Let It Ride Poker Strategy Guide
Let It Ride is fairly simple to learn and the correct strategy for the game is also quite simple. If you take the time to memorize this basic Let It Ride strategy chart, you'll be able to reduce the house edge on the game to about 3.5%. This is not a game in which you can gain an advantage over the casino but the small house edge means you'll be able to play longer and increase your odds of winning during any given session.
After the first bet, let it ride when you have:
- Any winning hand
- Three cards to a Royal Flush
- Three consecutive cards to a Straight Flush
- Three cards to a Straight Flush with 1 gap if there is also at least 1 high card (example: 9h Th Qh)
- Three cards to a Straight Flush with 2 gaps if there are also at least 2 high cards (example: 9h Qh Kh)
After the second bet, let it ride when you have:
- Open ended straight draw
- Any four cards 10 or higher
- Four cards towards a Flush
- Four cards towards a Straight Flush
- Four cards towards a Royal Flush
- Any winning hand
Table Maximum Payout
Most Let It Ride tables have a maximum dollar amount they will pay out to a winning hand. Look around for this amount and make sure you never make a bet that's large enough to cause the Royal Flush payout to exceed this amount. It increases the house edge when you place these bets because you don't receive full payout odds on big hands.
Optional Side Bet
Most Let It Ride tables also have an optional side bet that offers special bonus payouts if you hit certain hands. These payouts look attractive at first glance but the house edge on these bets is huge. The house edge for the optional side bet can range anywhere between 15% and 35%.
Finding a Good Table
The payouts for Let It Ride vary widely from casino to casino so it would greatly benefit you to take the time to find the casino that offers the best payout for Let It Ride hands. Some casinos only pay out 200 to 1 for Royal Flushes while other casinos pay out 1,000 to 1 for the same hand. Do your research and find a good casino that offers generous odds on its Let It Ride tables.
Calculating the Cost of Playing
The house edge is about 3.5% when you use the above strategy to play Let It Ride. To calculate the cost of playing, or average loss per hour, use the following formula:
Bet Size * .035 * # of Hands per Hour
In live casinos you can usually play about 40 hands per hour but in online casinos you can play many more hands per hour so you'll have to adjust the last number accordingly.
If you're betting $10 per hand, you can expect to lose about $0.35 per hand ($10 * .035). Now all you do is multiply that expected loss per hand times the number of hands per hour ($0.35 x 40) and you'll see that it costs about $14 an hour to play Let It Ride in a live casino with $10 bets.