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Caribbean Stud Poker
The Caribbean Islands were the birthplace of this fantastic and fun game. It wasn't long before cruise ships in the Caribbean began offering Caribbean Stud Poker. From there it was just a matter of time before the game found its way into casinos on land. While many games have come and went in the casino pit, Caribbean Stud Poker withstood the test of time, because it's a great social game.
It's also a simple game to learn and have fun with. The game is played with a single 52-card deck at a Blackjack-style table, which seats seven. If you play Caribbean Stud Poker online, it might be multiplayer or just you and the dealer. If it's you and the dealer, you can play as slow or fast as you desire, which is a great feature.
Let's look at the table
The Caribbean Stud Poker table has five key points of interest. First, there's the player card area, which is where your cards will be dealt. There's also a dealer's card area, which—as you might have guessed—is where the dealer's cards will be dealt.
Next up are the three betting areas. There's the Ante, which is where your initial bet will be placed. There's the progressive slot, which is where you place a $1 wager if you wish to be entered into the progressive jackpot. Finally, there's the Raise wager spot, which is where you place a wager if you wish to stay in a hand.
As you can see, Caribbean Stud Poker isn't a game that's loaded with many complicated options on the layout. Know these five points of interest and you're almost home free.
Fun Action
You know the setup, and now it's time to go over the fun action of Caribbean Stud Poker. Placing a wager on the Ante spot is mandatory for every hand you wish to play. It's one of two decisions you need to make—of course, if you don't put an Ante wager up, you can't play.
The second decision on every hand is whether or not to place $1 in the progressive slot. You must decide this before the hand is dealt. By placing your $1 in the progressive slot, you are entered into the progressive payouts, which include extra pay for the top hands of flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush, and royal flush.
Here's a tip to know. If you decide to play the progressive, you should know that each house has its own pay scale. While all of them pay 100% of the progressive for a royal flush, they'll pay differently for hands such as the full house and four-of-a-kind. If you are playing online and plan to play the progressive jackpot, it pays to shop around.
Once you have your Ante wager in place and decided on the progressive jackpot, it's time to play the hand. The dealer will deal you five cards. These are the only five cards that you will receive. The dealer will also get five cards, and one of those cards will be shown to you.
Your goal is to beat the dealer. It's time to evaluate your hand to determine your chances. If you like your hand and decide to play further, you must make a Raise wager. Your Raise wager must be equal to two times your Ante wager. For instance, if your Ante wager was $5, then your Raise wager would be $10—no more, no less. Should you decide that your hand isn't worth the money, you can fold. You'll lose your Ante wager and progressive bet—if you made one—as the hand is now over.
Okay, let's assume you loved your hand and made the Raise wager. Once all players have finished their turn, the dealer's cards are revealed and evaluated against your hand. Now, here's the real kicker of this game. The dealer must have an Ace-King ranked hand or better to qualify.
Should the dealer not qualify, you automatically win regardless of what you had. However, only your Ante wager is paid—even money. Your Raise wager is simply pushed back to you. This really hurts when you have a good hand like a four-of-a-kind. So, if you ever get a really good hand in Caribbean Stud Poker, you will be praying that the dealer qualifies. In case you played the progressive, those payouts are paid regardless of whether or not the dealer qualified. That's a real comfort.
We'll go over Caribbean Stud Poker hand rankings in a few moments. For now, you need to know that the Ante wager is always paid even money—$5 is paid $5. Your Raise wager is paid based on your hand. We'll go over these payouts next. Remember, to get paid on your Raise wager, you must beat the dealer and the dealer must qualify by having a hand rank of Ace-King or better.
Caribbean Stud Poker Payouts
If you beat the dealer and the dealer qualifies (Ace-King or better), you have a payout coming on your Raise wager. Let's take a look at those possible payouts. We'll also cover those tasty progressive payouts.
Raise Wager Payouts
- One Pair: You are paid even money—$5 is paid $5.
- Two Par: You are paid 2x your wager—$5 is paid $10.
- Three of a Kind: You are paid 3x your wager—$5 is paid $15.
- Straight: You are paid 4x your wager—$5 is paid $20.
- Flush: You are paid 5x your wager—$5 is paid $25.
- Full House: You are paid 7x your wager—$5 is paid $35.
- Four of a Kind: You are paid 20x your wager—$5 is paid $100.
- Straight Flush: You are paid 50x your wager—$5 is paid $250.
- Royal Flush: You are paid 100x your wager—$5 is paid $500.
It's important to note that some houses may alter these payouts slightly. For instance, some houses may pay 200x on a royal flush. Before playing, take a look at the pay schedule.
