As far as casino games go, Let it Ride is a relatively new one. The casino staple games that have the most prestige attached to them like blackjack, roulette and craps are games that have been around for centuries and are very well established within the casino mindset. Games like Let it Ride are games that were invented in the 20th century and in the particular case of Let it Ride the year 1993. It has not been around for a particularly long time, but it has become very popular in the time it has been around. This is because Let it Ride is a game where you do not play against the house and you do not play against the other players and therefore you can easily enjoy yourself while playing the game.
The table used for Let it Ride is basically identical to a blackjack table, with the differences relating to some of the markings that are on the felt. Each player has three circles in front of them corresponding to the markings of 1, 2 and a dollar sign ($). The first move that the player makes in a hand of Let it Ride is to place a bet in each circle, with each bet being equal to each other bet.
Once that happens, the dealer deals each player a three card hand face down and deals themselves a three card hand face down as well, before discarding one of those cards and leaving two face down cards in front of them. The players look at their three card hand and decide whether to take back the #1 bet or to keep it there and Let it Ride.
After each player has decided on their first bet, the dealer turns over one card which forms the fourth card in each player's hand. After that card has been turned over, each player now has the opportunity to take their second bet back or to let that one ride as well. Regardless of what the player does with the second bet, they can not change the action they just took on the first bet.
Once the second round of decisions has been made, the dealer turns up the other card in front of them, completing the five card hand that each player happens to have. Payments are then made based on winning hand tables, with the minimum hand requirement for winning being a pair of tens or better.
The best strategy to play is to let the first bet ride if you have a pair of tens or better, three cards to a royal flush or three cards to a straight flush. Let the second bet ride if you have a pair of tens or better, four cards to a royal flush, four cards to a straight flush, four cards to a flush, four cards ranked ten or above or an open-ended straight draw. When you play with this optimal strategy, the house edge is approximately 3.5%.