Red dog, also known as red dog poker or yablon, is a game of chance played with cards. It is a variation of acey-deucey or in-between. While found in some land casinos, its popularity has declined, although it is featured at many casinos online. Confusingly, there are other card-based games of chance by the same name that are unrelated to the rules described here.
The deck used to play red dog is the standard, fifty-two-card variety. The game may be played with anywhere from one to eight decks, with an increasing number of decks decreasing the house edge - the house's advantage begins at 3.155% with one deck, but falls to 2.751% when eight decks are used. This is in contrast with some other casino card games, such as blackjack, where a higher number of decks used will increase the house edge.
The game only uses three cards at a time, which are ranked as in poker, with aces high. Suit is irrelevant. A wager is placed, and two cards are placed face up on the table, with three possible outcomes:
The spread table is as follows:
Spread | Payout |
---|---|
1-card | 5 to 1 |
2-card | 4 to 1 |
3-card | 2 to 1 |
4-to-11-card | 1 to 1 (even money) |
Even when using eight decks, red dog does not offer favorable odds for the player in comparison with other games of chance common to casinos. There is little strategy involved; raises should only be made when a spread statistically favors a player (which is at seven cards or more, regardless of the number of decks used).