The game of "red dog" is also known as "acey-deucey" or "between the sheets". The original version of red dog was popular in the old west. However, red dog was an easy mark for cheaters, and it was played less and less. Some casinos revived red dog in the recent decades, but changed it to deter cheaters. This newer version of red dog has some significant changes, and is also called casino red dog.

Most of the newer casino's don't offer red dog, and it is getting harder and harder to find. red dog is usually dealt from a shoe containing four or five decks, although single deck games of red dog can be found occasionally, as can red dog games with 6 or 8 decks.

How to Play Red Dog

Red Dog is a card game similar to Acey-Deucey and In-Between. The game is played on a blackjack-sized table with two betting spots -- "bet" and "raise" -- using a 52-card deck. Only three cards are played per hand. Card suit is not relevant in Red Dog.

The popularity of Red Dog is largely due to its simplicity. As the pros say, if you can remember the number seven and know how to subtract, then you can play Red Dog as well as anyone in the world.

Objective

As a player, you place an opening bet and the dealer will deal two cards. The object of the game is to bet on the likelihood that the rank of a third card is going to fall between the first two. If it does fall between, you win. If it doesn't, you lose.

So far, it's too simple. This is where the "raise" bet comes in and it's based on the "spread". Spread is the number of card values that lie between the two initial cards. The value of any card from 2 to 10 counts at face value, a jack counts as 11, a queen as 12, a king as 13, and an ace counts as 14.

A couple of examples are worthwhile. Let's say the dealer deals a 7 and a 10. What's the spread? Since 8 and 9 fall between the 7 and 10, the spread is 2. Ok, let's say the next hand plays a 4 and a 5. The spread? Since the cards are consecutive, no cards fall between 4 and 5, it's called a "tie", you keep your money and the hand is over.

The interesting part of Red Dog is betting on the spread. This is an optional second bet where you go for a bonus payout. The house sets the odds based on a simple principle: the narrower the spread, the higher the potential payout ("bonus").

Betting

As indicated, you open with a bet and the dealer deals two cards. The cards are placed face up on the table and the dealer will place a marker to indicate (a) the spread and (b) the odds the house offers on an additional bet (the "raise"). If you bet no further, you will win your original bet at even money if you win the hand.

If you do decide to raise, you're betting at house odds as printed on the Red Dog table. If you win, you get your original bet at even money and the raise bet at the odds indicated.

If the first two cards are a tie -- consecutive cards -- you keep your bet.

If the two cards are a pair, betting stops but you'll get paid at 11:1 if the third card makes it three of a kind. Otherwise you lose your bet.

Finally, if the third card matches either of the first two, you lose your bet.

Payoff

In a winning hand, opening bets are always paid out at even money. Raise bets are paid out based on the spread as follows:

In casino red dog you don't get to handle any cards and the only decision is whether of not to raise your bet. If you can find red dog in a casino, the best strategy is to raise only when the two-card spread is seven or greater. Ever with the correct red dog strategy, the house edge is 3.5%.

Payoff table in red dog:

House Edge in red dog

The following table displays the house edge and element of risk according to the number of decks used in the game red dog.