Caribbean Stud Poker - Strategy Of The Game

Caribbean stud poker is a five-card game which is played against the dealer or casino unlike other types of poker games which are played against other players. The catch is to obtain a better hand than the dealer. If the player understands the basic Caribbean stud poker rules and strategy of five card stud poker, then the rules of Caribbean stud poker can be easily understood as well. The game is played with a deck of 52 cards on a blackjack-style table. The multi-deck shoe or automatic shuffling machine deals the cards in five card hands. Each seat has a player's layout and chip slot. The chip slot has a small light which glows when a chip from the slot falls for collection by the dealer.

The Strategy

To begin with the game of Caribbean stud poker, a bet is placed in the "ante" box. The players then receive five-card hands face up. According to Caribbean stud poker rules, the dealer also receives a five card hand, but in this case only one card is face up and four cards appear face down. Each player then compares his/her respective cards with the dealer's single face up card and decide if he/she has relatively higher hand. Accordingly the player may fold to lose the ante bet or bet an amount about double the ante. If the player bets, the remaining four cards of the dealer are revealed.

Possible Results

• If the dealer's hand does not have Ace-king or higher card, the player is given even money on the ante and secondary bet is returned without additional money
• If the dealer's hand is Ace-king or higher, then he will play against each player based on traditional poker hand ranking
• If the player's hand is comparatively stronger, then he/she will get even money on the ante and secondary bet with odds - Pair 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

Once the dealer has higher hand then the player, the player loses both the bet as well as ante. If the player loses to the dealer but in the progressive bet, that is the player dealt a flush or higher, then the player would still win on that bet. In the progressive bet, the player can win the jackpot with royal or straight flush.

Tips For The Players Playing Caribbean Stud Poker

The house edge for Caribbean stud poker is about 5%. The game must be played for entertainment instead of for making money. The right strategy for player playing Caribbean stud poker is as follows-

• Raise with a pair or higher
• Fold with a hand less than Ace-king or higher
• If the jackpot is high, betting on only progressive jackpot may go against the player in most of the cases

One mistake commonly committed by the Caribbean stud poker, is that they avoid betting on low pairs hands like twos, threes, fours for the fear for losing the bet. But not betting on these hands and forfeiting the ante bet according to rules of poker frequently, often proves more expensive in the long term.