Casino Games Guide

If you like to play poker and want a chance to win a lot of money, then Caribbean stud poker is the game for you. The game is played exactly the same as five card stud. In any stud poker game, you only receive cards once and cannot draw for any more. The screenshot is from Online Vegas, who currently has a progressive jackpot worth more than $95,000!

Caribbean stud is a 5 card poker game played between a player and a dealer. The game originated for the Caribbean island of Aruba sometime in the mid 1980′s. The big draw of caribbean stud poker is the progressive jackpot. A progressive jackpot is like the lottery; it grows over time through people playing and as the jackpot grows more and more people start playing for a chance to win.

One the progressive jackpot is won, it gets reset to a base level and the progressive jackpot starts to grow again.

Caribbean Stud Rules

You have to make an Ante bet before you receive your cards. At this time, you have the opportunity to put $1 in the progressive jackpot for a chance to win it all. The way you win the jackpot is by receiving a royal flush (A,K,Q,J,T suited). Caribbean Stud Progressive Jackpots can raise to more than $100,000.

If you are playing online, it’s most likely going to just be you versus the dealer. If you go to a casino, you will be sitting at a table with 5 or 6 other players. Each person gets five cards dealt to them consecutively. The dealer also gets five cards, but one card is revealed to the players.

Raise or Fold

The next step is the most critical decision that often makes the difference between winning and losing money overall in caribbean stud. You have to decide whether your hand is good enough to raise and play the dealer or whether you want to fold your bet. If you decide to raise, you must bet 2 times the amount that you originally bet on your Ante. If you want to fold, you are only losing your Ante.

Also, a couple of things can happen when you raise. If you have a better hand then the dealer, he must qualify in order for you to win money on your raise bet. In order for the dealer to qualify, he must have an Ace/King or higher. This means the dealer needs to have an Ace and a King in his hand if he doesn’t have a pair or more.

If you win the hand but the dealer doesn’t qualify, then you are only paid on your Ante bet. If you win the hand and the dealer qualifies, then you win both the Ante bet and a payout for the Raise bet.

Raise Bet Payouts

The better the hand that you receive, the better the payout is for the raise bet. As stated before, the dealer must qualify in order to win these payouts:

High Card and Pair – 1 to 1 payout, Two Pairs – 2 to 1 payout, Trips – 3 to 1 payout, Straight – 4 to 1 payout, Flush – 5 to 1 payout, Full House – 7 to 1 payout, 4 of a Kind – 20 to 1 payout, Straight Flush – 50 to 1 payout, Royal Flush – 100 to 1 payout

Let’s give an example: If you bet $10 on your ante, then you will always win 1 to 1 on the ante, or $10 in this case. Your raise bet will have been $20. Let’s say you got a Full House. If the dealer qualifies, you will win $20 x 7 or $140. Plus the $10 from the Ante means you win $150 total.

If the dealer doesn’t qualify for the hand, you win $10 :( This is often the most frustrating thing that happens in caribbean stud. That’s why the progressive jackpots are important. The progressive coin you put in at the beginning of the hand will protect hands you get that are flushes or higher.

Each progressive bet is $1, so on any one hand the amount you will win is going to be the same regardless of the betting against the dealer. The progressive payouts are different from casino to casino, but here is the standard progressive payout scale:

Flush – $50, Full House – $100, Four of a Kind – $500, Straight Flush – 10% of Jackpot, Royal Flush – 100% of Jackpot

Caribbean Stud Strategy

In order to play caribbean stud poker effectively, you should have a good understanding of when to fold and when to raise. The standard way of playing is to raise if you have Ace, King, Jack, 8, 3 or higher in your hand and fold otherwise.

I’m going to tell you my own personal guide that I think works a little better:

1) Always raise with a pair or higher

2) Always fold when your hand won’t qualify*
This one has an asterisk because you can go sometimes, but only in this exact situation. Remember the dealer has one cards is revealed. If one of your cards matches the dealer’s up card, then you may cautiously bet when your hand doesn’t qualify. This is because he is more likely not to have a pair.

3) Only play with Ace/King in your hand in the following situations:
a) When the dealer is showing an Ace or King and you have a 10 or higher left in your hand
b) When the dealer’s up card matches one of yours
c) When you also have a queen or jack in your hand