If you haven’t had the opportunity to play Let it Ride, it’s a simple game to learn. Here is a quick rundown:

Ante-Up

Most Let it Ride tables have a £10 minimum, with exception to a special promotion. There are 3 circles where your initial bet can be placed. You must put £10 in each of the circles in order to start playing. In addition, you also have the opportunity to play the progressive, which is £1 each round.

The Rules

Each player is dealt 3 cards, and two additional cards are placed face down in front of the dealer. These cards are a part of your overall hand.

During the 1st round, the dealer will ask whether or not you want to pull your first bet back (after seeing your 3 cards), or keep it there. The 2nd round the dealer will flip one of their face down cards, face-up. Then they will go around the table and see if you want to pull back your 2nd bet, or keep it there.

Finally, the dealer will turn their final card face-up, and then check each players hand to see who has won.

Why Pull Back Bets

You must have 10s or better to win even money on your bets. If you already have it in your hand (before you see the dealer’s two cards), then you always want to stay on all 3 bets. There is never a worry of the dealer beating your hand, which makes this game quite easy to play.

However, it’s not easy to get dealt a pair of 10s or better from the start. If you have a 2,4,9 in your hand, the chances of you losing the round have greatly increased. After all, in this scenario, the only way to win now is if the dealer flips over both cards and they are 10/10, J/J, Q/Q, K/K, or A/A.

Now, if you have A,K,9 in your hole cards, your potential winning percentage has increased. If the dealer turns over an Ace or King, you’re a winner.

Let it Ride is a slow moving game, and many gamblers become impatient with the amount of money they are winning. In order to increase their maximum potential, they let all three bets ride (even if they have A,K,9). It can definitely pay off, but if it doesn’t, you will lose money faster.

The smart choice is to always pull back, unless there is already a winner in your hand. For instance, you have a J,9,2 in your hand. The dealer asks if you want to pull back your bet. You do so, because it’s the best choice, until you see a winner. After the first round, the dealer turns over a Jack. Now you know the last two bets will receive an ROI (return on investment), so you stay the rest of the way out.

Listen, if you don’t have patience, this is not the game to play. I’ve seen people have potential straights and flushes several times throughout their stay at the table. Needless to say, none of them hit and a lot of money was lost. If this happened 10 times and you pulled back your first 2 bets each time, you would save £200.

This is how you truly stretch your money when playing Let it Ride.