If you have never been to a casino or public poker room before, your first trip can be filled with excitement, anticipation, and exhilaration. It may also cause you a little fear and apprehension. This article gives you a few pointers and some information about how things work in most casinos and public poker.
Perhaps it's the casino atmosphere or the exotic names of the new table games, but feeling anxious walking up to a poker table is not abnormal. Don't be afraid. If you know the basics of five-card stud poker, you'll fit right in at the Caribbean Stud Poker table. Just remember that you're playing against the Dealer, not the other Players, so you don't have to worry about figuring out everyone else's strategy. We're not suggesting, though, that Caribbean Stud is a great way to win money and you won't be able to sit and relax for a while as you can with, say, Pai-Gow Poker.
The Basics
Step up to the table and place a bet on the box marked Ante. At this time, you also may place a $1 Progressive bet on the marked space. If you happen to be dealt a flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush or royal flush and have placed a $1 Progressive bet, you will win additional money. This money ranges from casino to casino, so check with your Dealer. The odds are slim that you will be dealt these high-payout hands, but you can decide whether or not this extra bet is worth it to you and your bankbook.
After Ante and any Progressive bets are placed, all Players and the Dealer will be dealt five cards each. The Players' cards are face down and the Dealer will place four of his cards face down and one face up. Now, go ahead and look at your cards. Then, look at the Dealer's one face-up card. Now, look at your cards again. OK, try not to take too long. Your decision is simple. Do you have a winning hand based on basic poker hand rankings? If you have absolutely nothing, not even a pair, fold. Immediately, you will lose your Ante bet and, if placed, your Progressive bet. Placing your cards on the table is a sign to the Dealer that you're out of this hand.
If, however, you have a playable hand, perhaps a pair or straight, and you believe that you might beat the Dealer's hand, it's time to place an additional bet. In the box marked Bet, you must wager twice the amount of the Ante bet. For example, if your Ante bet was $10, you must place $20 on the Bet box.
Once all Players have made their decision to either play or fold, the Dealer reveals his hand. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as your hand beating his. The Dealer's hand must contain a minimum poker hand ranking of an Ace and King. If his cards do not contain the minimum hand, he folds. At that time, Players who stayed in the game, receive 1:1 odds on the Ante bet. However, their secondary bet is returned to them with no additional money. Continuing with our example, you would receive your original $10 Ante, plus an additional $10, and your original secondary bet of $20 would be returned.
If the Dealer's hand contains at least an Ace and King, he must then play his hand against each Player based on traditional poker hand rankings. If your hand beats the Dealer's, you win even money on your Ante bet. For your secondary bet, the odds are as follows:
| Pair | 1:1 |
| Two Pair | 2:1 |
| Three-of-a-kind | 3:1 |
| Straight | 4:1 |
| Flush | 5:1 |
| Full House | 7:1 |
| Four-of-a-kind | 20:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
If the Dealer beat your hand, you automatically lose your Ante and secondary bets. However, if you placed a Progressive bet and were dealt a flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush or royal flush, you would win the Progressive Jackpot even if you lost to the Dealer.
Now that you understand the basics, you can sit down at the Caribbean Stud Poker table with confidence.
Table Of Contents
- Caribbean Stud Poker is a popular Casino card game
- You play against the house rather than other players
- You can improve your winning chances with the help of a few strategy tips
A friend once told me, 'You cannot call yourself a Poker player if you only know how to play one variant of Poker'.
And despite the fact we all grow with Texas Hold'em being our bread-and-butter, it may very well be true.
There are so many Poker variants out there that you should now limit yourself to only one game.
Take Caribbean Stud Poker, for example.
Caribbean Poker may not be the Casino game with the best odds, but it can help you to understand Poker a lot better than you do now.
That's what this guide is for.
Learn Caribbean Stud, practice the game online for free, and ace your Poker games. Starting today.
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Play NowHow to Play Caribbean Stud
Before you start to play Caribbean Poker online - even for free - you need to know how to play.
So, let's learn!
Caribbean Stud Poker Rules
In a game of Caribbean Stud Poker, the dealer uses a standard 52-card deck of French cards, the same you use to play NLH.
To join the game, you need to make an ante bet.
Most online games have the minimum bet set at $1. Keep this in mind when you decide the size of the bankroll to bring with you at the table.
Once your bet is on the table, the dealer gives you five cards.
A game of Caribbean Poker does not include community cards. What you land from the get-go stays with you until the end of the full round.
The dealer also gets five cards:
- One card is face-up
- Four cards are face down
So, you have two options at this point:
- Call (raise) - You continue to play. This requires an extra bet equal to 2x the ante bet;
- Fold - You leave the game. No further bets are required, but you forfeit the initial ante bet.
