Understanding Caribbean Stud Poker Basics

Caribbean Stud Poker is one of the most popular poker based online casino games. One of the reasons is that there is only one decision to be made by the player and the optimum strategy for the same is relatively simple.

The online Caribbean Stud Poker game begins with your placing the ante bet. You will be dealt a five card hand with all cards face up. In the dealer’s hand only one card is face up and the remaining four are face down. With this information you have to decide whether to fold or raise. If you fold then you lose the ante bet and the game ends. If you raise then you have to place another bet, which is two times the ante bet. After you raise, the remaining cards of the dealer are turned face up. The dealer must have an ace and a king or better hand to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify the, you are paid even money on the ante bet and the second bet pushes. If the dealer qualifies, then the two hands are compared based on the standard poker hand rankings. If the dealer’s hand is higher ranked then you lose both bets. If both hands are of the same rank, then both bets push. If your hand is higher ranked then you are paid even money on the ante bet and the second bet is paid according to a payout table.

The critical question is on what criterion does the player decide whether to fold or raise. The first step is to check whether you have the dealer’s qualifying hand. If your hand is lower ranked than that then you must always fold. If you have a hand that is one pair or higher, then you must always raise. The optimum strategy is simple and crystal clear so far. The only hand that is left is one that has an ace and king with no hand ranking. In this case you have to memorize certain conditions. You will raise only if any of the three conditions are met. The first condition is that the dealer’s face up card is a two through queen and matches one of your cards. The second condition is that the dealer’s face up card is an ace or king and you hold a queen or jack in your hand. The third condition is that the dealer’s face up card does not match any of your cards and you hold a queen and the dealer’s face up card is less than your fourth highest card. If you can handle this you can expect an average return of about 95%.