Caribbean Stud Poker Rules and Strategy

Caribbean Stud Poker is an easy online casino game to play. Like blackjack, you play against the dealer and not the other players. This game has a house advantage of more than 5%, meaning for every $100 bet, you will lose on average $5. Since the house advantage is considerable, it is important to know basic strategy to play good Caribbean Stud Poker.

Betting in Caribbean Stud Poker

A Caribbean Stud Poker table resembles a Blackjack table. You will see three betting circles in front of you. These are named "ante," "raise" and "progressive."

Ante Bet - This is a forced bet typically seen in poker games. All players must make this bet and it must be at least equal to the table's minimum bet requirement.

Raise Bet - If a player chooses to play their hand, they must bet twice the ante bet to stay in the game.

Progressive Bet - This is a side bet toward a progressive jackpot. If you bet on the jackpot and you win a qualifying poker hand, you will be paid according to the progressive jackpot pay table.

How to Play Caribbean Stud Poker

Once the ante bets are placed, each player is dealt five cards face-down. The dealer also receives five hole cards with one turned upward.

You and the other players now each look into your hole cards without showing them to one another. Judging by your hand and the dealer's up card, you must decide whether to fold or make a raise bet. If you fold, you will lose your ante bet to the house. If you raise, you must bet double the forced bet.

Once all players have made their decisions, the dealer checks his or her hand if it qualifies. A qualifying dealer hand has at least an ace and king in it. If there are no ace and king, the dealer pays even money (one to one) on the ante bets and returns all raise bets.

If the dealer's hand qualifies, he or she will compare the dealer hand to each of the players' hands. A winning hand for the player always pays even money on their ante bet; their raise bet is paid as per the raise bet pay table.

Progressive Jackpot

Caribbean Stud Poker offers a side bet for a progressive jackpot similar to the ones in slot machines. If you make a qualifying hand, you will be paid regardless if your hand beats the dealer's or not. The minimum paying hand is a flush. Flush, full house and four of a kind pay a fixed dollar amount. A straight flush usually pays 10% of the total jackpot.

In the rare event that two players both win a royal in the same game, the casino may pay first the one closest to the dealer's left. After that, the other winner will take the prize of the progressive jackpot which has been reset. Otherwise they will split the money.

If two players win a straight flush in the same game, again the player nearest to the dealer's left is paid first. The other winner gets 10% of what remains.

Strategy

- Always play pairs, high or low. - Fold unpaired hands except those with at least an ace, king and ten. - Always play three of a kind or higher. - Never bet on the jackpot unless it is very large, like $300,000.

These are basic rules and strategies for Caribbean Stud Poker. Play the game online and have fun!