Red Dog originated in the United States around the 1800s, while once a smash hit amongst players, it has since fallen in popularity. It’s a version of Chance, whereby the player’s goal is simply to get a hand of three cards where the middle card has a value more than the first but less than the last. It’s a very basic and easy game to play, you can almost play it without thinking. There are no real tactics involved with Red Dog, it’s simply a game of luck and knowing when to call and when to raise.

How to Play Red Dog

Red Dog is famed for its simplicity, all the player has to do is throw down chips and decide on whether to raise, call, or let the current bet ride. The player is dealt two cards face up and one face down. The two face up cards will be moved, so the lowest value is on the left and the higher value card on the right. All you as a player need to do is guess if the face down card is worth more than the card to the left, but less than the card on the right – sounds simple, right?

Beat the Max Bet

At BitStarz Casino, we have a progressive version of Red Dog, meaning your wins can accumulate and you can place huge bets on each hand. If you win, you have the choice of leaving your money on the table or picking it up each time. If you let your money ride, you can wager up to €2,000 on a single hand – you won’t find another online casino card game quite like this that’s for sure. This gives you the ability to turn huge sums of money over in a relatively short amount of time. Once your pot is worth more than €2,000 it will automatically be put into your kitty.

Beating the Spread

As a player, you only have to beat the spread. This means that if your two face up cards are a two and ace for example, you can be fairly sure of a win – it’s unlikely to lose with this hand. Alternatively, if you have a two and four then your chances of winning are very slim. This does mean you can use a math-based system to decide whether you should increase your bet or not. The spread versus win probability for each possible hand are as follows:

· 1:0.077419
· 2:0.154839
· 3:0.232258
· 4:0.309677
· 5:0.387097
· 6:0.464516
· 7:0.541935
· 8:0.619355
· 9:0.696774
· 10:0.774194
· 11:0.851613

Learn the Rules

Red Dog is a very simple game with very few rules, however knowing these rules gives you the advantage. If you get two consecutive cards then it’s called a push. This means you get your original stake back. If you get two of the same cards, a third is dealt. If this third card is the same as well you receive an 11:1 payout on your stake. Aces count as high cards – 11 – and the suit doesn’t matter.

In many ways, Red Dog is similar to the simple world of baccarat. While it’s not so common in land-based casinos anymore, Red Dog can still be found at a number of online casinos. It offers a relatively low house edge of up to 3.155% – based on a 1 card deck – meaning you have a good chance of winning. Overall, Red Dog might be an old-fashioned game, but there are still plenty of reasons to play it in 2018.

Don’t forget, when you play Red Dog at BitStarz Casino, you will automatically be entered into our Table Wars promotion to be in with the chance of winning your share of €1,000 every week – so play today!