Caribbean Stud Poker, sometimes referred to simply as Caribbean Poker, bears a strong resemblance to 5 Card Stud, except the game is played against the dealer and not against other players. Carribean Poker is very reliant upon luck, and the only skill involved is deciding whether or not to raise. There is also an available jackpot in Caribbean Poker.
Basic Caribbean Stud Poker Hand
The hand begins with the players making their ante bets. Five cards are then dealt to each player and the dealer. One of the dealer’s cards is dealt face up, while every other card on the table is dealt face down. Players can then look at the cards, but may make no indication of what their cards are. This is very important to prevent collusion, which would lower the house edge considerably.
After looking at their cards, each player must decide whether to raise or fold. Players give up their antes if they fold. If a player raises, the raise must be twice the size of the ante After all the players act, the dealer reveals the other four cards in the dealer’s hand.
The dealer hand must qualify to beat the player hands, and the dealer must have Ace-King at the very least to qualify. Players will win the ante bet if the dealer does not qualify, and will take back their raises. If the dealer qualifies and there is a tie, it is considered a push. The player loses both bets if the dealer’s qualifying hand wins, otherwise the player will win even money on the ante bet and the raise will be paid according to casino specific pay tables.
I have created a sample pay table for the raise below.
| Poker Hand Rank | Payoff |
| 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 |
| Other | 1 to 1 |
Progressive Jackpot
At the beginning of the hand, the player has the option of making a $1 Progressive Jackpot bet. If the player has a great hand, they get paid from the jackpot for their $1 bet. The payout is typically 100% of the jackpot for a royal flush, 10% for a straight flush, and varying dollar amounts for a four of a kind down to a straight, although the straight pays very little, if any. If a player does not have a strong hand when a progressive jackpot bet is made, the casino takes a portion of the bet, while the rest goes into the jackpot to form a larger jackpot.
Carribean Stud Strategy
The widely accepted strategy for Caribbean Stud Poker is very simple. Always raise with a pair or better. Always fold with less than Ace-King, the dealer’s qualifying hand. With an Ace-King hand, raise if your remaining cards are high, or if the dealer’s card matches one of yours, lowering the dealer’s chances of holding a pair. As this game is mostly about luck, very little strategy is needed beyond this.
Where to Play Caribbean Stud Poker Online
You can play Carribean Stud poker at just about every online casino. Casino on Net is one of the online casinos that offers Carribbean Stud Poker. To learn more about these online casinos, read our online casino reviews.
You can play Caribbean Stud Poker free on our website too.