Everything Beginners Need to Know about Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker is an attractive poker variant that is usually played on cruise ships, although a number of online casinos offer their own variants of Caribbean Stud Poker at present.

Although Caribbean Stud Poker is not everybody’s favourite poker variant, many poker players cannot help, but love it. The poker game moves too slowly; moreover, it has a high house edge of 5.3%, which makes it a house friendly game.

How to Play

Playing Caribbean Stud Poker is relatively easy – all one needs is a group of around six interested poker players and a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Each player and the dealer gets a hand of five cards, of which only the last card is exposed, and at this point, players must decide whether they want to continue playing the game or not.

Under these circumstances, players might wonder what makes Caribbean Stud Poker popular. If poker players continue playing Caribbean Stud Poker, it is because of its progressive jackpot. The player who gets the Royal Flush gets the entire progressive jackpot; however, the player who gets a straight flush gets 10% of the pot, and the players who get four of a kind, full house, and flush get varying amounts as prizes depending on the policies and rules of their casino.

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Rules

• Placing the bet – The game begins with a bet. Besides placing an ante bet, players can also place an optional side bet, which will unlock the progressive jackpot feature.
• Dealing the cards – Once all players have placed their bets, the dealer will deal five cards to each player and five cards to the dealer. While all the cards are dealt face down, the last card is dealt face up. At this point, as previously mentioned, players should decide whether they want to continue playing or not.
• Placing another bet – If players want to continue playing, they must bet twice their ante amounts. The cards are then turned over and the hands are compared.
• Best hand wins – The aim of the game is to beat the dealer or the house. Players’ hand can be compared to the dealer’s hand only if the dealer has an Ace and King combination. If the dealer does not have an Ace and King combination, players will get back their bet amounts. If the dealer has an Ace and King combination, the hands are compared and the strongest hand wins.

Progressive Jackpot

The most exciting feature of Caribbean Stud Poker, which is otherwise a slow-moving poker variant with a high house edge, is its progressive jackpot. Players who have an eye on the progressive jackpot must place the optional side bet of $1. A percentage of each side bet is placed into the progressive jackpot and that’s how it keeps growing till a lucky player wins it.

Players with an eye on the progressive jackpot must place a side bet of $1 and then create a Royal Flush. For example, if a player gets Royal Flush when the value of the progressive jackpot is $55,000, the player will receive $55,000. If two players create a Royal Flush at the same time, the jackpot is shared between the winners.

Casinos have a different payout policy for the progressive jackpot. While the entire jackpot goes to the player who gets Royal Flush, the player who gets a straight flush will win 10% of the progressive jackpot and players who get full house, four of a kind, and flush will also receive prizes.

Beginners should remember that they will win the progressive jackpot only if they place the side bet of $1. If they get Royal Flush without placing the $1 side bet, they will not win the progressive jackpot. Instead, they will win a smaller prize of $100.

Basic Strategies

Here is a list of basic Caribbean Stud Poker strategies for beginners
• Always play starting hands with small pairs.
• Always fold weak hands.
• Starting hands having an Ace and a King must be played only if there is another strong face card in the hand.
• Always place the progressive side bet.

Playing Caribbean Stud Poker is easy, but not much exciting without placing the $1 progressive jackpot side bet. Players should simply remember the rules and the strategies and focus on having fun.