Caribbean Stud Poker Strategies: Advanced Lesson
by John Grochowski
Before moving to Caribbean stud poker
advanced strategies, this lesson provides the history of the game plus
a review of rules/basic strategy at
Learn Poker.
Caribbean Stud Poker: History
Caribbean is a variant of poker, a card game with a long and mysterious
history. The French introduced the game of poker to Louisiana in 1830
whereupon it reached the West in a short period of time.
Caribbean Poker can trace its roots to Aruba, the island country whose
closest neighbor is Venezuela. Similar to five-card stud poker, the
rules for Caribbean take a turn in that players bet against the house
instead of other players.
Caribbean Stud was originally played at the Holiday Inn Hotel &
Casino, Aruba in 1988 and is now known as the Excelsior Casino. The
Casino has been in existence for 30 years and offers a full compliment
of poker games including Caribbean Stud Poker Tournaments to include
players from the US, South America and Europe. The Casino hosted the
World Poker Tour in September 2005.
In the late 1980s, Caribbean Stud Poker was a standard poker option
throughout the islands of the Caribbean and at cruise ship casinos
anchored in the area. It was a foregone conclusion that the game would
head to Vegas and indeed, this poker option was
on the table in 1992.
As often happens, Nevada changed the rules and added a progressive
jackpot to the delight of poker players. The result was a surge in
popularity that attracted players worldwide.
Currently, Caribbean Stud Poker is offered at the vast majority of
land-based and online casinos. The game is also known online as
CyberStud.
If Caribbean poker is your choice, it’s easy to
get in the game online or off.
Caribbean Stud Rules
Players
make an ante bet that may include a second progressive side-bet
followed by 5 cards dealt face down. Dealer receives 4 cards down and 1
up.
Players decide to fold and lose their original wager or bet an amount
equal to twice the value of the ante.
Dealer
then shows his/her hand. Dealer must have a minimum hand of Ace/King to
qualify. If the dealer does not qualify, players will win
even
money on their ante and push with their bet.
Should the dealer’s
hand qualify and loses to the player, the ante will pay even money and
the bet will pay according to the table’s established schedules.
Optional progressive side bet will be based on the poker value of the
player’s hand.
Caribbean Stud Poker: Basic Strategy
Players should bet the following hands:
1) A pair or better.
2) Ace-King-Queen and the player's next highest card outrank the
dealer's up card.
3) An Ace and a King, and one of the other three cards matching the
dealer's up card.
4) Ace-King-Queen or Ace-King-Jack, and any of the five cards matching
the dealer's up card.
The
player strategy behind numbers 3 and 4 is that matching the dealer’s up
card decreases the chances that the dealer will have a pair that will
beat your Ace-King.
Caribbean stud poker: Advanced level
Advanced level requires additional effort, with dozens of exceptions to
the basic strategy of drawing to hands with no pairs.
The
best hands to hold are in this order: 4-card royal, 4-card straight
flush, 4-card straight, 4-card open straight, 3-card royal, 3-card
straight flush to include inside and double-inside draws, 3-card flush
or 4-card inside straight. Or hold 3 highest cards.
- Queen-Jack-10, don’t play 10-8-7 or 10-7-6
double inside straight flushes.
- Q-J-low is the only playable three-card flush.
- Queen-Jack-9, don’t play 9-8-low, Jack-low-low
or 9-low-low 3-card flushes.
- Queen-10-9-8
and a low card, the only playable double-inside straight flushes are
Queen-10-8 and Queen-9-8, and the only playable three-card flush is
Queen-10-low for caribbean stud poker.
- Queen-10-9 and two low cards, three-card
flushes are not playable.
- Jack-10-9 and two low cards, Jack-10-low and
Jack-9-low are the only playable three-card flushes.
- Jack-10-8 and two low cards, do not play 8-high
three-card flushes.
- Jack-9-8
and two low cards, the Jack-low-low three-card flush is stronger than a
9-8-6-5 inside straight. Four-card inside straights are stronger than
9-or 8-high 3-card flushes.
- 10-9-8 and two low
cards, a three-card flush with 10, 9 and a low card is stronger than a
four-card inside straight. Other three-card flushes are weaker than
inside straights.
- 10-9 and three low cards, three-card
flushes with no straight flush possibilities are not playable unless
they include both the 10 and the 9.
- 10-8 and three low cards, three-card flushes
that do not include the 10 are weaker than four-card inside straights.
- 9-8 and three low cards, three-card flushes
that do not include both the 9 and the 8 are weaker than four-card
inside straights.
- 9 and four low cards, three-card flushes are
weaker than four-card inside straights.
- 8 and four low cards, three-card flushes are
weaker than four-card inside straights that include the 8.
Player advantage: if the house draws to inside draws, the house edge is
1.5% of the ante, or 0.5% of all bets.
If no draw to inside straights, the house edge is 2.4% of the ante, or
0.8% percent of all bets.
Caribbean
Stud Poker Progressive Payouts may vary from casinos online and off,
however, usually it’s-- Royal Flush wins the progressive jackpot,
$5,000 for a straight flush, $500 for quads, $100 for a full house and
$50 for a flush.
From
Caribbean Stud Poker Strategies, go to Poker Games Online
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