Before Texas Hold’Em took over the poker world online or live, people played Stud poker, with four, five and seven-card game variants falling in and out of popularity at different poker periods of time. To this day, many traditional poker players still consider Stud to be the purest form of casino poker around. Considered the thinking man’s poker, Stud leaves much more room for speculation and creativity than what’s possible with Texas Hold’Em.
In Caribbean Stud Poker game, you can get a taste of what it’s like to play Stud in a streamlined table games format. Unlike what you’d experience playing Stud in a poker room, with the online casino table game version available at Slots.lv, you have only one opponent: the casino Dealer, which lowers the stakes considerably. And his play is predictable and systematic, as he goes in on hands where he has an Ace/King or better. Throughout a round of Caribbean Stud Poker casino game, you get one opportunity to raise the stakes, which you should do if you think you can beat him—otherwise you want to cut your losses and fold. Perhaps your next play hand will be better.
In this online poker table games guide, we’ll go over the rules of this popular game and explain the hand values along with their money payouts. We’ll also explain how the progressive money jackpot works and provide you with some basic casino strategy advice to get you up to speed on how to play Caribbean Stud Poker online. If this is your first time visiting Slots.lv Casino, don’t forget to collect your $3,000 welcome bonus once you’re ready to sign up for an account and start playing Caribbean Stud Poker with real money.
The goal of Caribbean Stud casino game is to get a stronger poker hand than the casino Dealer; however, just like with regular poker play, you have no control over the casino cards you’re dealt—you only have control over when to bet and when to fold. As a result, to play Caribbean Stud Poker online strategically, you have to try to predict when you can beat the casino Dealer and raise in those instances, while folding when your play odds of success are low. This must be done based on limited information.
A round of Caribbean Stud Poker begins with you placing your Ante bet, which can be as low as $1 and as high as $500 at Slots.lv's online casino. Then both you and the casino Dealer are dealt five cards each; these are the only cards you’ll be dealt in the round, and there are no community cards.
In the online version of Caribbean Stud Poker game, your cards are placed face-up on the poker table. If you play at a brick-and-mortar casino, your cards will be dealt face down, and you can’t share them with other players at the table. In both online and land-based casinos, the Dealer’s cards are placed face-down—except for one visible card known as the up-card—this is critical information for you to use when deciding whether or not to raise.
As mentioned, the one and only decision you make in the round is to Raise or Fold based on your hand and the Dealer’s up-card. A Raise is a second bet that is double the amount of your Ante bet. If you fold, you forfeit your Ante.
If you raise and want to continue on with the round, in poker, your opponent generally must then decide whether or not to opt into the round as well. In Caribbean Stud Poker, the casino Dealer does this by qualifying for the round every time he has an Ace/King or better. If the casino Dealer does qualify, then both of your hands will be compared and whoever has the better poker hand wins. However, when the Dealer doesn’t qualify, you collect the Dealer’s Ante by receiving a 1:1 money payout for your Ante bet, and your raise is returned as a push. If you both have the exact same hand, the result is a tie and all bets are returned. As we’ll discuss in the following section, Raise bets award one of nine money payouts depending on the strength of your hand. As a bonus, you can also get a payout through the Progressive Jackpot side bet, which we’ll cover in a moment.
In online Caribbean Stud Poker, there are nine different hands, with Royal Flush being the strongest, and High Card being the weakest. If you’ve ever played poker before, you’ll be familiar with these standard poker hands, but we’ll explain each hand (and the hand’s payout) for those who are new to the online game.
Royal Flush
Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace all suited make up the Royal Flush, which pays 200:1.
Straight Flush
Five cards of consecutive rank, all the same suit, make up the Straight Flush. For example, 7d,8d,9d,10d,Jd. The payout is 50:1.
Four of a Kind
Also known as quads, Four of a Kind hands must have all four cards of a single rank, like 3s,3d,3h,3c. The payout is 20:1.
Full House
A Full House comprises a Three of a Kind and a Pair for a 7:1 payout. For example, 8s,8c,8d,2h,2c.
Flush
When all five of your cards have the same suit, you’ve got a Flush, which pays 5:1. For example, As,Qs,7s,5s,2s.
Straight
Landing five cards of consecutive rank (different suits) makes a Straight for a 4:1 payout. For example, 3s,4d,5c,6s,7h.
Three of a Kind
Also known as Trips, Three of a Kind comprises three cards that are the same rank for a 3:1 payout. For example, Js,Jc,Jh,10s,3c.
Two Pairs
A hand with two different sets of Pairs is good enough for a 2:1 payout. For example, 5h,5c,8s,8d,Ks.
Pair
Two cards of the same rank make a Pair for a 1:1 payout. For example, 9s,9c,4h,7d,Qh.
High Card
When you don’t have a set poker hand, you go off of your highest card. Winning this way earns you a 1:1 payout.
Keep in mind, the money payouts listed for each hand applies to the Raise bet only. The Dealer must qualify and you must beat the Dealer in order to get paid for the Raise. And unless you fold and forfeit the hand, the Ante bet pays even-money regardless of whether or not the Dealer qualifies.
You may notice that the progressive jackpot displayed in Caribbean Stud Poker is the same amount as the one in Caribbean Hold’Em; that’s because both online games share a common progressive jackpot, which is why it increases so quickly. In order to be eligible for the progressive jackpot, you must put $1 on the Progressive side bet at the start of the round and Raise. If you Fold, you forfeit your progressive jackpot side bet in addition to your Ante bet. The Progressive Jackpot side bet pays out in the following way regardless of whether or not you beat the Dealer:
Progressive Payouts
Royal Flush 100%
Straight Flush 10%
Four of a Kind $500
Full House $100
Flush $75
When someone triggers the online progressive jackpot, it is then reset, and once again starts the process of being funded by a portion of all the dollars placed on the Progressive Jackpot side bet in both Caribbean Stud and Caribbean Hold’Em.
True optimal Caribbean Stud strategy is far more complex than what most casino players are looking for when wanting to play table games. We can keep things simple (and beginner-friendly) by advising you to raise when you have a Pair or better, and fold when you have High Card that’s lower than Ace/King, which will account for the vast majority of hands you’ll be dealt playing Caribbean Stud Poker. In the beginning, you simply need to use your discretion for how to handle hands that are lower than a Pair, but still meet the Dealer’s qualifying hand of Ace/King.
Once you’re ready to adopt a more advanced (and almost optimal) strategy, you can follow the following set of rules for dealing with the Ace/King and above High Card scenarios.
Dealer Up-Card Your Hand Action
Two to Queen Blocker* Raise
Ace or King Queen or Jack Raise
Lower than your Fourth-Highest Queen Raise
*A blocker is a card that is equal rank to your opponent’s, which helps reduce your opponent’s odds of having a Pair and Three of a Kind, and eliminates their odds of having quads.
The best way to memorize the online strategy outlined in this online Caribbean Stud Poker guide is to practice playing Caribbean Stud Poker from the comfort of home. In our online casino, you can access the game via Practice Play mode, and when you’re ready to start facing off with the Dealer for real, deposit some funds and switch over to Real Play mode. Who knows—maybe after you get the hang of the game, you’ll want to try playing Seven-Card Stud instead of Texas Hold’Em.
