homepokeredge.com
  • HPE Home
    • Contact HPE
    • Advertise on HPE
    • About HPE
    • Links
  • Home Poker Game Guide
    • Dealer's Choice Poker Guide
    • High-Low Poker Guide
    • Etiquette & Rules
    • Poker Tournament Guide >
      • Tournament Blinds
    • Poker Resources >
      • Guide to Poker Chips
      • How to Clean Poker Chips
      • Poker Chip Values
      • Guide to Playing Cards
      • How to Clean Plastic Cards
      • Guide to Poker Tables
      • Tournament Timers & Managers
  • Draw Poker Games
    • 3 Card Drop w/ Draw Tips
    • 42 Draw Playing Tips
    • 52 Draw Playing Tips
    • 543 Draw Playing Tips
    • Dog Leg Playing Tips
  • Hold 'em Games
    • Crazy Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Hot & Cold Pineapple Tips
    • Picked Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Hot Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Short Deck Hold'em Tips
  • Omaha Games #1
    • Bermuda Triangle Tips
    • Eiffel Tower Tips
    • Frame-Up Tips
    • Hourglass Tips
    • Kite Tail Tips
    • Mayan Pyramid Tips
    • Omaha Double Cross Tips
    • Playing the Angles Tips
    • Pyramid Tips
    • Pyramid 1-2-3 Tips
    • Tic-Tac-Toe Tips
    • Tri-Star Omaha Tips
    • Turnpike Tips
  • Omaha Games #2
    • 32 Poker Tips
    • Double Discard Hot Omaha Tips
    • Double Discard Double Hot Omaha Tips
    • Double Hot Omaha Tips
    • Hot & Cold Omaha Tips
    • Double Hot & Cold Omaha Tips
    • Hot Okie Tips
    • OK Sooner or Later Tips
    • Omaha-5 Tips
  • Stud Poker Games
    • 2 By 4 Stud Tips
    • 2 Out of 3 Stud Tips
    • 3 Card Drop Tips
    • Cow Pie Stud Tips
    • Criss-Cross Tips
    • Cross Road Stud Tips
    • Crosswalk Stud Tips
    • Elevator Tips
    • Escalators Tips
    • Hex Poker Tips
    • High & Low Chicago
    • Hold 'Em Stud Tips
    • House of Commons Stud Tips
    • Pyramid Steps Tips
    • Rock-Leigh Tips
    • Roll 'Em Hold 'Em Stud Tips
    • Train Wreck Stud Tips
  • Wild Card Poker Games
    • Wild Card Poker Guide
    • Bummer Tips
    • Bummer Draw Tips
    • Cow Pie Stud w/Joker Tips
    • Criss-Cross Wild Tips
    • Express Elevator Tips
    • K2 Draw Tips
    • Trinity Tips
    • Triple Option Tips
    • Wild Hex Tips
  • Other Games
    • Badugi Tips
    • Spew Tips

PLAYING TIPS for TIC-TAC-TOE POKER

HOW TO PLAY TIC-TAC-TOE Poker:
​Tic-Tac-Toe Poker is an Omaha-based poker game.  Deal each player 4 hole cards.  Place 9 cards face down on the board arranged as 3 rows of 3 cards each.  See diagram below.  Reveal 3 random cards per betting round.  Players must use exactly 2 hole cards plus all 3 cards from either:  
   1 of the 3 horizontal rows (ABC, DEF, GHI), or  
   1 of the 3 vertical rows (ADG, BEH, CFI), or
   1 of the 2 diagonal rows (AEI, CEG)
May be played high-low split. ​
                                                   A     B     C
                                             D     E     F
                                             G     H     I
​SUMMARY of ACTION
Deal 4 hole cards to each player.  Arrange board cards.
Bet
Reveal any 3 cards (e.g. A, F, H)
Bet
Reveal any 3 cards (e.g. B, D, I)
Bet
Reveal remaining 3 cards. 
Bet
High only or Hi-Lo Cards Speak: Showdown
High-Low Declaration: Declare
Bet
Showdown​
PLAYING TIPS for TIC-TAC-TOE POKER
In Tic-Tac-Toe poker there are 8 three card combinations that can be made from the common board cards.  This is only slightly fewer than most Omaha based games.  Expect Tic-Tac-Toe poker to play out very similar to "standard" Omaha.   How coordinated the board cards are will determine the usual winning hand.  This is especially true when a straight or flush is the best possible hand and for the low hand if playing a high-low version.   When these are present you will probably need the best to win.
STARTING HAND SELECTION
In Omaha based games you want to have been dealt a hand that gives many possibilities for winning.  With 4 hole cards, there are 6 couples of 2 cards available.  The more the couples are coordinated, the better the starting hand.  Strong starting holdings are those that have multiple chances of leading to a winning full house, flush, straight or the best low.   Combining elements of good starting low and high hands gives you the best shot.  Some examples of starting hands with both high and low potential:  A♣ A ♥K♣ 2♥,  K♥ K♠ 2♥ A♠,   A♠ A♦2♦3♠.   ​

For high having a high pair or two is a good start, provided they are also coordinated to other cards.  (For example, A♣ A♦ 2♣ 3♦ ​ or   A♣ A♦ K♣ K♦). You have a small possibility of getting a full house, but most of the time trips is the best you'll get so the higher your pair(s) the better.  You will be dealt any 2 pair about 3% of the time and any one pair about 30%.  Without additional coordination single pairs alone (even aces) are not a good starting hand.     Suited high connected cards are helpful for both straights and flushes.   Unsuited connectors are best if they are high cards or low cards; middling connectors tend to make mediocre straights and lows.   High suited cards, preferably an ace with a small card give both nut flush and low hand possibilities.    You don't want to see trips in your hand since you can only use 2 cards.

