Caribbean Stud is essentially a 5-card poker game. If you’re at all familiar with any form of poker or maybe a casino table game like Let It Ride and/or 3-Card Poker, Caribbean Stud will be a piece of cake to learn — not to mention fun to play.
Caribbean Stud Betting Rules
The whole idea behind Caribbean stud is to make a better 5-card poker hand than the dealer.
A game of Caribbean Stud will start off with you posting an ante. This can be any amount between the table minimum and maximum times two. You need to have twice what you want to ante in case you want to make a raise after you receive your cards.
At this time you can also place a bet for the progressive jackpot. The amount may vary from casino to casino, but from what I’ve seen, it’s generally $1. If you miss one of the qualifying hands for the jackpot (listed below), you’ll lose your $1. If you hit, you’ll win the amount listed regardless of whether the dealer has a qualifying hand or a better hand than you do.
After you place your bets, you’ll be dealt 5 cards face up. The dealer will be dealt 5 cards as well, 4 of which are dealt faced down and 1 face up.
Once you have your cards, you need to determine whether you want to fold or raise based on the strength of your hand and the dealer’s one up card. If you don’t think your hand will beat the dealer’s, you can fold. If you fold, you’ll forfeit your ante.
However, if you feel that your hand may be the best, you would raise. Your raise will be the same size as your ante.
After you raise, the dealer will then flip over his remaining 4 cards. A winner will then be determined. You will have a winning hand if:
- You have a better 5-card hand than the dealer. Carribean Stud uses standard hand rankings to determine the best hand. High card is the worst hand while a royal flush is the best.
- You raise and the dealer’s hand does not qualify. Qualifying hands are A-K-x-x-x or better.
Payouts for winning hands will be paid out based on the following chart:
- Royal Flush – 200:1 (100% of Progressive Jackpot)
- Straight Flush – 50:1 (10% of Progressive Jackpot)
- Four of a Kind – 20:1 ($500 of Progressive Jackpot)
- Full House – 7:1 ($100 of Progressive Jackpot)
- Flush – 5:1 ($75 of Progressive Jackpot)
- Straight – 4:1
- 3 of a Kind – 3:1
- Two Pair – 2:1
- One Pair – 1:1
- High Card – 1:1
All payouts are for the ante bet only unless the dealer has a qualifying hand. So for example, if you wager $10 on the ante and the raise ($20 total), and the dealer does not have a qualifying hand, you’ll receive $20 for the ante ($10 wager + $10 profit). Your raise will push (tie) and you’ll receive your $10 back. You’ll receive a grand total of $30. However, if the dealer has a qualifying hand and you beat him, you’ll make $20 on the raise too for a total of $40.
Play Caribbean Stud Online
That’s all there is to Caribbean Stud — easy, right? Now all that’s left is for you to try the game out yourself. One of our recommended casinos above would be a good start. You’ll be able to play free until you’ve gotten the hang of Caribbean Stud and are ready to play for real money.