Caribbean Stud Poker Progressive
Okay, let's take a look at the progressive payouts for Caribbean Stud Poker. I will give you general payouts that I've seen. Each casino will have its own payout and it's important to shop around if you can—especially if playing online. These payouts are paid even if the dealer doesn't qualify.
- Flush: $50-$100
- Full House: $75-$250
- Four of a Kind: $100-$500
- Straight Flush: 10% of the progressive jackpot amount.
- Royal Flush: The entire progressive jackpot amount.
The progressive wager is considered a bad bet, because the house has a great advantage over you. You'll need to decide this on your own. Many players play the progressive, because the pain of being dealt a hand like a four of a kind, and not being paid, because the dealer didn't qualify, is far greater than losing $1 wager.
If you played the progressive and the dealer doesn't quality and you have a progressive hand, you're still paid that progressive money. Sure, if you are playing $2 a hand Caribbean Stud Poker, the $1 for the progressive is a major investment. However, for those playing $5, $10, or more per hand, the $1 is negligible and can be a lifesaver if one of those progressive hands hit.
Caribbean Stud Hand Rankings
It's not much good to know how the game works if you don't know how the hands rank. If you've played traditional poker or video poker, you're already familiar with this information, because Caribbean Stud Poker uses the same ranking system.
Here's the Caribbean Stud Poker hand ranking from the worst hand to the best.
High Card: This is the worst hand in Caribbean Stud poker. If you don't have anything below, your highest card is the rank of your hand. If you have this hand and you stay in the game, you are just hoping that the dealer doesn't qualify.
One Pair: When you have two cards of the same rank, like two Jacks.
Two Pair: When you have two cards on one rank and two cards of another rank, like two Queens and two Aces.
Three of a Kind: When you have three cards of the same rank, like three Jacks.
Straight: When you have five cards in sequential order, like 4,5,6,7 and 8. The Ace can be used before the 2 or after the King. Those two examples are: Ace, 2,3,4 and 5 or 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace.
Flush: When you have five cards of the same suit, like five clubs.
Full House: When you have three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, like three Jacks and two Kings.
Four of a Kind: Having four cards of the same rank, like four Kings. This is obviously a tough hand to get, because you must get all four cards of a rank that are in a single deck.
Straight Flush: This is a combination of a flush and a straight. First, all five cards must be of the same suit, like clubs. Next, they must all be in sequential order, like 2,3,4,5 and 6. Again, the Ace can be used before the 2 or after the King.
Royal Flush: This is the reason people play. The royal flush is the big daddy of paydays. To have a royal flush, all five cards must be the same suit, like clubs, and they must be the 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of that suit. If you are playing the progressive and get this hand, you'll win it all.
Caribbean Stud Poker Strategy
Is there a strategy for playing Caribbean Stud Poker? Well, yes and no. It's not like Blackjack, where there are some bona fide strategies, but there are some ideas to keep in mind when playing. The house has a hefty advantage, but there are ways to play that can help you take home a little more cash.
As you now know, the dealer shows one card each hand. If you have nothing (high card hand), it's a good idea to fold—especially if the dealer is showing an Ace or King. The only way you can win with a high card hand is if the dealer doesn't qualify. It's usually not worth the added 2x wager just to find out, plus if the dealer doesn't qualify, you just get paid on your Ante wager, which means you are risking the Raise wager for no possible gain.
I've seen some players who will argue night and day that you should stay in always, but gambling is about value, and risking 300% to win 100% isn’t a good value ever. Would you even be playing Caribbean Stud Poker if they said that you had to bet $15 to win $5? Of course not.
Most smart money gamblers will advise you to stay away from the progressive. The house has a large advantage and you'll just end up losing money in the long run. If you aren't prone to emotional swings, this is great advice. If you can get a four of a kind, not get paid and still play okay, then avoiding the progressive is a good play. However, if that's not you, perhaps you should play the progressive.
If you are a $2 a hand player, then stay away from the progressive, because the progressive is eating up 50% of your funds right off the bat. But, if you're betting $10 or more, the $1 won't make too much difference and it can be a way to await heartbreak.
Caribbean Stud Poker Time
Well, you've just had a quick and complete education on Caribbean Stud Poker. You're now ready to walk up to the table and have some fun. If you are going to play online and plan on playing the progressive, spend a little time shopping around for the best progressive payouts. It will be worth it in the end.
The most important strategy is to have fun. This isn't a game that you'll make a living at by playing seven days a week. Caribbean Stud Poker is a blast to play and can provide a huge payday if you are playing the progressive jackpot. If you play in the real world, you'll find it's a fun social game.