I was just thinking...

[corwin]

How about we also start playing baseball with 5 outs, but only in the third and seventh innings? Some guys were playing it that way at the park and the baseball world has been talking about it....D:

 

[Schfifty Five]

So I gotta ask again, which casinos did you see this variation and what was the game called?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Okay, so I did a bunch of Google searches for "three pair" along with various other terms like "casinos" and "poker," and all I found was:

- Strategies for how to deal with getting three pair in Pai Gow (where you are dealt 7 cards and must arrange them into SEPARATE hands of 2 and 5 cards). BTW, you're supposed to put your highest pair in your 2-card hand and your other pairs in your 5-card hand.
- People asking how three pair compares to other poker hands and other people telling them that it's not a possible poker hand.
- This thread.

There is NOT ONE SINGLE REFERENCE to any poker game other than Pai Gow allowing three pair, and even then, it's because Pai Gow lets you have two SEPARATE hands. There isn't REALLY any such thing as three pair in Pai Gow, it's actually a pair + two pair.

So as others have said, tell us which casinos are allowing three pair in poker and what the names of the games are. If it's Pai Gow then you just aren't understanding how that game works. If not, then it's some special game only played at that one casino.

Also how does a 444422 work? Is that three pair (pair of 2s, pair of 4s, and another pair of 4s) or just a full house (toss out one of the 4s)? Does it beat, say, a 44422A or not?

 

[sdifox]

Okay, so I did a bunch of Google searches for "three pair" along with various other terms like "casinos" and "poker," and all I found was:

- Strategies for how to deal with getting three pair in Pai Gow (where you are dealt 7 cards and must arrange them into SEPARATE hands of 2 and 5 cards). BTW, you're supposed to put your highest pair in your 2-card hand and your other pairs in your 5-card hand.
- People asking how three pair compares to other poker hands and other people telling them that it's not a possible poker hand.
- This thread.

There is NOT ONE SINGLE REFERENCE to any poker game other than Pai Gow allowing three pair, and even then, it's because Pai Gow lets you have two SEPARATE hands. There isn't REALLY any such thing as three pair in Pai Gow, it's actually a pair + two pair.

So as others have said, tell us which casinos are allowing three pair in poker and what the names of the games are. If it's Pai Gow then you just aren't understanding how that game works. If not, then it's some special game only played at that one casino.

And Pai Gow uses Chinese Dominoes, not cards. And it is a very different game than poker. And your hand only has 4 tiles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pai_gow

 

[AstroManLuca]

Sorry, I meant Pai Gow Poker. I didn't realize there was a "Pai Gow" game played with dominoes instead of cards.

 

[sdifox]

Sorry, I meant Pai Gow Poker. I didn't realize there was a "Pai Gow" game played with dominoes instead of cards.

I have no idea what Pai Gow Poker is ()

Not beating on you, rather on the op.

 

[JTsyo]

eh? you know there are only 4 suits.

Aces and Deuces wild?

 

[Malak]

There is NOT ONE SINGLE REFERENCE to any poker game other than Pai Gow allowing three pair, and even then, it's because Pai Gow lets you have two SEPARATE hands. There isn't REALLY any such thing as three pair in Pai Gow, it's actually a pair + two pair.

News flash, I already said that several times. The game the hand was allowed in was paigow, and I also pointed out that sometimes hands are worth something even if they don't actually win. 3 pair applies to your bonus bet, counts as breaking even. My point was that it isn't used in any other variations, and the question was why not. Congratulations, you still lack the basic reasoning to approach such a simple question. You keep arguing points that have already been gone over a dozen times now. So let's recap:

1. 3 pair is a non-existant hand in poker
2. Why not?
3. Is used for the purposes of bonus bet in some casino's with paigow
4. Adding it to 7 card variations makes no impact on other hands because it doesn't alter their requirement for number of cards

Get it now? I don't think I can make it any simpler, do we need flash cards?

 

[corwin]

News flash, I already said that several times. The game the hand was allowed in was paigow, and I also pointed out that sometimes hands are worth something even if they don't actually win. 3 pair applies to your bonus bet, counts as breaking even. My point was that it isn't used in any other variations, and the question was why not. Congratulations, you still lack the basic reasoning to approach such a simple question. You keep arguing points that have already been gone over a dozen times now. So let's recap:

1. 3 pair is a non-existant hand in poker
2. Why not?
3. Is used for the purposes of bonus bet in some casino's with paigow
4. Adding it to 7 card variations makes no impact on other hands because it doesn't alter their requirement for number of cards

Get it now? I don't think I can make it any simpler, do we need flash cards?

