Caribbean Stud Poker – An introduction

Even though poker in general is getting more and more popular each and every day, some players wonder if the newer poker games have staying power. Well, when it comes to newer casino games in general, players dig in. Most an online poker player you will talk to says they love a new challenge. Caribbean Stud Poker has been around awhile, but it is one of the newer games of poker played in casinos today. Even more and more online poker rooms are offering this game to players. This is a pretty good inclination that you should take a closer look at this poker game. It is fun and different than most others.

In this article, we ill introduce you to this great poker game and show you how it is played.

Caribbean Stud is one of the fastest growing online casino games out there. This variation of poker was started obviously enough, in the Caribbean. The game soon started to played on cruise ships and is currently being played at all the big casinos in the US and even online casinos.

Many poker players are attracted to this game because it is simple to learn, and it has the promise of very large payoffs. Our guess is that it is the simple fact that big (we mean huge pots) can be won at times that can lure players into its folds. Yes, we mentioned that it is easy to play, but the house edge is more than 5%. Yes, this is a variation on poker that has you playing against the house. Why then, do people keep coming back for more? Most other table games with this kind of house edge don’t usually have the staying power that this newer casino game does. We think it has something to do with its marketing and noncompetitive approach, that players like enough to play against a 5% house edge. It is a bit noncompetitive because you are not playing against the other players at the table; you are playing against the dealer’s hand – like blackjack. In Caribbean Stud, you play directly against the dealer’s five card poker hand.

How this great game is played

Caribbean Stud is played on a casino game table that resembles a blackjack table. Most Caribbean Stud tables provide room for up to 7 players (even online). This casino game is run by one dealer and typically uses one 52 card playing deck. At land based casinos, this game uses an auto shuffler that will deal out five cards at a time. At each Caribbean Stud player’s spot at the table (right in front of you) will be a section designated for your ante and for your bet. Also, you will see a drop slot between your ante spot and the dealer.

Play begins after all players post their individual mandatory ante bet. Then, the dealer takes sets of five cards from the shoe and places one before each player as well as himself/herself. The dealer then shows one of his/her 5 cards to all of the players at the table and leaves it right on top of his/her other four unrevealed cards. Then, the dealer pushes each players set of cards closer to them. At ti=his time, each player is allowed to see their own 5 card hand.

Now that you can see your own hand, you evaluate it and figure out whether you want o stay in the game based on the fact that you have already seen one of the dealer’s cards, you will base your decision on whether you think you hand ranks well enough to stay in the game. After you check your hand, you have two choices – you can fold and lose your ante or you can stay in the game by placing a bet in the designated area in front of you. Now, the bet wager must be exactly twice the amount of your original ante.

After all players have made their decisions on whether to stay in at this point, the dealer turns over his or her remaining four cards. The dealer qualifies to stay in the game if his or her hand ranks A, K or higher.

Here are the possible outcomes for the players at the table:

-          If the dealer holds a qualifying hand of poker, he or she compares their hand to each poker player’s hand still in the game. If a player’s hand is higher than the dealer’s, that player wins both ante and bet wagers they put in front of themselves. If the player’s hand is lower than the dealer’s hand, they lose both their ante and bet wagers to the dealer. If two hands happen to be the exact same rank, it is considered a tie (very rare occurrence) game and a push takes place – no money changes hands.

-          If the dealers hand does not qualify, all players still in the game win. But, they only win their ante wager. This is an important part of the game – in this case, the bet wager is considered a push and is not paid off.

Winning ante bets are always paid even money, no matter how awesome your hand is. If the dealer does qualify, and a player has a better hand than them, the bet wager id paid off according to the following schedule: (sometimes the odds can vary from casino to casino)

-          One pair or less pays 1 to 1.

-          Two pair pays 2 to 1.

-          Three of a kind pays 3 to 1.

-          A straight pays 4 to 1.

-          A flush pays 5 to 1.

-          A full house pays 7 to 1.

-          Four of a kind pays 20 to 1.

-          A straight flush pays 50 to 1.

-          A royal flush pays 100 to 1.

Now, understand that there will some frustrating events that can take place during this casino game. You may have a great hand and if the dealer’s hand does not qualify, you will only get paid even money on your ante wager. Try not to get too excited about your great hand until you see the dealer’s hand. You could very well end up with nothing for your bet wager in this situation.

Now, there is a progressive pot that is involved in Caribbean Stud Poker that can get you a huge payoff on big poker hands - -even if the dealer does not qualify, too. This is sometimes known as the sucker bet of Caribbean Stud, but it pays big if you win it. For an extra one dollar on each hand, you are eligible to win a top prize that will generally be higher than $100,000.

Remember the drop slot we mentioned at the beginning of this article? This is where it comes in. If you want to play the progressive pot option, you put your dollar wager in the slot. After all bets are made, the dealer will press the button that allows the money to drop below the table. Typically a small red light (or some sort of marker) will signify next to your drop box that will indicate that you are playing the progressive wager. Always be sure that your light is lit at land based casinos. If you paid the bet and the light is not lit – let the dealer know immediately. This side bet gives you a small chance at winning the amount you can see on the progressive payout meter, regardless of the dealer’s hand value.

The typical progressive jackpot payout is this:

-          Royal flush wins the entire pot.

-          Straight flush wins 10% of the pot.

-          Four of a kind typically pays somewhere between $100 and $500.

-          A full house usually pays around $75 to $250 bucks.

-          A flush will usually pay between $50 and $100.

Always remember – these payoffs take place no matter if the dealer qualifies or not. In the extremely unlikely situation where two players may have a royal flush and are both playing the extra bet, casinos will usually half the pot.

Here you have it - that is your introduction to Caribbean Stud Poker. It can be very fun and we were not kidding when we said it was easy to play. Be sure to check back at our article section as we will go more into the details of this game’s strategy next.

 

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