Red Dog game is based on 5 Card Stud Poker, but in this game you are not playing against other players or the house. Here you only play against your own luck. The objective of Red Dog is to predict whether the value of a randomly selected card falls between the value of two cards drawn previously by the dealer. In this game, 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. One deck of 52 cards is used. The cards are shuffled after each round of play.

In Red Dog players begin by making a wager that is made by selecting the desired amount of chips at the bottom of the casino game window. Your bet total is shown in the Player Information box. This amount may be increased or decreased by placing the mouse on the stack that you wish to add or subtract to your bet. Each time you click the left mouse button you will add a chip from that pile to your planned wager amount. Likewise by clicking on the right mouse button you can decrease your planned wager amount. Once a wager has been placed, players press the "DEAL" button and the dealer draws two cards and places them face up on the table.

A Red Dog is then placed on the table indicating the spread between the two cards the dealer has drawn. If the dealer draws a non-consecutive hand then the players have the option to double their wager by clicking on the "RAISE" button. In this case a third card is drawn. If the dealer draws a pair hand or a consecutive hand then a third card will not be drawn. The details pertaining to the three different scenarios are described below. Most hands in Red Dog fall into some category. When the dealer draws two cards which are not consecutive or the same, this is called a non-consecutive hand. In this case, the dealer will announce the spread between the two drawn cards and place a Red Dog on the table indicating the spread. The spread is number of values that fall between the values of the two cards drawn by the dealer. For example, if the two cards drawn by the dealer were 2 and Jack, the spread is 8 since there are eight values between the 2 and Jack (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).