Key facts
- Two cards are dealt face up. You win if a third card falls strictly between them; the gap, called the spread, sets the payout from 5 to 1 down to 1 to 1.
- Consecutive cards are a tie and bets are void. A pair gets a third card: if it matches, three of a kind pays 11 to 1; if not, it is a tie.
- The one decision is the raise, up to your original bet. In our calculation raising is worth it only on a spread of 7 or more.
- With that strategy the house edge is about 3.16% with one deck and 2.75% with eight, in our calculation. Never raising pushes it to 9.19% and 7.88%.
- Red dog does not appear in the VGCCC's list of approved games for Melbourne's casino. Online red dog cannot legally be offered to people in Australia.
Red dog card game in one minute
Red dog is a bet that a third card will land between two others. We use the rules approved by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, a US casino regulator, because we found no Australian rule book for the game. Our search of the VGCCC's list of approved table games for Melbourne's casino turned up no red dog.
- Bet before any cards are dealt.
- Two cards are dealt face up. Aces are high (worth 14), then king 13, queen 12, jack 11, and 10 down to 2 at face value. Suits do not matter.
- Consecutive cards (say 7 and 8): the hand is a tie, bets are void.
- A pair (say two 9s): a third card is dealt at once. Three of a kind pays 11 to 1; anything else is a tie.
- Any other gap is a spread: the number of ranks strictly between the two cards. A 4 and a 9 have a spread of 4 (5, 6, 7, 8).
- Raise or not. With a spread on the table you may add a raise of up to your original bet.
- Third card. If it falls strictly between the first two, you win at the spread's odds; otherwise you lose.
Red dog rules: the payout table
| Spread | Example | Pays | Chance the third card lands inside (1 deck) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 and 7 | 5 to 1 | 8% |
| 2 | 5 and 8 | 4 to 1 | 16% |
| 3 | 5 and 9 | 2 to 1 | 24% |
| 4 to 11 | 5 and 10, up to 2 and ace | 1 to 1 | 32% to 88% |
| Pair, then three of a kind | 9, 9, 9 | 11 to 1 | 4% (2 of 50 cards) |
The Massachusetts rules allow a casino to pay more than this table, never less. The chance in the last column comes from counting cards: with one deck and a spread of s, there are 4s winning cards among the 50 left.
When to raise in red dog
The raise is the only decision you make. It pays at the same odds as your original bet, so it is worth adding only when the bet is in your favour on that hand. We worked out the value of each spread with one deck:
| Spread | Third card wins | Value of the bet (and the raise) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8% | minus 52% |
| 2 | 16% | minus 20% |
| 3 | 24% | minus 28% |
| 4 | 32% | minus 36% |
| 5 | 40% | minus 20% |
| 6 | 48% | minus 4% |
| 7 | 56% | plus 12% |
| 8 | 64% | plus 28% |
| 9 | 72% | plus 44% |
| 10 | 80% | plus 60% |
| 11 | 88% | plus 76% |
The pattern is the opposite of what the payout table suggests. The narrow spreads pay big odds but lose heavily; the wide spreads pay only even money but win most of the time. So the rule is simple: raise on a spread of 7 or more, never on 6 or less. With eight decks the break-even point is the same: a spread of 6 loses 7.25% and a spread of 7 gains 8.21%, in our calculation.
Pundit tip: a spread of 1 at 5 to 1 is the worst spot in the game. It feels like a long shot worth backing, but you lose more than half of what you raise.
How often each hand comes up
| First two cards | 1 deck | 8 decks |
|---|---|---|
| Consecutive (tie) | 14.48% | 14.24% |
| A pair | 5.88% | 7.47% |
| Spread of 1 | 13.27% | 13.05% |
| Spread of 7 or more (raise) | 18.10% | 17.80% |
About one hand in seven is a tie straight away. Fewer than one hand in five gives you a spread worth raising, which is why the raise only trims the house edge rather than flipping it.
Red dog house edge
| Strategy | 1 deck | 8 decks |
|---|---|---|
| Raise on spreads of 7 or more | 3.16% | 2.75% |
| Never raise | 9.19% | 7.88% |
These are per original bet, in our calculation, using the Massachusetts payout table. Raising correctly cuts the cost to about a third. More decks help you here, mainly because pairs become more common and a three of a kind becomes slightly easier to hit.
At 2.75% to 3.16%, red dog with the right raise sits around the price of single zero roulette, and well above baccarat banker. Compare it on our house edge page or the best odds casino games list.
Red dog and the gambler's urge to raise
The raise feels like skill, and in a small way it is: it is the only choice that changes the edge. But a correct raise still loses about 44% of the time on a spread of 7. A run of lost raises on good spreads is normal, not a sign you are unlucky or that the next one is "due", as our gambler's fallacy page explains. If you want simpler one-decision card games, compare casino war, and if you want decisions with more bite, three card poker.
Red dog in Australia
We found no red dog in the VGCCC's list of approved table games for Melbourne's casino. Online red dog is a casino-style game that cannot legally be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. It is not an offence to play, but offshore sites operate outside Australian law and ACMA blocks illegal gambling websites. If the urge to keep raising follows you away from the table, the gambling help page lists free support.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you play the red dog card game?
Bet, then the dealer turns up two cards. If they are consecutive the hand is a tie; if they are a pair a third card is dealt for three of a kind. Otherwise the gap between them is the spread, you may raise, and you win if the third card falls between the first two.
What are the red dog rules for a pair?
When the first two cards are a pair, a third card is dealt straight away. If it makes three of a kind, bets pay 11 to 1. If it does not, the hand is a tie and bets are returned, under the rule book we used.
When should you raise in red dog?
Only on a spread of 7 or more. In our one deck calculation a spread of 7 wins 56% of the time and makes the raise worth +12% of the raise; a spread of 6 wins only 48% and the raise loses 4%.
What is the house edge in red dog?
About 3.16% with one deck and 2.75% with eight decks if you raise on spreads of 7 or more, in our calculation. If you never raise, the edge rises to 9.19% and 7.88%.
Is red dog played in Australian casinos?
We could not find it in the VGCCC's list of approved table games for Melbourne's casino. Online red dog is a casino game that cannot legally be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act.
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