How to Play Caribbean Stud Poker - A Beginner's Guide

One of the most interesting versions of poker, Caribbean Stud is played by the majority of casino poker buffs all over the world. It’s easy to grasp rules, simple strategy, attractive payouts, and the chance to win huge progressive jackpots make it an extremely enjoyable casino game.

Caribbean Stud Poker is one of the popular variations of poker and is quite similar to Five Card Stud. The only difference between these two versions is that when playing Caribbean Stud Poker, you are not playing against other players but with the dealer, who represents the house. So, there is no possibility of bluffing or trickery. It is truely a fair game. In addition, you don’t have to worry about the other player’s strategy.

You can play Caribbean Stud Poker online at your favorite casino. The game begins with each player placing an Ante bet. The players and the dealer are dealt five cards each from a standard 52-card pack. One of the dealer’s cards is dealt face up. This provides the players with extra information about the dealer’s hand. The players can also decide if they want to place one more optional progressive side bet of $1.

How to Play Online Caribbean Stud Poker

After the cards are dealt, the players examine their own cards and the face-up card of the dealer and are then required to make a decision if they want to call or fold.

Calling: If the player’s hand is stronger and they want to continue playing with their hand, they can make a call bet, which means they can increase their bet by an amount equivalent to double of their original ante bet. For instance, if the ante was $20, and you liked your hand, you would place an extra $40 in order to continue playing. In this case, all the cards are revealed and there is a showdown between the player’s hand and the dealer’s hand.

Folding: Folding the hands means the player decide to surrender their ante bet since they might have weaker hands compared to the dealer. If you fold, you lose your ante, but no further money. This, in turn, makes the dealer win the ante.

The Dealer Qualifies and Loses to the Player

After the players have decided to either call or fold, the dealer will reveal his cards and arrange them in a higher-ranking order. In order for the dealer to qualify, he should have Ace-King or better cards. In case the dealer’s hand qualifies, then each of the players evaluate their hands against the dealer’s hand in order to check if their cards are of better ranking. If the player qualifies, he gets even more money on the payout. In addition, the call bet of the player is also paid out in accordance to the standard payout per hand.

Whilst the payouts can differ, depending on if you are playing in an online casino or a brick and mortar casino, some of the most general jackpot payouts are listed below:

The payout of 1-1 for a pair or high card
The payout of 4-1 for a straight
The payout of 2-1 for a hand of two pairs
The payout of 7-1 for a hand of a full house
The payout of 3-1 for a hand of three of a kind
The payout of 50-1 for a straight flush
The payout of 100-1 for a royal flush
The payout of 5-1 for a flush
The payout of 20-1 for a four of a kind

The Dealer Qualifies and Beats the Player

If the player’s hand is not better than the dealer’s hand, then the dealer qualifies and receives both the ante and a call bet of the player.

Important Note: In a rare scenario of a tie, the player gets back their ante and a call bet, but not the winning.

The Dealer Doesn’t Qualify

If the hand of the dealer is lower in rank to that of the players, he doesn’t qualify, and the rest of the players qualify to win the game. However, there’s a twist to it, the players are paid out only their ante bet in 1:1, and rest of the bets are returned. This catch can be a bit of a turn-off for the players because if they should have a royal flush, and the dealer doesn’t qualify, they only get the payout for their ante bet.

The Progressive Jackpot

You can win real money when you play Caribbean Stud Poker online. There is a chance for the players to hit a progressive jackpot while playing the Caribbean Stud Poker game if they have placed the optional side-bet at the beginning of the game. The amount of progressive jackpot can be bigger or smaller, depending on the popularity and size of the online casino. You only need to place a progressive side bet of $1 and it has the potential to pay over $100,000 if the player is lucky and wins. In case your hand is a flush or even better, you stand a chance to win the progressive jackpot bet.
If one or more players qualify for the progressive jackpot, the amount will be divided amongst them; however, many casinos have a different rule as per which player on the dealer’s right gets eligible for the progressive jackpot win.

Get Engaged in Caribbean Fun

If you have just started this version of the poker and are apprehensive of your expertise, you may try playing it for fun before playing real money Caribbean Stud Poker.