Caribbean Stud Poker
Over the last several years, casinos have seen a decline in play for the traditional table games of blackjack, craps, and roulette in favor of regular and video poker slot machines. Table games once generated the majority of a casino’s revenue. Nowadays, it’s the slot department that is king. In their efforts to revitalize table play, casinos have been experimenting with new games such as paid gow poker, red dog, sic bo and others. However, the one game that has caught on like wildfire over the past year in casinos throughout the new table game, Caribbean Stud Poker, with its potential $100,000 plus jackpots.
It’s popular because it plays fast and easy like blackjack and features a very large progressive jackpot like an online slot machine. In this game, all players play against the dealer (or house) thus eliminating some of the intimidation that many players have about playing poker against other players.
Once all the ante wagers are made by players, the dealer will deal five cards face down to each player. The dealer also receives 5 cards, however one card is face-up for all the players to see and the other four cards are face down. Each player picks up his five cards and makes a decision whether he wants to call the dealer or fold.
After looking at the dealer’s card, if the player believes he has a very little chance to beat the dealer, then the player can fold by throwing the cards face down on the table. When a player folds, the player’s ante bet is taken by the dealer.
If the player believes he has a chance to beat the dealer, then the player must make a second bet wager. The latter must be twice the ante, thus a player who made a five-dollar ante wager must make a ten-dollar bet wager. In order for the round of play to continue, the dealer’s hand must qualify by having a poker value of at least ace, king or higher. If the dealer does not have an ace, king (or higher) then the dealer folds, the game is over and the dealer will automatically pay all the player’s original ante bet at 1 to 1.
If the dealer does have an ace, king or higher poker hand, then the dealer “calls” all the player’s hands. The players in turn will lay their cards on the layout and the dealer compares his hand with the player’s hand to determine which hand has the higher poker value. If the player’s hand has a higher poker value than the dealer’s hand, the player wins the ante wager at 1 to 1 and the bet wager is paid a bonus depending on the value of the hand. The best playing strategy to improve your odds is to always make the bet wager if you have a pair or higher hand. You should fold if you don’t have at least a pair.