Game History Caribbean Stud Poker

As the name implies, Caribbean Stud Poker originated in the Caribbean Islands
and on cruise ships that plied those waters. Because Caribbean stud poker is not
especially favorable for the player, when Las Vegas casinos adopted Caribbean
stud poker, they added a progressive jackpot sweetener. Although the jackpot doesn’t
benefit the Caribbean stud poker player that much, it has helped to make the game
popular enough to become a pretty standard offering in Nevada and other gambling
jurisdictions. As we enter the information age, the internet is quickly becoming
part of human lifestyle and Caribbean stud poker can be found on online casinos.
Some online casinos offer free Caribbean stud poker games for novices to practice.

The forerunner
of Poker was a 16th century European three-card game called primera (Spain) or
primero (England). There was betting and valued hands were three of a kind, pairs,
and three of the same suit: a flux (later flush). By the 18th century the betting
and bluffing aspects of the game had been incorporated in such five-card games
as Brag (England), Pochen (Germany), and Poque (France). The importance of bluffing
(betting with a poor hand) is shown by the fact that pochen means “to bluff.”

The game was carried
to North America in the 18th century by French colonists to the Louisiana territory,
the American term being a corruption of Poque. The game spread north up the Mississippi
River and West as the country developed. By 1834 it was adapted to the 52-card
deck and from the mid 19th century on it was described in books on card games.
At first it was a game for men only, but by the mid 20th century it was played
by women as well. It is the classic game in all Western films.

Poker was taken
back to Europe when Robert C. Schenck, U.S. minister to Great Britain, introduced
it to members of the court of Queen Victoria in the early 1870s. A set of rules
written by Schenck was the first book on the game.

The rank of hands
in the original European games was supplanted (in descending order) by four of
a kind; full house (three of a kind and a pair); three of a kind; two pairs; one
pair; and no pair (high card winning). Later the straight (five cards in sequence
regardless of suit) and the flush were introduced, ranking, respectively, above
three of a kind. Additional rounds of betting were also introduced.

Caribbean Stud
Poker Rules

In this
style of poker, a favorite in the Caribbean and aboard cruise ships, each player
plays against the dealer and not against the other players. In Caribbean Poker
you place an ante, receive a hand, and then decide whether or not you would like
to bet. If you bet and if the dealer’s hand qualifies (contains and Ace/King combination
or better), your hand will be compared to the dealer’s. If you win, your payoff
will be determined by the quality of your hand.

How to Play

1) Place a wager, this is called the ante.

2) Each player
and the dealer is dealt their own five-card hand. One of the dealer’s cards is
face up the other four are face down.

3) Decide to stay
in or fold. If you fold you forfeit your ante. If you stay in you must add to
your bet double the amount of the ante.

4) (assuming the
player is still in), the dealer looks at his/her cards. If the dealer does not
have at least an ace/king then the player automatically wins even money on the
ante and the additional wager is returned. If the dealer does have at least ace/king
then a comparison is made between the player’s hand and the dealer’s hand. If
the player has the higher hand he/she wins even money on the ante, and the additional
wager pays according to the payoff rates. If the dealer’s hand beats the player’s
hand he loses both the ante and raise.

Hand Description Payoff
Royal flush A, K, Q, J, and
10, all in the same suit		 100 to 1
Straight flush Five cards in
sequential order & of the same suit		 50 to 1
Four of a kind Four cards with
the same value		 20 to 1
Full house 3 cards of the
same value, along with a pair		 7 to 1
Flush Five cards of
the same suit		 5 to 1
Straight Five consecutive
cards		 4 to 1
Three of a kind
 Three cards of
the same value		 3 to 1
Two pair Two pairs in
the same hand		 2 to 1
Pair Two cards with
the same value		 1 to 1
Ace/King An ace or king
in your hand		 1 to 1

 

Progressive Jackpot

The player can place an optional bet for the Progressive Jackpot at the same time
he places his ante bet. Simply drop the coin into the acceptor slot located in
front of each player. The player qualifies for a Progressive Jackpot by drawing
one of the five hands listed below. Players may win a Progressive Jackpot payoff
even if the dealer has a higher hand. Should two or more players qualify for a
Progressive Jackpot payoff during the same hand, the players will share the jackpot
as an aggregate.

