How To Play Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean stud is a poker variant where the player plays against the dealer. In this article we’re going to explain to you how the game works, its payoffs and strategy. Caribbean Stud Poker can now be played at most online casinos.

In some casinos the royal flush can be 250 to 1 resulting in a house edge of just over 5%. The majority of internet gambling sites now have different paytables where the house edge is 5%. Truth be told this is quite good.

Side-Bet Progressive Jackpot

A side bet of $1 can be made in addition to the ante bet. The idea behind this is to win an additional bonus on hands of flush or better. The dealer’s hand is irrelevant only your hand matters. Seventy one percent of all the bets made are added to the progressive meter, the casino keeps the rest. Player wins are paid out the meter, the meter is replenished by the casino when the royal flush is hit. When the current contribution rate is 71% and the meter re-seed is $10,000, the house edge on the side bet is more or less 27%.

Most players prefer the side bet the reason for this is if they have a good hand they may win the ante if the dealer fails to qualify. This makes sense but the odds favor the casino by a long shot unless the meter reaches unusually high levels. This is why it’s important to avoid the side bet as far as possible. The meter can yield a positive wager expectation. In the United States 100% of the meter’s top prize is paid for a royal flush. Ten percent of the meter is paid by a straight flush, payouts for four-of-a-kind a flush and full house vary from casino to casino.

 
Basic Rules of Caribbean Stud Poker

• According to the table limit, all players must make an ante wager. Players can make an optional progressive wager of $1.
• Five cards are dealt to the dealer and players. The cards are dealt face down except the fifth card.
• Once the player looked at his cards he/she must decide whether he wants to fold or bet. The rules of the game are the same as traditional poker’s. Players are not allowed to share information about their hands.
• The current wager is forfeited once the player folds.
• If you placed a bet you must wager an additional amount that is twice (2x) the ante’s value.
• The dealer will expose his cards once all bets are made.
• Before the dealer can qualify he must have at least an ace-king. If the dealer fails to qualify players will push with their bets and win even money on their ante.
• Raise with Ace/King or better. This strategy favors players who are prepared to take a risk.
• The ante pays even money if the dealer’s hand does not qualify.
  
• Raise with any pair or better. This may appeal to players who prefer not to raise in borderline situations. The player loses if the dealer qualifies.
• Based on the standard value of the player’s hand the optional progressive side bet is used.
• Raise on everything. This is called ”playing blind”, don’t do this. The house edge shoots up to 16.1% which is significantly higher than the standard play.

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Paytable Caribbean Stud Poker (U.S)

Hand                       Pays
Royal Flush             100-1
Straight Flush            50-1
Four of a Kind            20-1
Full House                   7-1
Flush                            5-1
Straight                        4-1
Three of a Kind            3-1
Two Pair                       2-1
All Other                       1-1

The call strategy of the game entails two actions:

• When dealt a pair always bet.
• When your hand is below an ace-king always fold.
  

By following optimal strategy the best you can do is by reducing the vigorish (house edge) to 5.2 percent. Caribbean Stud poker suffered many changes over the years especially when it appeared online. The game is also known as Caribbean Poker, Island Progressive Stud Poker and Cyberstud Poker.

How To Win At Caribbean Stud Poker

Although the game itself is easy to learn its strategy is complicated. The best you can do is to lower the game’s house edge to 5.22 percent. If you can accomplish this feat it’s one of the best games to play at any online casino.

A vigorish of 5.5 percent entails two actions. You must bet if the dealer’s card is below a king and you hold an ace-king. Other factors you must keep an eye on are the remaining cards in your ace-king hand. Do you have a queen as well when the dealer holds nothing?
If you’re a beginner and really want to get stuck into the game brace yourself for hours of intensive study. It’s not easy to drop the house edge to such a small amount that the game becomes profitable.

Player Collusion

Players ask us from time to time if it is a good thing to share information with other players. Colluding with fellow players is against the rules in land-based venues, however, a lot of web casinos allow players to collude over the phone.

Overall it’s not as good as it sounds, a recent study done by Peter Griffin and John M. Gwynn Jr., ”An Analysis of Caribbean Stud Poker” points out if there are 7 colluding players at the table it narrows down the dealer’s cards to 16 possible unseen cards. If a computer is used to analyze 1,800 or 4-card sets out of 16, the edge to the player is roughly 2%. Even if there are still six players at the table the house edge is still 0.4%.

According to the Wizardofodds.com the house edge can be reduced by a borderline ace/king if the dealer’s up card is matched by another player’s cards. In a multi-player setting the more matches there are the more players will be inclined to raise. The maximum amount of seats in a multi-player setting offered by online casinos are three which explains why it looks more rosier than it actually is.

Can Players Call?

Players can call on condition they raise their own bets assuming the player makes a bet for the dealer. Most experts agree that if the player has a marginal hand it’s considered a good bet. So, what’s the best strategy to match the dealer’s tip?

• If you have a pair of 5’s or less call.
• If you have a pair of 6’s call unless all three singletons are 7’s or higher.
• Raise if you have a pair of sevens on condition all singletons are less than six.
• Raise when you have a pair of eights or higher.
  

Let’s say the player decides to play both hands based on the tipping strategy the tip will have a 50% edge. Players and dealers can use this for collusion.

In summary

When playing Caribbean Stud poker raise with an ace-king and avoid the side bet. The paytables of the game varies from operator to operator, always pick the internet casino that gives you the best pay schedule.

Reference

1. https://wizardofodds.com/games/caribbean-stud-poker/