the nut straight

QsJs9 - as above, but many not so chances to hit as you must hit the 10.

Certainly an enjoyable game, although I’m still working out what the optimal strategy is. The cash game was a rare success as well - about £250 up for the night. It looks like my recent poor form may be turning around just in time for Vegas…