How to Play Red Dog at a Casino
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010Let’s say you go to a casino and want to play Red Dog. It’s a lot like poker, but has some key differences to understand. Before you jump right in take some time to get accustomed to the rules. The first difference is that with Red Dog, the suits have no meaning. The second difference is that the Ace is always the highest. When you make your first bet, you get two face-up cards. If the cards are next to each other in value, then it is called a “push.” If the cards are the same value, then you get another card. If that third card matches the other two, then the player gets an 11-to-1 pot. When the first two cards don’t match, that’s when the game begins. The dealer is going to tell the table what the spread is, which is the difference between your two cards. You can increase the original wager. Once that happens, you get another card. If it is in the spread, then you win, if not then you lose. There is a payout table. If your spread was four or more, then you get paid out 1-to-1. If the spread was three, the payout is 2-to-1. If the spread was two, the payout is 4-to-1 and if the spread was just one, then your payout is 5-to-1. Obviously you want the smallest spread possible because this is what pays out the most.
The game is popular, but it comes along with a hefty house edge. That means your chances of winning aren’t that great. So why do people play? Because despite not being a big winning game, it still has straightforward rules that are easy to learn and it is a fast paced game. Those things alone make some players love the game. As long as you monitor your wagers closely and never go overboard with them, you should not have problems with the game. This is one of those games though that players play when they want to just gamble. It isn’t going to give you a huge, life-changing win or get you written up in the newspaper. Still, Red Dog can be the game of choice for some gamers who just want to vary their wagering schedule.

