Red Dog History

Red Dog is a variation of the game Yablon, also known as Ace-Deuce or In-Between.
The name Red Dog is borrowed from a game of the same name but that is where the
similarities end. Surpassed only by Blackjack, the original Red Dog was the most
popular fast-action card game played by servicemen during World War II.
Red Dog Rules
Red Dog is a game played with a 52-card deck and uses only 3 cards at a time. The
object of the game is to bet on what the third card is going to be. The dealer
will deal out 2 cards, one on the left and one on the right. In order for the
player to win, the third card’s rank must come between the other two cards’ rank.
So if the two cards are a 5 and a Jack, a winning hand would consist of a card
between a 6 and a 10. The closer the two cards are in rank the higher the pay
out. Before the player sees the third card, he has the option of doubling his
bet by clicking on the raise button. A push happens when the first two cards dealt
are either consecutive or are a pair. If the third card dealt makes three of a
kind then the player is paid out at 11 to 1.
 
Red Dog Strategy
This
is probably the shortest strategy ever written: only Double on Spread 7 or better.
Period. That’s it. End of strategy.
Okay, if you’re
still reading I’m assuming it’s because you want a little detail. It’s still pretty
simple, but here it is: the player only gets an edge when the spread is 7 or more.
This is actually quite obvious. At Spread 7, 7 cards will give you a winning hand.
And since there are 13 cards from Deuce to Ace (2 ,3 ,4 ,5 ,6 ,7 ,8, 9, 10, J,
Q, K, A), that means that only 6 cards will cause you to lose.
Spread 7 gives
the player about a 54% chance of winning and it gets better from there on up to
around 85% at Spread 11. So the strategy is to only Double on the Spreads that
give you an edge, namely 7 through 11. Spreads below 7 give the house an increasingly
stiff edge and should be avoided.