Let It Ride Through the Decades: A Storied Past From the 80s to Today

Geoff Kukard

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Born at the tail end of the 1980s and bursting onto the scene in the early 90s, Let It Ride reimagined poker, thanks to an ex-truck driver with a bold vision. We'll delve into how Let It Ride started and how it captured casinos across America, also leading to modern digital forms.

An Overview of Let It Ride

First things first—Let It Ride boils down to blending your cards with two communal ones to craft a winning hand.

Before you even see a card, you're putting down three distinct bets. As each community card flips, you'll face the choice to either retrieve a bet or let it continue.

At its core, Let It Ride challenges you to craft the best possible hand using three dealt cards and two community ones. Hence, a solid understanding of poker hand rankings is crucial. how to play poker like the pros is a key strategy.

Let It Live: Precursors and Origins

Let It Ride joins the ranks of stud poker, which traces its origins back to 1700s America. These poker forms, seen as favorites today, spread during the Revolutionary and Civil War eras.

Stud poker's popularity persists in both US and Canadian casinos, with variants such as Six-Card Stud, High-Low Stud, Mexican Stud, and Razz. Caribbean Stud, devised by poker pro David Sklansky, remains a player favorite.

Back in the early 1980s, John Breeding left his trucking life to create Shuffle Master, an automatic shuffler. This revolutionary invention sparked the inception of Let It Ride by 1992.

Let It Ride quickly became a staple in Las Vegas and beyond, propelling Breeding's single-deck shuffling innovation forward. This technology enabled dealers to concentrate solely on gameplay.

The Visionary Behind It All: John Breeding, the Innovator with Shuffle Master

Automatic card shuffler

To fully grasp Let It Ride's legacy, we journey through John Breeding's innovative mind and his Shuffle Master creation, initially aimed at enhancing casino operations.

This shuffling machine was devised to thwart card counting, inspired by a Wall Street Journal article highlighting its necessity in casinos. Casino War .

Conquering physical venues nationwide, Shuffle Master advanced into online gaming tech, catering to online poker, roulette, and video slot games like 88 Fortunes and Dancing Drums.

Three decades after founding Shuffle Master, Breeding cashed out, selling to Bally Technologies, which subsequently shifted to Scientific Games—now known as Light & Wonder.

Let It Ride embraced the digital world in 2003, courtesy of InterCasino. Today, major software developers, such as Evolution and Aristocrat Gaming, offer diverse Let It Ride versions.

Let It Ride Goes Digital

The essence of the online game remains true to its land-based counterpart, though RNGs ensure fair outcomes for all digital enhancements.

Live online Let It Ride offers an immersive experience akin to traditional play. A live dealer streams directly to you, while you engage with others using the Shuffle Master-shuffled deck.

Earlier, we touched on Caribbean Stud as Let It Ride's closest relative. In the table below, we outline how these two games align and diverge in gameplay style.

Comparing and Contrasting Let It Ride with Caribbean Stud Poker

Seven tables for players face the dealer, who manages areas designated for ante, betting, and jackpots.

  Origin Equipment Table Layout Gameplay

Caribbean Stud Poker

Invented by David Sklansky in 1982.

One deck of cards and table

Both dealer and players receive five cards, with the player's exposed and the dealer's slowly revealed. Players may fold at any moment in the reveal process, but they forfeit all wagers if the dealer triumphs.

Engage in a poker duel with two card decks, a table, and the Shuffle Master.

Let It Ride

Invented by John Breeding in 1992.

Seven unique player sections line up against the dealer's two community card slots.

Place three initial wagers, accompanied by three face-down cards and two concealed community ones. Each community card frees you to withdraw a bet or press forward with certainty.

Having embraced Let It Ride's past, it's now time to explore modern platforms offering the game, such as 888Casino, with its broad array of stud poker and live Three Card Brag sessions.

Playing Let It Ride Online Today

playing cards and poker chips on laptop

Searching for Canada's Let It Ride hotspots? Look no further than

—your recommended hub for diverse table games, virtual slots, and live dealer options. real money online casino list Beyond typical bets, Let It Ride tantalizes with bonus options, including:

Let It Ride side bets

3-Card Bonus Bet: Initiated before dealing and only rewarded based on your initial cards, promising payout on at least pairs.

  • 5-Card Bonus Bet: Wager on whether your five-card combo, using personal and community cards, holds up.
  • 6-Card Bonus Bet: Reap benefits by matching three-of-a-kind or beyond with all available cards.
  • RTP signifies 'Return To Player,' indicating the percentage of every dollar wagered returned, with the remainder funding the house.

RTP

A thriving business model, balancing profitability with player appeal.   how online casinos work Let It Ride offers a 96.5% RTP, revealing a 3.5% casino edge in ensuring profit.

Now informed about Let It Ride's storied past, let's look ahead. Fast-paced casino innovations hint at thrilling new versions and game varieties.

The Future of Let It Ride

economic graphs

Virtual reality stands poised to transform your online casino experiences, presenting a scenario where Let It Ride becomes part of your home via immersive VR setups.

As digital casinos emulate realism with live dealers, the

future of Canadian physical casinos heads towards becoming more automated, using e-tables to remove the need for human dealers. Aspiring to embrace Let It Ride and similar games' futures? Keep tabs on top

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