Progressive
Jackpot Payoffs

Royal Flush 100%

Straight Flush 10%

Four Of A Kind $100

Full House $75

Flush $50

Additional
Rules

Players may not exchange or communicate information regarding their hands. Any
violation will result in a dead hand and forfeiture of all wagers.

A player may play
only one hand per round of play.

Each player who
makes a bet wager shall be responsible for his or her own hand and no other person
other than the dealer may touch the cards of that player.

Each player shall
be required to keep the five cards in full view of the dealer at all times. Once
each player has examined his or her cards and placed them face down on the layout,
they may not touch the cards again.

If a hole card
is exposed prior to the dealer announcing no more bets, all hands shall be void.

Players choosing
to play for the progressive payout are responsible for ensuring that the indicator
light on the acceptor device is properly illuminated.

If a player is
dealt an incorrect number of cards, that players hand shall be void. If the dealer
is dealt four cards of the five card hand, the dealer shall deal an additional
card to complete the hand. Any other misdeal to the dealer shall result in all
hands being void and the cards shall be reshuffled.

Caribbean Stud
Poker Terminology

Ante Bet
Each Player makes this opening bet in order to play.

Bet To Call Dealer:
The Player can place an additional bet that is exactly twice the amount of his
ante bet, if he thinks his hand will beat the Dealer’s.

Dealer’s Bet:
The Dealer must have an Ace/King or higher to continue. If the Dealer cannot open,
the hand is over, and the Players who stayed in the hand are paid their antes.

Fold: The Player
can forfeit his ante bet after the cards are dealt if he thinks that his hand
cannot beat the Dealer’s.

Progressive Jackpot
Bet: Each Player has the option of making an additional $1 bet in order to participate
in the progressive jackpot. Players can win all or part of the jackpot with hands
of Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four Of A Kind, Full House or Flush.

Caribbean Stud
Poker Tips & Strategy

Two
of the most common playing mistakes made by players is to fold when they have
a small pair or to bluff the dealer by making a call bet when they have a weak
hand.

First, 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). Also,
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!

Here is a simple
basic playing strategy to get you started.

Basic Playing
Strategy

1. Fold if you have less than Ace-King.

2. Make a call bet if:

* You have at least any pair or higher.

* You have at least an Ace-King and one of your other cards is the same as the
dealer’s face card

The casino’s edge
is about 5.2% based on the player’s ante wager (or 2.6% based on the ante and
call bet).

When to raise
on a ace/king:

 

Raise if the dealer’s
card is a 2 through queen and matches one of yours.

Raise if the dealer’s card is an ace or king and you have a queen or jack in your
hand.

Raise if the dealer’s rank does not match any of yours and you have a queen in
your hand and the dealer’s card is less than your fourth highest card.

 

Winning Odds
and Payout

Winning Hand Pays Total return
 Probability Avg. return
Ace/King
 3
 55,517,046,624
 0.0009284
 0.00278515
Pair
 3
 6,974,226,964,800
 0.1166265
 0.34987941
Two
pair 		5
 2,440,060,696,800
 0.0244823
 0.1224117
Three
of a kind 		7
 1,639,700,358,240
 0.0117514
 0.08225964
Straight
 9
 394,249,644,900
 0.0021976
 0.01977851
Flush
 11
 240,426,893,080
 0.0010965
 0.01206161
Full
house 		15
 249,367,129,200
 0.000834
 0.01251012
Four
of a kind 		41
 116,129,867,800
 0.0001421
 0.00582594
Straight
flush 		101
 15,849,901,720
 7.87E-06
 0.00079515
Royal
flush 		201
 3,368,707,740
 8.4E-07
 0.000169
Ante
only 		1
 4,532,514,033,720
 0.2273848
 0.22738482
Push
 0
 0
 1.614E-05
 0
Fold
 -1
 -9,523,005,974,460
 0.4777452
 -0.4777452
Dealer
wins 		-3
 -8,179,778,182,536
 0.1367863
 -0.4103589
Total
 -1,041,372,912,372
 1
 -0.0522431