What it is
Pair Plus is a standalone bet on your own three cards. The dealer's hand is irrelevant: you are paid if you hold a pair or better and you lose otherwise. You lose 74.4% of the time, which is the high-card frequency. In the usual game one rule ties it to the main bet: if you also bet the ante and then fold, the Pair Plus is forfeited with it (58 Pa. Code § 649a.11(b)(1); Maryland’s rules, chapter 11 C(1), say the same), which never costs a correct player, because every hand Pair Plus pays on is a hand correct strategy plays. Both states also allow a version that ties the two bets together more tightly; its ante bonus tables are on the Ante and Play page.
Every pay table Pennsylvania and Maryland allow
A casino in Pennsylvania or Maryland does not set its own Pair Plus table. It chooses one of five listed in the regulations, names it in the rules it files with the regulator, and has to show it on the layout or on a sign at the table (§ 649a.2(b)(7); Maryland chapter 2 B(5)). Both states list the same five under the same letters (58 Pa. Code § 649a.12(d); Maryland’s Three Card Poker rules, chapter 12 D, both read on 28 October 2026). Each is priced here over all 22,100 three-card hands:
| Straight flush | Trips | Straight | Flush | Pair | House edge | Exact | Pennsylvania | Maryland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.3167% | 128/5525 | D | D |
| 40 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3.4932% | 193/5525 | E | E |
| 35 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4.5792% | 253/5525 | A | A |
| 40 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5.5747% | 308/5525 | B | B |
| 40 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7.2760% | 402/5525 | C | C |
The five tables differ only in how much they take off the original 40-30-6-4-1, and each line is worth what its hands are worth. Five units off three of a kind (52 hands) cost 1.18 points; five off both the straight flush (48 hands) and three of a kind cost 2.26; one unit off the straight (720 hands) costs 3.26; and one unit off the flush (1,096 hands) costs 4.96. That last cut is the 40-30-6-3-1 table, the dearest of the five.
Pennsylvania also lets a casino add a line for an ace, king and queen of one suit, paying no less than 40 to 1 (§ 649a.12(g)). There are 4 such hands in 22,100, so at 40 to 1 the line changes nothing on the four tables that already pay 40 on a straight flush and lowers table A’s edge by 0.09 points, and each unit above 40 is worth another 0.018.
Pennsylvania has one more list, for now: the Player bonus wager (§ 649b.3, temporary, set to expire 23 August 2028), Pair Plus under another name with its own line for a suited ace, king and queen, and one difference in the rules: it is not forfeited when a player who also bet the ante folds.
| A-K-Q suited | Straight flush | Trips | Straight | Flush | Pair | House edge | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 40 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7.0950% | PBW-1 |
| 50 | 40 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 5.3937% | PBW-2 |
| 40 | 40 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 7.2760% | PBW-3 |
| 40 | 40 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2.3167% | PBW-4 |
PBW-3 and PBW-4 are tables C and D with a 40-to-1 line that changes nothing; PBW-1 and PBW-2 are tables C and B with a 50-to-1 line, which takes 0.18 points off each.
The original Pair Plus paid 4 on a flush and cost 2.32%, which was a reasonable bet. Reducing the flush to 3 takes it to 7.28%, more than three times as expensive.
Why the flush row does the damage
Because a flush is the most common paying hand after a pair. There are 1,096 flushes among 22,100 hands, or 4.96% of them, so one unit off that row costs about 4.96 percentage points of return on its own.
That is the whole gap between the two schedules, and it is the same trick as 6:5 blackjack and 8/5 video poker: shave one row that players do not check, leave the game otherwise identical.
How to check
The pay table is printed on the felt beside the Pair Plus circle, or on a sign at the table. Read it from the bottom: every table Pennsylvania and Maryland list pays 1 on a pair, then the flush pays 4 or 3, the straight 6 or 5, three of a kind 30 or 25 and the straight flush 40 or 35, and a Pennsylvania casino may add a line above them for a suited ace, king and queen at 40 or more. Of the five, only 40-30-6-4-1 gets you 2.32% (a little less if that extra line pays more than 40). A flush at 3 is the most expensive of the five.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the house edge on Pair Plus?
- 2.32% on the original 40-30-6-4-1 table and 7.28% on 40-30-6-3-1, which pays 3 instead of 4 on a flush. The other three tables Pennsylvania and Maryland list cost 3.49% to 5.57%.
- Why does the flush payout matter so much?
- Because flushes are the most common paying hand after a pair, at 4.96% of all hands. One unit off that row costs about the same in percentage points.
- How often does Pair Plus lose?
- 74.4% of the time, which is exactly how often you are dealt no pair or better.
- Does the dealer's hand matter for Pair Plus?
- No. It pays purely on your own three cards. If you also bet the ante and fold, it is forfeited with the ante, but correct play never folds a hand Pair Plus pays on.
- Which Pair Plus pay tables are allowed?
- In Pennsylvania and Maryland, five, under the same letters in both states: 40-30-6-4-1 (D), 40-25-6-4-1 (E), 35-25-6-4-1 (A), 40-30-5-4-1 (B) and 40-30-6-3-1 (C). Each casino chooses one in the rules it files with its regulator and must show it at the table. A Pennsylvania casino may add a line for a suited ace, king and queen at 40 to 1 or more.
Hand frequencies and Pair Plus returns on this page are counted by enumerating all 22,100 three-card hands. The Ante/Play house edge is derived too, as of August 2026: it means comparing every one of the 22,100 player hands against all 18,424 dealer hands that can follow, just over 407 million evaluations. It comes out at 3.3730% of the ante, and the published Queen-6-4 threshold is confirmed exactly, with no exceptions in either direction. Pay tables vary by casino; read the felt.
Corrected on 28 October 2026: the table of schedules listed a 35-33-6-3-1 table at 7.66%. It is on neither Pennsylvania’s nor Maryland’s list and not in the Wizard of Odds’ catalogue of Pair Plus tables, where the table with those top lines pays 4 on the flush (35-33-6-4-1, 2.70%). The table now lists the five tables the two states allow, and the open dataset has dropped the row. The page also said that where a flush pays 4:1 the bet costs 2.32%; three other tables on those lists pay 4 on the flush and cost 3.49% to 5.57%.