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Rules of Caribbean Stud Poker
Aside from poker, Caribbean Stud Poker is one of the faster growing casino games. It used to be hard to find a place to play, but most casinos today have it. And you’ll always find it at any decent online casino.
I think the game exploded, because it’s a snap to learn and it’s a fun social game. Playing it alone is fun too, but there’s nothing quite like a full and rowdy table of Caribbean Stud Poker players.
Okay, let’s jump into the game and go over some of the rules. If you don’t know how to play and you want to start at the beginning, we’ve got another article on this site that does this.
First, you need to Ante up. Let’s imagine that you’ve just put $5 down. After you get your cards, you need to evaluate them and decide if you want to stay in the hand. Here’s the big decision of the game. If you want to quit, you fold. If not, you need to double your Ante and push this amount to the Bet area. So, in our example, we had a $5 Ante. The Bet would be $10 and we’d end up with $15 on the table.
How you win money
You’re playing against the dealer only. If the dealer has a hand rank of Ace-King or better, it’s game on. If not, your Ante bet is paid even money and your Bet wager is pushed back to you.
If the dealer qualifies, and you beat the dealer’s hand, your Ante is paid even money, but your Bet wager is paid according to your hand rank. Here’s the pay chart:
One Pair or nothing: even money 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
Remember, the “odds” are paid to your Bet wager only. If you played the $1 progressive, you’ll receive even money for a Flush or better.
And don’t forget that the dealer must qualify or your beautiful hand gets paid nothing but the even money on the Ante wager. That’s why I love to play the progressive always.
Example Hand
Okay, let’s run through a quick example. First, you place a $10 wager on the table and $1 in the progressive-it’s always just a buck. You get your cards and you have a flush. Obviously, you want to stay in this hand, so you place the $20 Bet wager to stay in.
Let me point out that your Bet wager is always 2x the Ante. You can’t bet more or less ever.
The dealer turns the hand over and has two pair-you win. Your Ante wager is paid $10 and your Bet wager is paid $100 (5:1), for a total of $110 won on the hand. But wait! You played the progressive, so you’ll be paid that bonus too.
The progressive bonus varies and we’ll talk about it in another article.
Caribbean Stud Poker Tip Sheet – Part Two
In part one of the Caribbean Stud Poker Tip Sheet, I went over the all-important odds chart and gave you some insight into what to expect when you’re playing Caribbean Stud Poker. Next, let’s go over four fast tips to help you maximize your fun and potential profit when playing Caribbean Stud Poker.
Caribbean Stud Poker Tip One – Staying In
This one is pretty easy. If you are dealt two pairs or better, add to your wager and stay in the hand. The premise is simple. The dealer will only have a hand better than two pair once per 47 hands in theory. The probability of you winning is on your side.
I’d also expand this and say that with one pair you should strongly consider staying in the hand. The probability of getting two pair is 1:21 and if you win you’re being paid 1:1, so the value is in your favor. The dealer will fail to qualify very often and that’s what you want when you have one pair.
Caribbean Stud Poker Tip Two – Play that progressive
Some call it a sucker’s bet, but let’s be honest. Why are you playing this game? To have fun and win money!
If you get a straight, flush, full house, straight flush or royal flush and the dealer doesn’t quality-again, it happens a lot-you get paid nothing. I don’t know about you, but if I’m dealt a four of a kind and the dealer doesn’t qualify, I’ll look pretty stupid for not betting that $1.
And if you’re a money management and fiscal conservative, go play Craps or nothing at all.
Caribbean Stud Poker Tip Three – Nothing equals fold
Again, a super simple tip to live by. If you have nothing in your hand, fold. Why? Well, think about it. The only way you win is if the dealer doesn’t qualify and that might happen say 30% of the time. If that were the case, you’d have a 70% chance to lose and you’ll only be paid even money on your Ante wager. Your Bet wager gets nothing, but it can lose if you stay in.
Think about it again if you think I’m wrong. You’re wagering two times the amount to win half. For instance, you’re wagering $10 with nothing to win a maximum of $5 and you have a high probability of losing on top of all that. It’s a really stupid move.
Caribbean Stud Poker Tip Four – Play it cool
Caribbean Stud Poker is a great game, but it’s not the best game in the house. Have a blast, but never press up your bets thinking that you’re “due” to win.
Take it easy, have fun, remember these tips and win some money.