How about because there aren't consolation hands in poker? It's winner takes the pot, no bonus bet no "breaking even"...

Add to that how would it be fair or reasonable to only add 1 possible 6 card hand and not any other variation of a 6 card hand?

 

[Schfifty Five]

How about because there aren't consolation hands in poker? It's winner takes the pot, no bonus bet no "breaking even"...

Add to that how would it be fair or reasonable to only add 1 possible 6 card hand and not any other variation of a 6 card hand?

You gotta remember though, that pai gow poker isn't real poker. It's just another table game where you play against the dealer (house), not other players.

But still, this thread is full of lulz.

 

[AstroManLuca]

News flash, I already said that several times. The game the hand was allowed in was paigow, and I also pointed out that sometimes hands are worth something even if they don't actually win. 3 pair applies to your bonus bet, counts as breaking even. My point was that it isn't used in any other variations, and the question was why not. Congratulations, you still lack the basic reasoning to approach such a simple question. You keep arguing points that have already been gone over a dozen times now. So let's recap:

1. 3 pair is a non-existant hand in poker
2. Why not?
3. Is used for the purposes of bonus bet in some casino's with paigow
4. Adding it to 7 card variations makes no impact on other hands because it doesn't alter their requirement for number of cards

Get it now? I don't think I can make it any simpler, do we need flash cards?

1. That's correct.
2. Because 3 pair is six cards, not five cards, and poker hands are always five cards.
3. That's some casino-specific side game and not a poker hand. As corwin said above, there are no consolation hands in real poker. What you're describing is some sort of meta-game.
4. Because it can alter the strategy. Normally if you play a hand of Hold 'em all the way to the river, and you end up with three pair, you have to count them as two pair anyway. If you add three pair to the list of hands in hold 'em poker, players would be able to go for it as a strategy. It might not affect the odds much but it would affect them, fundamentally changing the game.

It's as simple as this - it is what it is. The rules in poker are what they are because that is what the rules are. Circular logic? Sure, if you care at all about maintaining the integrity of a game by keeping consistent rules.

Why is the speed limit 55 instead of 56 or 54? Why does February only have 28 days but other months have 31? Why are Jacks called Jacks and not Jesters or Lords or Knights? There's no reason for any of these things other than, "that's how it is."

 

[gimmewhitecastles]

even most of the 7 card variants of poker is still the best 5 cards.

if you want to add a sixth card it's then it just becomes a new poker variant instead of a universal change to poker. i can't even count the number of existing poker variations off the top of my head. people will still play the best 5 card rule whether or not you like it or not. no one is stopping you from making a poker game which counts 3 pairs. just don't expect it to catch on.

 

[Kyteland]

It has absolutely zero impact on those hands. I don't know why people keep thinking it does. Adding a 6-card hand doesn't imply that all hands can potentially become 6-card hands. Adding this hand does not alter any other hands in any way. Flushes are still 5-card hands.

I don't understand how hard this is to understand. It doesn't impact or affect any other hand in the game. Many variations of poker already have 7 cards. From what I've seen, casino's rank it between 2 pair and 3 of a kind. My initial thought is whether that is proper placement for the probability of getting this hand.

It absolutely does. It alters play strategy at every descision point in the game. At every betting round you need to take this new information into account and it may subtly change how you need to bet (fold, call, raise, etc.) at each point.

Adding this hand may not change *what* the other hands are, but it does change how you have to play the game. As I mentioned before, poker player generally don't like it when you change the rules on them. But feel free to try.

 

[Schfifty Five]

To put it bluntly, poker by definition uses 5 card hands. There may be more than 5 cards to make your hand from (ie Texas Hold 'Em), but the fact is that 5 is the limit.

Games that allow you to have a 6 card hand are not real poker games, but rather "novelty" table games no different than other ones like Carribean Stud, 4-Card poker, 3-Card poker, Let it Ride, etc.

OP mentions PaiGow Poker as having this 6 card hand, but PaiGow is played against the dealer and not other players, thus making it a "novelty" table game and not a real poker game.