Caribbean Stud Poker Poker May 8, 2001, 11:16 By Carl Van Eton http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com

As the popularity and profitability of traditional table games such as blackjack, craps, roulette, and baccarat have waned and the drawing power of slot machines of all stripes have risen almost exponentially, the powers that be within the casino industry searched high and low for table games that offered slot-like jackpots and high throughput.  In other words, the casino industry decided to have a go at creating a slot machine with cards, and so Caribbean Stud Poker was born.

While the origin of the Caribbean connotation is a little difficult to put one's finger on, the Poker derivation is not.  Just as in classical poker varieties such as stud and hold'em, play begins when the players ante up.  Next, each player and the dealer is dealt their own five card hand.  One of the dealer's cards is face up while the other four are dealt face down.  Each player in turn has then to decide whether to raise or fold their hand.  Players that fold automatically forfeit their ante.  If you choose to stay in the game,  you must 'raise' by doubling the amount wagered as 'ante'.

Then comes the moment of truth.  The dealer looks at his or 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 an ace/king or better, 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 table.  If the dealer's hand beats the player's hand, then the player loses both the ante and the raise.

HAND PAYOFF

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<br>
Pair 1 to 1
Ace/King 1 to 1

PLAYING STRATEGY

The best and simplest playing strategy in Caribbean Stud Poker is for the player to raise on any pair or better, fold on any hand with a value  less than an ace/king, and sometimes raise and sometimes fold on an ace/king.  To play Caribbean stud perfectly, would involve memorizing scads of charts and statistics.  While this would pare down the house edge of 5.2% somewhat, the extra effort would only serve to reduce, not reverse, the house edge.  Fortunately a simplified playing strategy has been developed, and is presented below.

Raise with Ace/King if the dealer's upcard is 2 through queen and the card matches or is lower than one of your other three cards.

Raise if the dealer's card is an Ace/King and you have a Queen/Jack.

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

While a mathematically sound playing strategy of and by itself is insufficient to eliminate the edge, it will reduce it to a more manageable 2.55%.

Progressive Jackpot Side Bet
That is all well and good you say but, this still doesn't explain how Caribbean Stud Poker is akin to a slot machine with cards. In Caribbean Stud, the player also has the option to place a side bet of $1 which pays-off only if the player should hold a flush or better.  The specific payoff varies from casino to casino, but always features a progressive jackpot, paying 100% of the jackpot meter for a royal flush and 10% for a straight flush.  While the allure of a large payoff looms large in the eyes of many a player, the average house edge is 26.46%, the progressive jackpot side bet is a decided sucker's bet.

Conclusion
If you are looking for something a little exotic, a game that will allow you to while away the time without breaking the bank, then you might want to give Caribbean Stud Poker a whirl.