Caribbean Stud History

Many times we don't really know where a card game will originate from. That is not the case with Caribbean Stud Poker. We know that the game started in the Caribbean Islands. In fact we can go further than that to say it was first played on a cruise ship. The game is not the best poker hand to play as the odds are not in the players favor. In fact the house has the most to gain. After its inception on the cruise ships the game was brought to America for the land casinos. It was a little after this time that the progressive jackpot option was added to make the game more attractive to casino customers. The bonus is somewhat of a lure, but still doesn't make it the most popular game. While it is still played in land casinos, it has been more popular online where the odds are always better. The game will continue to be played, but little can be said as to why, except for the easy to learn rules.

Card games are always based on something and in this case Caribbean poker does have origins dating back to the 1500's. During this time there was a three card game known as Primera in Spain. This three card game has several names such as Primero, Brag, Pochen, and Poque. It will just depend on where you are located. Some are the names you will find in the UK while others are German or French. In this early game you had hands such as the three of a kind, pair, or 3 of the same suit also called a Flux back then. The term has now been changed to flush. In the 1700's the game changed so that betting and the option of being able to bluff were added. As you will see in Caribbean Stud it is very hard to bluff your way through the game, so at least that much has changed from these earlier versions.

The game supposedly hit the shores of the United States in the 1700's as well. It seems the French brought it along to the South. The game has always been very successful in the south, and by the 19th century it had moved its way further into the US. Documents found by scholars tend to show the significance of the game during those times. It was mentioned in many journals and other written artifacts.

Poker has always been popular no matter the game. Even during the time when gambling was illegal it was played in underground places. The fact that Nevada, and especially Las Vegas was able to bring back the many poker games in the early 1900's shows just how much we are still enjoying the game. In 1930 Caribbean Stud was back in popularity in the Nevada casinos; though it continues to wane there will always be a resurgence of this particular poker variation.

Caribbean Stud Rules

Five card stud has always been a game that is recognized. Most individuals learn to play this game before delving further into possible variations. Caribbean Stud is a variation of five card stud. Normally it is played as a table game in casinos, kind of like the tables of Blackjack. There are two differences in this game that we will mention further on. However, first you should know that Caribbean Stud did start on a cruise ship in the Caribbean Islands before it moved through the US and parts of Europe.

You will play Caribbean Stud with a single deck of fifty two cards. The differences in Caribbean Stud are that you play the dealer or house rather than other players, and there is a jackpot bonus. The jackpot is progressive and added to help encourage more players to join in. It has a very high advantage for the house and bluffing is pretty much unattainable.

When you start the play you will place an ante bet. Then the dealer will offer five cards face down to each player. The dealer will also get a five card hand. Of the dealers hand four cards are face down with the last card face up. The player based on the up card can choose to fold or stay in the game. If they stay in the game there is going to be another bet placed. This bet should double the ante bet i.e.when you play five dollars on the ante you must place another $5 to stay in the game. The rest of the dealer hand will be revealed after the second bet. If the dealer has the ace/ king in their hand the play can continue. If not the player gets even money on the ante and the second bet is given back.

When the dealer has the king and ace in the hand the play will continue. The player must then show their hand. If the hand is better than the dealer hand showing the player will win.

The table below outlines how much you can win for the type of hand you have:

Hand

Payout

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

Pair

1:1

Ace/King

1:1

The progressive jackpot is going to be a side bet. This means the jackpot has little to do with your hand. A player must place a dollar in the jackpot. The bet is stating that the hand of cards the player will receive will be a flush or better. If the hand wins then the player gets the jackpot according to the payout on the table above. To get everything in the pot the player must have the Royal Flush. Casinos are going to vary on whether they offer the progressive jackpot and whether or not the pay will be the same. Most casinos have their own pay tables so be sure to check them before playing.

Caribbean Stud Strategy

To understand the strategy or even a modicum of how to win you need to look at the different probabilities. In Caribbean Stud Poker you are not going to find a lot of poker strategies that you are used to. First you can't bluff because you get dealt five cards and those cards must be shown to determine the winner. In Caribbean Poker you play against the house rather than other players. The house has a 5.26 percent edge over any player. In this article we are looking at one strategy that could be of help to your winning a little more often than you might otherwise.

The first thing you need to understand is when to fold. There are four things to consider when you think you might need to fold or raise the bet. The first thing you need to understand is the player who folds will not get the ante bet back. That is given to the casino bank. If you raise to stay in the game you will gain winnings on the ante bet if the dealer doesn't qualify, but not on the second bet. The second bet is returned. When the dealer does have the correct hand the player can win the ante bet and the raise they are offered. In other words if you bet $5 on the ante and another five on the raise you would get even money for the ante bet, and earnings according to the pay table for the raise based on your hand (as long as you win). If you have raised, but you don't have the higher hand, you will lose both bets.

In Caribbean Stud the option to raise can be easy to see. If you have a Royal Flush, Flush, or Straight, chances are you will want to raise. In other words the higher the hand you have the more chance you have of winning against the dealer. If you had a pair of twos you probably would want to fold. This is because the dealer has the potential to have a better hand than you, even in the pair department. Some strategies will tell you to always play a pair because pairs are dealt out at 42 percent. This means the dealer could also have a pair. A high pair is important. If you have two aces then yes you should play that hand. The chance of the dealer having better is still possible, but again a pair is dealt 42 percent of the time. The up card can give you a little idea for raising, but you should not fold your entire hand based on that card. It should be based more on your cards and the hand it makes.

Below we have a table in which we are going to outline what you should do regarding hands that you don't have a pair in. The information is based on the dealer up card as well as what you might have in your hand. If you have any of the conditions below you should place that second bet.

Players Hand

Dealers Upcard

A-K-Q-J-x

Any

A-K-Q-x-x

Must match one of the players cards

A-K-J-x-x

Must match one of the players cards

A-K-10-x-x

Must match one of the players cards

In Caribbean Stud if you have an up card that matches one of the cards in your hand, you know the dealer has a smaller chance of having more than a pair.

This chart will examine other instances in which you might want to raise:

Players Hand

Dealers Upcard

Any Pair

Any Upcard

A-K-Q-J-x

Any Upcard

A-K-Q-x-x

Must match one of players cards

A-K-J-x-x

Must match one of players cards

A-K-10-x-x

Must match one of players cards

You will not want to place any money in the progressive jackpot until the pot is more than $250,000. It is a better win obviously, but more than that you will just be throwing money in the pot with little winnings.