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Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud® Poker

The object of Caribbean Stud® Poker is to get a five-card poker hand that beats the dealer’s five-card poker hand.

Caribbean Stud® Poker is played with a single 52-card deck. After each round, used cards are returned to the deck and the deck is shuffled.

To play the game:

  • First, click on the chips to place an ante. To remove chips from the ante, shift click on the chips on the table.
    Progressive Jackpot Side Bet:
    You also have the option to make the progressive jackpot side bet – click on the coin slit above the Ante field on the card table. The blinking light above the slit turns green. The cost of the side bet is shown on the card table next to the coin slit after placing the side bet. Out of the side bet, a certain percentage (see Contribution rate below) goes to the progressive jackpot pool. If you get a flush or higher, you win a certain percentage of the jackpot (see the winnings table on the left side of the playing area). Current size of the jackpot is shown on the left side of the table.
  • You can also click Clear bets to remove all bets from the table and start over.
  • Click the Deal button to deal the cards. A five-card hand will be dealt to you and the dealer. Cards dealt to your hand will be face up. One card dealt to the dealer’s hand is face up and the rest are face down. These are the final hands in this round – no cards will be replaced or dealt for the duration of this game round.
  • Decide whether to stay in or fold. If you fold (click on Fold button), you will lose your ante and this game round is over for you.
    If you stay (click on Call), you add double the amount of your ante to the bet.
  • Now the dealer’s cards are flipped over so everyone can see them. If the dealer’s hand does not include an Ace/King combination or higher, the dealer does not qualify. You win even money (1 to 1) on the ante and the additional bet is returned.
    If the dealer’s hand includes a combination that is higher than yours, you lose both the ante and the additional bet.
    If the dealer’s hand contains an Ace/King or higher, but your hand is higher, you win even money on the ante and the additional bet pays according to the winnings table.
  • Click New Game if you wish to play again. Place your bets as described above and click Deal. You can also click Rebet to place the same bet as in the previous round.

Jackpot Fund

The progressive jackpot fund is composed of two parts – the seed and the progressive pot. The jackpot fund begins at the seed value, which is the guaranteed minimum amount of prize money contributed by the casinos. This ensures that even if you get a jackpot result in the game right after someone else has won the jackpot, you will still get a large win.

The rest of the jackpot amount comes from a progressive share, which is accumulated over time based on the bets that are made within the game. A small amount of money is added into the progressive pot for each bet that is made in the game by the players, in each of the casinos offering it, equal to a percentage of that bet (called the contribution rate).

Please note:

  • The mechanics of the game prohibit simultaneous jackpot winnings. If two players win the jackpot in close succession, the first player will be awarded the seed and the progressive pot, and the second player will win the seed together with any possible progressive share that has accumulated between the two wins.
  • In some games you have to make a specific bet to be eligible for the Jackpot.
  • If you get disconnected in the middle of a game round, your game does not change the value of the Jackpot. The state of the game up to that point is remembered by the casino; the next time you log in you can finish your game round with the same odds and without placing a new bet.
  • If a Jackpot is being discontinued (a game is closed and removed from the casino client), you will be notified of it by the casino.

The Jackpot for this game works like this:

Seed (how much money the Jackpot starts out with): 5 000 x the jackpot bet.
Contribution rate (what percentage of each bet goes into the Jackpot): 75%
Win condition (the result you have to get to win the Jackpot): Royal Flush
Win requirements (what you need to do to be eligible for the Jackpot): Place the jackpot bet.

Return to Player

The maximum theoretical percentage return to player (RTP) is 97.44% and the minimum is 90.33%.

Buttons:

Clear Bets Clear your bet on the table.
Deal Tell the dealer you are ready to deal cards.
Call After looking at your hand, click this if you decide to stay in.
Fold If you feel your hand is not strong enough and you want to fold, click this.
New Game Click this button to start a new game round (after the previous round has ended).
Rebet Place the same bets as you did the last round (both ante and progressive jackpot side bet).

Your No-Nonsense Guide to Playing Real Money Caribbean Stud Games Online

Caribbean stud is played against the house, which is why it’s a great choice for the online casino world as it can easily be reproduced with a single player against a computer dealer.
Here we bring you everything you need to know about the game, including which online casinos offer the best Caribbean Stud experience. 

The Basics

Some sites will occasionally offer tweaks on the usual Caribbean Stud rules. For example, it’s common for casinos in the UK and parts of Europe to play the game a little differently. This may be under the name of ‘Casino Five Card Stud Poker’. Not all casinos have the progressive side bet. The basic rules for these games are the same, but pay out amounts differ. The progressive bet will be placed on the table, rather than in a chip dropper.

Caribbean Draw is a version of this game where players can replace two of their five cards, as in draw poker. The dealer can do the same, so the player does not gain an edge.

