Apart from factoring in your own style of play, you need to know your opponents to help you with that decision. You should decide what you consider to be the minimum hand you will declare 'play' with ahead of time and stick with it. How strong a hand you think you need to win is your big decision.
You have your cards and you either play them or not. There is nothing to get a read on the strength or weakness of your opponents. There is no betting, no drawing, no exposed cards. There is not a lot of strategy for playing 3 Card Drop poker. Other versions of 3 Card Drop are described at the bottom of this page. If 2 or more players declare 'play' showdown hands. If no players declare 'play' replay the game. If only 1 player declares 'play' that player wins the pot. This is done by all players simultaneously declaring play or drop by means of chips: The best 3 card hand wins with this ranking: high card, pair, flush, straight, trips, straight flush (why is straight ranked higher than flush? See the probabilities of 3 card poker at the bottom of this page.) After receiving and looking at cards each player must decide if they wish to drop out or stay in the game. There is no draw there are no common cards. There is an initial ante, but no further betting. 3 Card Drop Poker is a simple three card poker game, but posses a potentially high risk. HOW TO PLAY 3 CARD DROP POKER (Long Version):
