Asia Poker tables are located in Jade Palace, while Three-Card Poker is situated in the main gaming area.
Tropicana Atlantic City has two new variations of poker: 3-Card Draw and Asia Poker. Three-Card Draw is available in the main casino’s gaming space, while Asia Poker is available in Jade Palace.
Steve Callender, Tropicana Atlantic City’s general manager, said of the new additions, “These exciting new poker games are just the latest example of Tropicana’s commitment to deliver more fun, value and variety to our players.”
The inclusion of the two new table games is part of a general renovation at Tropicana. The Atlantic City casino opened a new, improved poker room with new poker tables, better adjustable seating, and LCD televisions around the room, which is located behind the Boogie Nights dance club. Smokers should beware, because the new poker room is tobacco-free now.
What Is Three-Card Draw?
Three-Card Draw is a casino table game similar to 3-Card Poker. The game is a stripped-down version of 5-Card Draw, but it contains a three-card hand instead of the more common five-card hand. Unlike draw poker, the game is played against the dealer instead of other players. Three-Card Draw is found among the table games in Tropicana Atlantic City — not in the poker room.
In the United States, you’ll find several variations of Three-Card Poker. The major difference has to do with the side bets. Some casinos offer a progressive jackpot side bet, while others do not. The most common side bet is Pair-Plus, which is similar to video poker. If you collect a pair or better in 3-Card Poker, you win the side bet.
Because it uses only three cards, strategy is much different in Three-Card Poker. For instance, it is harder to collect a pair or a three of a kind, but it is easier to build a straight or a flush.
What Is Asia Poker?
Asia Poker combines elements of Pai Gow Poker and a Chinese card game named “13 Cards”. The game is played using a 53-card deck, including the standard 52-card deck and a joker card. The goal of Asia Poker is to beat the dealer, so players at the table do not match up against one another.
Each player receives 7 cards, while the dealer also receives 7 cards. Once the player receives their cards, they need to arrange them into three separate hands: a large 4-card hand, a medium sized 2-card hand, and a small 1-card hand. The joker card is treated like an ace most of the time, but it acts as a wild card when completing a straight, a flush, a straight flush, or a royal flush.
Poker rankings in the four-card hand are the same as in standard poker, though the game does not have a full house. The medium hand does not have straights, flushes, or full houses, but instead has only pairs and singletons. The small hand is simply based on high card.
Asia Poker: Dealer Wins Ties
The dealer builds hands according to the “house way”, so the skill of individual dealers is never an issue. One important rule to remember is: the house wins all ties. This provides the house edge in Asia Poker.
All three hands are compared in Asia Poker, so each player makes three wagers on each hand. Despite the disparity in hand sizes, all three bets are the same size, so players must pay attention equally to the 1-card hand.
Asia Poker: Alternate Names
Asia Poker is known under a variety of names, including “Chinese Poker”. In Cantonese, the game is called Sap Sam Cheung, which literally means “Thirteen Cards”. In Vietnam, the game is called Xap Xam Chuong, a similar phrase which also means “13 Cards”.
In Mandarin Chinese, the game is sometimes referred to as “Luosong Pai Jiu”, which loosely is translated as “Russian Pai Gow”. As stated above, the game has certain similarities to Pai Gow Poker. In the Philippines, the game is referred to as Pusoy (but not Pusoy Dos — a different game). The Philippine people also call the game “Good, Better, Best”, which references the three hands being played.
In Hawaii, the game is called Pepito. Elsewhere in the United States, you’ll see Asia poker called “Russian People”, most likely because Chinese gamblers refer to it as Russian Pai Gow. Many American casinos have referred to Asia Poker as Chinese Poker in the past, but the name has fallen out of favor, because a game called Big Two is sometimes referred to as Chinese Poker.
Tropicana Atlantic City Jade Palace
The Jade Palace Room at Tropicana Atlantic City caters to those who prefer Asian casino games. Jade Palace’s focus is Mini-Baccarat, but the area also contains Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles, Asia Poker, and other Asia-inspired games.
Casino Player magazine awarded the Jade Palace the Best Baccarat/Mini-Baccarat award. Offset from the playing area is also a popular noodle bar. The Jade Palace is a reaction to the growing popularity of Baccarat in the United States, as well as the influx of Asian-American and Asian gamblers to US casinos. Baccarat is the most popular game in Macau, the biggest gambling destination in the world, so it is only natural that Baccarat would become a major factor elsewhere in the world.
