Red Dog Strategy

The thing I like about this red dog strategy is that it is so easy to apply. Red Dog poker is a simple game where the dealer deals two cards and the player has to decide if a third card will fall between the two cards dealt.

If the first two cards dealt are a pair a third is dealt immediately and if this card makes three of a kind the player is paid 11 to 1, if it does not make three of a kind the result is a push and the player gets the original bet back. If the first two cards are consecutive, the result is a push and the player gets their original bet back.

If the first two cards are neither a pair, nor consecutive, the player has the opportunity to raise their original bet if they believe the next card will fall somewhere between the values of the two dealt cards. The spread, which represents the number of card values that fall between the two dealt cards, determines the odds paid in the event of the player winning. For example, if a 7 is dealt and a 9 is dealt the spread is 1 and the dealer will pay 5 to 1 if the player wins.

The Odds:

5 to 1 For a spread of 1

4 to 1 For a spread of 2

2 to 1 For a spread of 3

1 to 1 For a spread of 4 to 11

11 to 1 For three of a kind

The Strategy:

The main strategy for Red Dog Poker is to raise any time the spread is 7 or higher and to sit for all other spreads. This is based on the calculated house edge and on a single deck game. Two cards have been dealt so there are 50 possible cards left in the deck to be dealt.

Spread of 6 - 24 winning cards 26 losing cards in deck

Spread of 7 - 28 winning cards 22 losing cards in deck

Spread of 8 - 32 winning cards 18 losing cards in deck

Whilst the strategy remains the same for any number of decks, the house edge improves as the number of decks increase.

The Facts:

Using this basic strategy you will win more of your raised hands then you will lose. Unfortunately this does not compensate for the amount that you will lose on the un-raised hands. Having said that, you can still make a profit by combining the strategy with good sign-up and deposit bonuses as shown via the table below.

The table shows the results of using the strategy over a series of ten thousand hands played with a starting stake of $1000. To provide an accurate representation we have included the total amount wagered, the minimum stake (the lowest point the stake reached) the winnings (or losses) and the return on the amount wagered.

With an overall return of over 97% it should be quite easy to make a profit when combining with any bonus plan. For instance, you deposit $500 and get a $500 match bonus. If you played 10000 hands you have wagered 20 times the bonus amount, more than meeting bonus requirements and your stake is $670 which is a profit of $170. If you pull out after 5000 hands you would still meet the bonus requirements and have a profit of $340. So the system can work if applied correctly.

There are ways to improve your return, one of which uses a double-up system after a certain number of losses. RedDog is a game that can have long loss streaks so you cannot double-up too early. Through our simulator we have found that doubling after 18 losses without a win or a three of a kind (do not count a push as a loss) up to 27 losses provides the safest double-up system.

The double-up system won't give you a lot of action but when it does it usually helps your return. It can however produce losses when losing streaks greater than 27 occur which, luckily is only rarely.

Both approaches can produce winning streaks but over time the only real way to come out in front is to combine the red dog strategy with good bonus systems.

Recommended Casinos for Playing Red Dog

The following online casinos have the game Red Dog with the same odds as the strategy above. They have been thoroughly checked out by the Zen Gambling team and are highly reputable. We recommend them for trying out our Red Dog strategy, whether you want to play for free/fun, or if you want to play for real money. Good luck!

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