Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker is a popular casino game that combines elements of stud poker with huge progressive jackpots and a social atmosphere. Since being introduced into online casinos, Caribbean Stud Poker has become massively popular for its players and is known as a high value game that offers a great chance at big jackpots and frequent wins.

Caribbean Poker is played with up to six players and features a half circle table almost identical to a blackjack table. Players start out by placing an ante wager at or above the table minimum bet and are dealt 5 cards by the dealer face down. The dealer also gives himself 5 cards with the last card turned up and exposed to the players (you can see 1 card from the dealers hand). At this point after everyone has been dealt their hand and the dealer has flipped one of his cards, players are allowed to pick up their hand and examine its contents. The object of Caribbean Poker is to make a poker hand that is higher than the dealer and therefore makes the player a winner. The poker hand combinations possible are:

Royal Flush – 10,J,Q,K,A - all suited, must be cards 10-A

Straight Flush –9,10,J,Q,K - all in the same suit (can be any straight of the same suit)

4 of A Kind – A,A,A ,A,2 - four of the same cards

Full House – K,K,K,10,10 – three of the same cards combined with two other cards that match

Flush – AH,4H,5H,10H,QH - five cards together in the same suit, unordered

Straight – 7,8,9,10,J - any three cards in order, unsuited

3 of A Kind – A,A,A,2,7 - three of the same cards

Two Pair – A,A,10,10,2 – two sets of matching cards

Ace High or Less – A,2,7,10,Q - random cards with your high card being the best part of your hand

Once the player has examined their hand and decided upon its value, they must now decide whether they are going to continue with the hand or fold. If the player folds the hand, their ante bet will be taken by the dealer and the hand is considered over. If the player chooses to continue with the hand, they must put a bet exactly twice or double their original ante wager to keep the hand alive and face the dealer.

If the player has chosen to continue with the hand, at this point the dealer will begin turning over and exposing all of the players hands on the table after the dealer has first turned over his hand for the players to see. In Caribbean Poker, the dealer only qualifies if he/she has Ace King or better in their hand. What this means is that even if you continued your hand without a pair and only high cards, you could still win as long as the dealer did not qualify. Assuming that you do have a hand, one of three things will happen. If your hand is beaten by the dealer, the dealer will take both your ante and play bets and you are said to lose the hand. If you have a hand and the dealer does not qualify, you will be an amount equal to your ante wager (as long as you did not hit a bonus). The last scenario is that the dealer qualifies and you have a better hand than them. In this case, the dealer will pay you an equal amount to both your ante bet and play bet that you made at the beginning of the hand.

Caribbean Poker Payouts

The following are the non-progressive payouts that a player will receive when they form a winning hand. Please note that to get these the dealer must qualify and you must beat the dealer’s hand with your own.

Royal Flush – 100-1

Straight Flush – 50-1

4 of a Kind – 20-1

Full House – 7-1

Flush – 5-1

Straight – 4-1

3 of a Kind – 3-1

Two Pair – 2-1

Pair – 1-1

Caribbean Poker Progressive Jackpots

In addition to the normal betting play in a Caribbean Poker game, most tables also offer a progressive jackpot which is a jackpot that builds from all the players bonus bets. The cost per hand is usually $1 and players simply drop a chip into the bonus slot and then their hand will be considered for the jackpot should they hit one of the highest hand combinations possible. In most online casinos, progressive jackpots on Caribbean Poker are in the neighbourhood of $100,000 - $400,000 depending on which casino you play at. In order to win the bonus bet, you must hit one of the following hands below and will be paid out accordingly:

Royal Flush – 100% of Progressive Jackpot

Straight Flush – 10% of Progressive Jackpot

4 of a Kind - $500 Direct Payout

*Jackpot payouts will change per casino, so make sure to check the rules of the casino you play at.