Let It Ride . Poker is a variation of five-card stud, based on three player cards and two community cards. The two community cards are initially dealt face down. The most distinguishing feature of Let It Ride . Poker is that the player is given two opportunities to withdraw exactly one-third of their initial wager. One chance occurs after the player looks at their hand but before the first community card is revealed, and the second occurs after the first community card is revealed, but before the second is revealed. The player may reduce their wager on either of these occasions, or on both, or neither. If the player decides not to withdraw part of their wager, they are said to "let it ride" In order to ensure that the player's initial wager is divisible by three, each player must distribute their wager over three betting spots which must all contain the same chip value. On some table layouts these spots are given the symbols 1, 2 and $, with 1 and 2 indicating the thirds of the wager which the player can withdraw before the first and second community cards respectively are turned up, and $ representing the third of the wager which there is never a chance to withdraw.

After players have placed their bets, the dealer starts from their left, and deals each player one card, followed by the first face-down community card, followed by a further card to each player, followed by the second community card, followed by a final card to each player. Players are not permitted to show their cards or to see the cards of other players at any point before the end of the deal.

In the event of a winning hand after the second community card is revealed, what remains of the player's wager is paid out according to a payout table such as the one given below. There are small variations in payoffs between casinos, but the lowest paying hand in Let It Ride is typically a pair of 10s; a pair of nines or less is a losing hand, which results in the player forfeiting their remaining wager to the house.