An easy guide to Caribbean Stud Poker

Posted on July 28, 2008
Filed Under Poker |

For those of you who have never played Caribbean Stud Poker, this article might serve as a fast learning guide.

Caribbean stud poker is a casino table game, played with a deck of 52 cards, with rules similar to five card stud poker and is a fun game to play, especially in a brick and mortar casino. Unlike standard poker games, Caribbean stud poker is played against the house rather than against other players, and, like most such games, it cannot be beaten in the long run as it has a built-in house edge (or advantage) of 5.26%. Thus, for every $100 a player bets, in the long run they should lose $5.26. The main decision in Caribbean Stud Poker is whether to stay in the hand.

Because Caribbean Stud Poker is not especially favourable for the player, when Las Vegas casinos adopted Caribbean Stud Poker, they added a progressive jackpot in order to make it more attractive to the player. The jackpot doesn’t benefit the Caribbean Stud Poker player that much, but it has contributed to the raising popularity of the game which become a pretty standard offering in Nevada and other gambling jurisdictions.

Caribbean Stud Poker Betting

There are three main betting spots in Caribbean Stud Poker. The first betting spot is the Ante. You must ante up to play a hand of Caribbean Stud Poker. The next betting spot is called Bet. This is where you place additional money if you decide to stay in the hand. The final betting spot is for the progressive jackpot. Before the hand you have the option of placing one dollar in the progressive slot. Let’s get into more details.

Playing Caribbean Stud Poker

Each hand of Caribbean Stud Poker starts with you, the player, placing a wager on the ante spot. You also have the option of placing one dollar in the progressive slot. Once the hand begins the progressive is off limits. After your ante is placed and you either played the progressive or passed; you will be dealt five cards.

It’s now time to examine your five cards. If you feel you have a good hand that can beat the dealer, you will need to place a wager in the bet area to stay in the hand. Your wager will be double your ante wager. For instance, if you placed a $5 ante wager, your bet wager would be $10. Next, the dealer will reveal his or her hand to see who won. If you beat the dealer, your hand will be paid in accordance with the pay table.

The most critical decision a player faces is whether to fold or raise their bet once the cards are dealt. There are four possible outcomes that result from this decision:

- Player folds and loses their ante bet

- Player raises and wins only the ante bet because the dealer does not qualify

- Player raises and wins both the ante and the raise bet because the dealer qualified and the players hand beats the dealer’s hand

- Player raises and loses both the ante bet and the raise bet because the dealer qualified and the dealer’s hand beats the player’s hand

Dealer Qualifying

There is a catch in Caribbean Stud Poker. In order for your bet wager to be paid, the dealer must have a qualifying hand. If you beat the dealer, your ante wager is always paid even money. However, for your bet wager to be paid in accordance with your hand, the dealer must have a hand that is ace King or better.

That is really the down side. I can’t think of anything worse than being dealt a Four-of-a-Kind and seeing the dealer reveal a non-qualifying hand. That’s where the progressive can come in handy. Of course, the probability of you not being paid on a Four-of-a-Kind is quite low.

Caribbean Stud Poker Paytable

When you have a hand that beats the dealer’s qualifying hand, your bet wager will be paid in accordance with the following paytable.

One pair or less: 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

The odds in the above example are the most common odds for a typical Caribbean Stud Poker game, but the casino you are playing at may have different odds.

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