The goal of a Caribbean Poker game is to beat the dealer. To do so, your hand needs to be higher than theirs.
But their hand also needs to 'qualify' - which means it needs to be Ace-King or better. If the dealer's hand does not meet this requirement, you get paid 1 to 1 for your ante.
That's the only win. You get nothing extra for your Call bet.
Caribbean Poker Strategy Tip: The dealer's hand only qualifies when they have an Ace-King (both an Ace and a King in their hand) or higher hand.
If you want to have more chances to win a hand of Caribbean Poker online, make sure your hand beats an AK.
What happens when you play or fold?
When you fold, the run is over. You lose your ante and need to bet again if you want to continue playing Caribbean Poker.
When you call, it's showdown time.
Here's when three things may happen:
- The Dealer doesn't qualify. You get 1 to 1 for your ante bet and get your call bet back;
- The Dealer qualifies, and their hand beats yours. You lose both the ante and the call bets;
- The Dealer qualifies, and your hand wins. You win both the ante (1 to 1) the and call bets
What you get when you win a call bet?
In Caribbean Poker, the payout depends on your hand.
| Your hand | Call bet payouts |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 50 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 20 to 1 |
| Full House | 7 to 1 |
| Flush | 5 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 |
| Two Pair | 2 to 1 |
| One pair | 1 to 1 |
| Ace-King High | 1 to 1 |
Which Casino Can You Play Stud Poker For Free
Caribbean Stud Poker Progressive Jackpot Bet
There's one more bet you can place at Caribbean Stud Poker table.
Meet the Progressive Side Bet. When available, this bet is your only chance to activate (and perhaps win) a progressive jackpot.
In most games, this side bet is equal to the table's minimum bet.
Playing the Progressive side bet (or not) doesn't affect any of the other bets you make. You can place the side bet along with your ante bet.
If you do, you win the jackpot if your hand is a Flush or better.
In all other cases, you lose the bet before you even make your mind about folding or calling in the main game.
The jackpot bet is not affected by the dealer's hand either. Even if the dealer beats your hand, you may still win the jackpot bet.
As long as you have a Flush or more, of course.
| Your hand | Jakpot bet payouts |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100 percent of the jackpot |
| Straight Flush | 10 percent of the jackpot |
| Four of a Kind | 500x |
| Full House | 100x |
| Flush | 50x |
Is it worth it?
The progressive jackpot in Caribbean Stud Poker comes with its house edge. It depends on the amount that the jackpot will pay out. If the jackpot is above $352,146, you get an advantage at winning it.
Of course, that doesn't mean you will win, but it's the kind of odds you'd like to see at every Casino game bet.
If the jackpot is smaller, not only it will be less tempting, but the House will have the edge over you anyway.
Important: Progressive jackpot bet is not available at every Casino that offers Caribbean Stud Poker.
Want to play Caribbean Stud with a progressive jackpot?Check out these Caribbean Poker games online!
How to Win at Caribbean Stud Poker?
If you play table games for fun, you don't think that much about your winning prospects.
And that's fine.
But if you want to improve your chances, you can use the Caribbean Stud strategy.
Bonus: it's the most uncomplicated strategy you'll ever learn. Seriously.
Caribbean Stud Poker Strategy
The Caribbean Poker strategy is pretty straightforward.
You can't bluff when you play against the House. So, if you want to call, you need to have a decent hand.
To win more than only your ante bet, your hand needs to be Ace-King or higher.
If the score of your hand is lower, you can only hope for the dealer's hand not to qualify - and that's a far too risky choice to 'only' double your ante.
Numbers at hand, the dealer qualifies 56 per cent of the time. So, it's not really in your favour to hope at this point.
How to play then?
Fold.
According to Peter Griffin and John M. Gwynn Jr.1, you have the best odds when you call on hand that's Ace-King-Jack-8-3 or better.
So, that's pretty much all you need to remember when making that one significant strategical move in the game.
1: [I]Based on Peter Griffin and John M. Gwynn Jr.'s analysis of Caribbean Stud Poker and its odds. You can read about it in the book '[I]Finding the Edge: Mathematical Analysis of Casino Games[/I]'.
Practice Caribbean Stud for Free or with 'Micro' Bets
You don't have to take my (or Griffin's and Gwynn's) word for it.
Try playing with the mentioned strategy yourself.
Thanks to the demo games available at some online Casinos, you can play Caribbean Stud Poker online for free.
>> Try the game here
Or you can try to play here and go for the real money action even if you are a low roller.
When the minimum bet is $1, you need at least $3 to play a full round of the game.
Unless you play the cheapest games of Caribbean Stud Poker online.
Few players know they can play as little as $0.01 per ante bet (or $0.03 for a full round of the game).
The micro-stakes games are a perfect option to practice and to play your first Caribbean Stud real money rounds.
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