Caribbean Hold ‘Em adds elements from Texas Hold ‘Em, with players and dealer having two cards, then the table getting five community cards. However, players cannot bluff as in usual Hold ‘Em. The house edge is lower in this version and pay outs will be lower too.

Caribbean Stud is booming in popularity and it suits the online world very well, being a straightforward one-on-one game. Players should have no problems finding a good game on the top casino sites.

Win at Caribbean Stud – Our Top Tips

“Know your card rankings.”

“Play any pair that you are dealt.”

“Fold any hand that’s weaker than A-K.”

How to Play Caribbean Stud Poker Like an Expert

Stick to these simple principles and you will be playing Caribbean Stud Poker like an expert in no time:

Know Your Hands 

The first step in playing Caribbean Stud Poker well, as with any poker game, is knowing the hands. Having a good working knowledge of how to make a winning hand and how highly it ranks is important, as it lets you make quick, smart decisions about how to proceed after seeing your cards.

Think before you fold

Many players will fold on a weak hand, a legitimate tactic to avoid wasting any more money on a weak position. The trick is to know when to take a risk on a lower ranked hand.

Develop a strategy

There are some strategies that help players to reduce the house edge in Caribbean stud. The rule of thumb is to never fold any pair or higher hand, but always fold anything less than an Ace and King.

How to Improve Your Chances of Winning

The main way to improve your chances in Caribbean Stud is to understand and follow the very common rule of keeping a pair while folding anything less than an A-K. Once you have the Ace and King in your hand, the next step requires a little more thought.

When the dealer’s face-up card is an Ace or King, you should raise A-K-Q and A-K-J. You can block the dealer’s pairs and are likely to have the best A-K hand.

When the dealer’s face-up card is a 2 though to Queen, raise if you have the same card in your hand. Again, you are blocking or matching the dealer’s strength.

When the dealers face-up card is 2 though to 5, raise A-K-Q and A-K-J as you’re likely to have a better A-K hand.

 Caribbean Stud Poker Rules

The basic rules of Caribbean stud are simple; the player places an ante bet, then the player and dealer receive five cards. The dealer reveals one card, from which the player must decide whether to keep their own hand or fold.

Continuing to play costs them a raise bet. Folding will forfeit their ante and side bet. The dealer’s hand only qualifies if it contains either a pair or higher hand, or both an Ace and a King.

A winning hand for the player gives them even money on the ante and a certain pay out on their bet, depending on the hand achieved. Naturally, this can vary depending on the game or casino:

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 or less 1 to 1

Players can only hold one hand in this game. In group games, players must not confer with each other. They must also consciously place a bet on the progressive jackpot if they wish to attempt it.

The progressive jackpot pays out different amounts based on the hand the player has, with the Royal Flush paying out the most, 100% of the pot.

Types of Caribbean Stud

Some sites will occasionally offer tweaks on the usual Caribbean Stud rules. For example, it’s common for casinos in the UK and parts of Europe to play the game a little differently.

This may be under the name of Casino Five Card Stud Poker. Not all casinos have the progressive side bet. The basic rules for these games are the same, but pay out amounts differ.

The progressive bet will be placed on the table, rather than in a chip dropper.

Caribbean Draw is a version of this game where players can replace two of their five cards, as in draw poker. The dealer can do the same, so the player does not gain an edge.

Caribbean Hold ‘Em adds elements from Texas Hold ‘Em, with players and dealer having two cards, then the table getting five community cards. However, players cannot bluff as in usual Hold ‘Em. The house edge is lower in this version and pay outs will be lower too.

History of Caribbean Stud

Poker itself has a long and storied history, with the game as we know it appearing around the 19th century. The history of Caribbean Stud is a little unclear, with various stories attributing it to different casinos and gamblers, or even to resorts and ships in Aruba.

Famous names in gambling, such as David Sklansky and Dennis King, have claimed to invent the game in one form or another. Sklansky claims to have invented it in 1982 under the name of ‘casino poker’, with the dealer exposing two cards instead of one.

He claims that a fellow gamble took the rules to Aruba after this, where they changed slightly and became the game we know now.
A conflicting story suggests the game was invented in 1987 by a man called James Suttle, who according to urban legend paid a down-on-his-luck gambler $5,000 for the game.

With the help of a friend, casino owner Danny Jones, Suttle cooked up the idea of a progressive jackpot to make the game more appealing to players.

Advanced Tips

Raise with an Ace and King, if the dealer’s card is 2 through to a Queen.
Raise if the dealer’s card is an Ace or King, and you have a Queen or Jack.
Watch out for games with better pay outs, and progressive offers.
There is no room for bluffing, in Caribbean Stud Poker.

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