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Caribbean Stud Poker | Tips

When you begin Caribbean Stud, you will be asked to make an ante bet. This creates much of the house edge because you have to make the bet before you see any of your cards.

You're also given the option of dropping a dollar in a slot to become eligible for a progressive jackpot. This progressive jackpot bet is where most of the rest of the house edge comes from. For the progressive jackpot to be a good gamble, it needs to be upward of $400,000, and no one reading this column has probably ever seen it climb that high.

Still, just as with Let It Ride, many players drop the dollar anyway, figuring it's only a dollar, and fearing the nightmare that they might hit a five-card royal flush and not have played the progressive jackpot. Let's keep the math simple and say that you could play Caribbean stud four hours a day, five days a week, for the rest of your life, and you'd still be a HUGE underdog to catch that five-card royal. Just relax and play the game without the dollar.

Assuming you can resist the urge to play the progressive jackpot bet, you're halfway home in your Caribbean Stud strategy. All you need do to play perfectly is to not play unless your starting hand is A-K-J-8-3 or better.

That means you should play if your hand is any pair (or better) or if your hand is A-K-J-9-2. Don't play if your hand is A-K-J-7-6, or A-Q-J-10-9.

If you do play, you must post a bet that is twice the size of your original ante, and if you look down at your hand and see something like 5-5-5-3-3, you happily stick that money out there, because you have a full house, and you will be paid a multiple of your bet -- maybe.

Here's the other problem with Caribbean Stud, and one reason why some players prefer Let It Ride. If the dealer does not qualify, that is, make a hand that is at least A-K or better, you don't win anything but your ante bet.

The nice multiple you were expecting for your full house doesn't get paid if the dealer turns over something like K-Q-6-5-3. You just win your ante bet, and get the other money returned to you.

Because you always win the ante if the dealer fails to qualify and you have stayed in the hand by making the double-ante bet, many poor Caribbean Stud players will make the double ante wager with horrible hands, hoping that they will collect because the dealer fails to qualify.

This is a dangerous way to play Caribbean Stud, because you have to risk double your original bet just to try to win the ante. It's much better just to give up the ante bet when you don't have the minimum I've set out, and wait for another hand. Unlike real poker, where folding often means a wait of several minutes before another hand gets dealt to you, you'll get another hand almost faster than you can blink in Caribbean Stud. Fold the losers, play the decent hands, and you'll have a decent chance.

Fundamental Caribbean Stud Poker Tips

1. Without a minimum of an Ace/King combo, Fold.
2. Place a wager only if you have a Pair (at a minimum) or, if you have at least an Ace/King combo, and one of your other cards is of equal rank to the dealer's solitary exposed card.
3. Do not bluff on a non promising hand.
4. Only go for the progressive jackpot if it is a substantial amount.

Other Caribbean Stud Tips

• Don't look at neighbor's cards or show your hand. (not allowed)
• Don't pick your cards until all of them been dealt
• Don't pull your holding hand beyond the edge of the table
• To win at Caribbean Stud Poker you need to stake $100.
• Start you ANTE wager at $5, and go increasing it as rolling winner hands come out.
• When you have double your money, leave the table as a WINNER. At least sit for a while at the bar and feel like a Winner.

NOTE: A common mistake players make is folding when they have a low ranked Pair. Statistics show that players are dealt Pairs 46% of the time. Besides the fact that a player would be losing their ante wager 46% of the time, a Pair will actually win more often than it loses. In fact, for every time a Pair is dealt, it will win 76% of the time If you have good patience and do not incline to give up when the going gets rough, then stick with a Pair every time. It is bound to win.

NOTE: Another common mistake Caribbean Stud Poker players make is bluffing the dealer when they, in fact, have a shabby hand. The reasoning behind this train of thought is that even if a player has an inadequate hand, the dealer will probably not qualify anyways. Therefore, players think they can still take home even money profit on the original ante. However, statistics will show, once again, that the dealer will actually qualify 56% of the time. This correlates to a 28% loss increase on ante wagers. The other point to remember is that even though a player will earn even odds for the 44% of the time the dealer does not qualify, when the player loses a single ante wager the 56% of the time the dealer does qualify, they are also losing the money they placed on a call wager. The bottom line is that you will lose more money in the long run. Remember, take a small ante loss before you let greed blind your judgment and eventually lose everything. So, if you can't act, don't worry...Bluffing is a tool you do not want to use while playing Caribbean Stud Poker.

For Caribbean Stud Poker, the House Edge is approximately 5% for the ante wager by itself, and 2.5% for the ante wager and call wager combined.