How to Play this Caribbean Poker Game

There is an introduction screen for this flash game; in order to move on to the game, press Start Game at the bottom left of the screen. You will see the payout chart to the left and that will show you what you can win. Your balance and how much you are wagering is located in the upper right corner.

Click on one of the chips at the bottom to bet it. To remove the wager, press the X button. If you hover your mouse over the progressive slot, you will see what the jackpot is currently at. Click on the progressive slot to bet it.

When you are finished betting, press the deal button. Both you and the dealer will receive your cards. The dealer will show one of his cards. You will then have to make a decision whether to raise and bet double your ante or fold and surrender the hand. If you fold, you still see what the dealer had.

Click anywhere on the table to remove the cards and chips after a hand.

Caribbean Stud Rules

Caribbean Stud is a casino variation of the standard five card stud game. Both you and the dealer will be given 5 cards and you will not be able to exchange them. You have to play with what you have and you are betting that your hand will beat the dealer.

You must make an Ante bet before you will receive your cards. The dealer deals all 5 cards to each player consecutively. Each player must look at their cards and determine whether or not they want to play their hand against the dealer. The player has the option to fold or raise. If you raise, you must pay 2x your ante bet to get to the showdown with the dealer.

The dealer must have an Ace/King in his hand or better in order to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify, then you automatically win money on your Ante bet, but you will not win anything for your Raise bet. If the dealer's hand qualifies, then your hand is compared to the dealer's.

Normal poker hand rankings apply with one exception. The wheel (A,2,3,4,5) is the second highest straight to the royal (A,K,Q,J,10). If your hand loses, you will lose both your ante and raise bets. If your hand beats the dealer's hand, then you will win back even money on your Raise bet and you will be paid out on your Raise bet according to the following chart:

• High Card  - 1 to 1
• Pair  - 1 to 1
• Two Pairs  - 2 to 1
• Three of a Kind   - 3 to 1
• Straight  - 4 to 1
• Flush  - 5 to 1
• Full House  - 7 to 1
• Four of a Kind  - 20 to 1
• Straight Flush  - 50 to 1
• Royal Flush  - 100 to 1

To play for a chance to win the progressive jackpot, you must put a dollar every hand into the progressive coin slot. You will only win any money on this bet if you receive a flush or better in your hand. In order to win the progressive jackpot, you have to receive a royal flush. Progressive payout charts change from one casino to another.

Caribbean Stud Strategy

The standard strategy to determine whether to raise or fold is to raise whenever you have an Ace/King/Jack in your hand or better. You should automatically raise when you have a pair in your hand.

Also, you may want to raise if one of your cards is the same as the dealer's up card. The rational behind this is that sharing this card means it is less likely that the dealer has a pair.

If you do not have a qualifying hand, never raise if the dealer is showing an Ace or King.

The dealer's hand has a 53% chance of qualifying, so make sure that you don't try to go with nothing that often. You may be able to get away with it, but you will not win that much money because you are betting that the dealer will not qualify. Any win that you may have will only win you a third of the amount that you are risking.

As for the progressive jackpot, you have 0.21% chance of receiving a flush or higher. This means you will achieve this about one in every 480 hands.

Why would you want to bet the progressive then? The reason has to do with the dealer not qualifying for a hand. If you get a flush and the dealer qualifies, then you will win 5 to 1 on your Raise bet and 1 to 1 on your Ante bet. If the dealer does not qualify for the hand, then you have won the same as if you had nothing in your hand. Playing the progressive helps ensure that you win something if you get a great hand.