Poker Games Online

by J. Phillip Vogel

Poker is all the rage.  But before Texas Hold ‘Em dominated the gambling scene, poker games like Caribbean Stud, Let it Ride and Three Card Poker enthralled traditional casino goers.  It’s not surprising, then, that each of these poker games found a warm reception and alter ego in online casinos. 
Let’s take a look at the basic rules and strategies for three of several of the net’s most popular casino poker games. 

CyberStud Poker 
aka: Caribbean Stud Poker
A popular form of casino poker developed more than a decade ago; Cyberstud Poker has taken a front-row-seat in most online casinos.  Although its simplicity made the game popular from the start, it owes much of its current success to the drastic rise in poker popularity.  The basic rules for the game are:

• All players must make an ante wager according to the limits of the table.  An optional $1 progressive wager is also made at this time.
• The dealer and all players are dealt five cards.  All player cards are dealt face down.  The dealer receives four cards face down.  The fifth card is exposed.      
•  After looking at the hand, players must decide whether to fold or bet.  Hands values are based according to traditional poker rules.   Players may not share information about their hands.        
• Any player that folds forfeits the current wager.
•  Any player that bets must wager an additional amount equal to twice the value of the ante.
•  After all players have acted on their decisions, the dealer will expose his remaining cards.
• The 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.
  
•  If the dealer’s hand does qualify and loses to the player, then the ante will pay even money and the bet will pay according to the table’s payout schedule.
• If the dealer qualifies and wins, the player losses all monies wagered.
•  The optional progressive side bet will be based entirely on the standard poker value of the player’s hand. 

First, always bet/raise when your hand contains a pair or better.  Second, fold any hands that do not contain at least the minimum qualifying hand for the dealer: Ace-King. 

Slightly more advanced strategy involves paying close attention to the dealer’s upcard.  For example, if you hold an Ace-King in your hand and the dealer’s exposed card is below a king and matches one of your other cards, you should bet. 
Other factors that you should keep an eye out for include the remaining cards in your Ace-King hand (do you have a queen as well, while the dealer shows garbage?) and the comparative rank of the dealer’s card to your remaining cards.

• Play begins after each participant places three bets of equal size in the three wager circles marked 1, 2 and $.
•  Each player is dealt three cards face down.  Two additional “community cards” are dealt face down in front of the dealer. 
•  Players examine their cards and decide whether or not to let the bet #1 remain or remove it from action.
• The dealer then reveals one of the two community cards.
• Again, each player may then let the remaining two bets ride, or remove bet #2.  This action is independent of the initial decision.
•  Finally, the second community card is exposed and all winning players are paid according to the table’s payout schedule.      

After a decision is made for round one, the game continues and the dealer exposes the first community card.  Players must now make their next betting decision based on the new information and the likelihood of completing a winning hand.
At this point, the playable four-card hands are:

• Four of a Kind.
• Three of a Kind.
• Two Pair.
• Pair of 10's or Higher.
• Four Cards to a Royal Flush.
• Four Cards to a Straight Flush.
• Four to a Flush.
• Four Cards to an Open Ended Straight.
• Four Cards to a High Straight.

These rules comprise the basic strategy for Let it Ride.
Any hands that do not meet these guidelines should not be played, no matter how tempting or fictitiously attractive they may look. 

• The dealer must have a minimum hand of Q-X-X in order to qualify.
•  If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the ante bet is paid off at 1-1.  The Play bet is then returned to the player.
•  If the dealer’s hand qualifies, but player wins, both Ante bet and Play bet are paid off at 1-1. 
•  If the dealer’s hand qualifies and wins, the player loses both Play and Ante wagers.
•  If the dealer’s hand qualifies but the player and dealer tie, both Ante and Play wagers remain unaffected (push). 

In addition to these results, the Ante bet has a special bonus that is independent of the dealer’s hand. 
The payout schedule for this ante bonus is: 

•  Pair Plus Strategy.  There is no real skill involved in playing the Pair Plus option, since the only decision is whether or not to play.  Under ideal conditions the house edge is about 2.3%. 
•  Ante & Play Strategy.  Almost as simplistic a strategy as that of Pair Plus, the deciding factor in whether or not to raise depends solely on the minimal hand strength required for optimal play. 
  Specifically, raise any time your hand is a Queen-six-four combination or better.  This doesn’t mean that a Q-6-4 is a power hand that you can expect to consistently win with. 
•  Rather it’s the absolute minimum hand that’s worth playing.