For low 2A is the best start.  3A or 32 gives you a one card draw to the nuts, and either is absolutely playable.  Unfortunately, when you have only 2 low cards in your hand there is a pretty good possibility that one of them will appear on the board. That does not always counterfeit your low as there are other cards that could come to save you.  But there is a very high chance it will.  For that reason, a protected low like 32A or 42A is a far better hand.  Whenever you hold one of these low hands with an ace, you'd prefer the ace to be suited to one of your other cards.​ 
4 CARD ​LOW HAND PROBABILITIES or ODDS TABLE
Approximate chances of these LOW hands being dealt to you as your 4 hole cards.
4 Card Hand
A2XX
A3XX or 23XX
---
A23X
Any 4-low (3 cards)
Any 5-low (3 cards)
---
A234
Any 5-low (4 cards)
Any 6-low (4 cards)
Any 7-low (4 cards)
Percent Probability
7.2%
14.4%
---
1.2%
3.6%
7.2%
---
0.09%
0.36%
0.9%
1.8%
Odds Probability
13:1
6:1
---
82:1
27:1
13:1
---
1110:1
277:1
110:1
​55:1
​THE BOARD CARDS
There are 8 separate combinations of board cards that may be used so Tic-Tac-Toe can get complicated compared to some other games.  You must be aware of all the board cards in order to help in assessing the likely winning hands. A pair must appear in one of the 8 rows in order for a full house or quads to be possible.  And, with 9 cards and 8 playable combinations of cards that is a good possibility.  A set of trips in a single row is a 424:1 long shot, but, if it occurs a full house is a near certainty and quads a distinct possibility.  A full line of board cards with all 3 cards suited is fairly common, though it occurs less frequently than a pair appears. If a flush is possible, you will probably need the nut or second-best flush to win.  Board cards with straight possibilities are common, though they may not be winners with any regularity.  Hands of trips or less are nearly hopeless.
Copyright HomePokerEdge.com   All rights reserved.
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • HPE Home
    • Contact HPE
    • Advertise on HPE
    • About HPE
    • Links
  • Home Poker Game Guide
    • Dealer's Choice Poker Guide
    • High-Low Poker Guide
    • Etiquette & Rules
    • Poker Tournament Guide >
      • Tournament Blinds
    • Poker Resources >
      • Guide to Poker Chips
      • How to Clean Poker Chips
      • Poker Chip Values
      • Guide to Playing Cards
      • How to Clean Plastic Cards
      • Guide to Poker Tables
      • Tournament Timers & Managers
  • Draw Poker Games
    • 3 Card Drop w/ Draw Tips
    • 42 Draw Playing Tips
    • 52 Draw Playing Tips
    • 543 Draw Playing Tips
    • Dog Leg Playing Tips
  • Hold 'em Games
    • Crazy Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Hot & Cold Pineapple Tips
    • Picked Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Hot Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Pineapple Poker Tips
    • Short Deck Hold'em Tips
  • Omaha Games #1
    • Bermuda Triangle Tips
    • Eiffel Tower Tips
    • Frame-Up Tips
    • Hourglass Tips
    • Kite Tail Tips
    • Mayan Pyramid Tips
    • Omaha Double Cross Tips
    • Playing the Angles Tips
    • Pyramid Tips
    • Pyramid 1-2-3 Tips
    • Tic-Tac-Toe Tips
    • Tri-Star Omaha Tips
    • Turnpike Tips
  • Omaha Games #2
    • 32 Poker Tips
    • Double Discard Hot Omaha Tips
    • Double Discard Double Hot Omaha Tips
    • Double Hot Omaha Tips
    • Hot & Cold Omaha Tips
    • Double Hot & Cold Omaha Tips
    • Hot Okie Tips
    • OK Sooner or Later Tips
    • Omaha-5 Tips
  • Stud Poker Games
    • 2 By 4 Stud Tips
    • 2 Out of 3 Stud Tips
    • 3 Card Drop Tips
    • Cow Pie Stud Tips
    • Criss-Cross Tips
    • Cross Road Stud Tips
    • Crosswalk Stud Tips
    • Elevator Tips
    • Escalators Tips
    • Hex Poker Tips
    • High & Low Chicago
    • Hold 'Em Stud Tips
    • House of Commons Stud Tips
    • Pyramid Steps Tips
    • Rock-Leigh Tips
    • Roll 'Em Hold 'Em Stud Tips
    • Train Wreck Stud Tips
  • Wild Card Poker Games
    • Wild Card Poker Guide
    • Bummer Tips
    • Bummer Draw Tips
    • Cow Pie Stud w/Joker Tips
    • Criss-Cross Wild Tips
    • Express Elevator Tips
    • K2 Draw Tips
    • Trinity Tips
    • Triple Option Tips
    • Wild Hex Tips
  • Other Games
    • Badugi Tips
    • Spew Tips