A GUIDE TO CARIBBEAN STUD POKER
Caribbean Stud is played on a table similar to a blackjack table with up to seven player spots. One standard deck of 52-cards is used. The cards are usually shuffled by an automatic shuffle machine which speeds up the game (while one deck is being used the other deck is being shuffled by the automatic shuffler). There are two betting areas in front of each player. One is labeled ante and the other is labeled bet. Above the ante bet is a slot where players can drop a dollar coin to become eligible for the progressive jackpot.
Play begins with all players making the mandatory ante wager and if they wish dropping a coin into the progressive jackpot slot. The dealer deals five cards face down to each player and for himself, four cards face down and one card face up for all players to see. Each player then picks up his five cards and based on the strength of his hand and the value of the dealer's upcard makes one of two decisions.
Decision one : If the player does not believe he will beat the player's hand, he can fold by laying the cards face down on the layout. When a player folds, he automatically loses his ante bet and the dealer will remove the cards from the layout (without facing them).
Decision two : If a player decides to play out his hand because he thinks he has a chance to beat the dealer, the player must make a call bet equal to twice the amount of the ante. For example if your ante was $5, your call bet must be $10.
After all players have decided to either fold or call, the dealer exposes his cards on the layout. Now comes the most important rule in Caribbean Stud Poker: in order for players to win both of their bets, the dealer's hand must qualify. This occurs if the dealer's hand contains at least an ace, king or better. This is an important rule because based upon whether the dealer's hand qualifies or not determines how the round is brought to closure.
If the dealer's hand does NOT qualify: Players who did not fold win even money on the ante bet. The secondary call bet is returned (a push). The dealer removes all the players' cards from the layout without facing the cards. Essentially the dealer folds and there is no comparing of the dealer's hand vs. the player's hand to see which hand is the highest.
If the dealer's hand does qualify: If the dealer's hand contains at least an ace, king he will "call" all the player's hands. Player's lay their cards on the layout and the dealer compares his hand with the player's hands to determine which hand has the highest poker rank. If the dealer's hand is higher than the player's hand, the dealer wins both the player's ante and call bet. If instead the player's hand out ranks the dealer's hand then the player wins even money on the ante wager and the call bet is paid according to the following payout odds.
| Call Bet | Payoff Odds |
| 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 |
| One pair | 1 to 1 |
| Ace-king | 1 to 1 |
Progressive Jackpot Bet: This optional bet is separate from the ante and call bet and independent of the dealer's hand. In other words no matter what the rank of the dealer's hand or for that matter even if he qualifies, you will be eligible for a payout if you make the optional dollar jackpot bet and are dealt one of these hands. The percentage-crunching experts will advise you not to play the jackpot game because the house advantage is too high . . .. However, most likely even they will slip a dollar in the jackpot slot when they think nobody is looking. Without the jackpot bet feature, the game of Caribbean Stud would soon be history. Just about everyone plays for the big progressive jackpot payouts.
Actually the experts are sort of right when they complain about the jackpot odds, especially when the player is getting the common 50/75/100 short payout and the progressive is under $15,000. Nevertheless, when you factor in a full payout and a progressive over $30,000 the picture begins to look good for the player. With an average or near to average run of cards, you probably will not win at Caribbean Stud. However, if you are playing the progressive when the poker gods bless you with some unusually powerful hands, or an unusually good run . . . you can win a lot!
Typical Progressive Jackpot Pay Schedule
| Royal Flush | 100% of jackpot |
| Straight flush | 10% of the jackpot |
| Four-of-a-kind | $500 |
| Full House | $100 |
| Flush | $50 |
Tips:
- Never fold your small pairs. You will be dealt a pair about 42% of the times and you'll win more (or lose less) in the long run by making the call bet rather than to fold (the casino has about a 7% edge against players who fold on small pairs).
- Never try to bluff the dealer! Some player's mistakenly believe they can win more hands by making the call bet when they have a weak hand. They figure that the dealer who doesn't qualify pays off the ante wager for player's who stay in (i.e. make the call bet) regardless if the player has a strong or weak hand. The problem with this strategy is that when the dealer does qualify (and he will about 56% of the time), the player loses not only the ante bet but also the call bet (which is twice the ante bet). Mathematically a player who bluffs with a weak hand will lose 25% more of his ante over the long run than if he folded.
- Bottom-line - don't bluff!