Basics

Caribbean stud is poker-based casino game where all the players are playing against the house rather than each other. Thus it is not considered a traditional form of poker, despite its name and similar gameplay. The players receive five cards each from a standard 52-card deck with which they hope to form a higher poker hand than the dealer. The hands are evaluated using standard poker hand rankings.

Before the cards are dealt, each player must place an ante on the table layout prior to the dealer announcing "no more bets." The players and the dealer then receive five cards face down. The dealer turns one card over and the players may look at their cards. The players now have only two options, to play or fold. If they fold, their ante is lost and the game is over. If they decide to play, they must place a bet equal to twice the ante. After all the players have made their decisions the dealer reveals his hole cards.

If the dealer does not qualify with at least an ace and king, then all players who did not fold receive even money on their antes and take back their bets. If the dealer does quality, then the players' hands are compared to the dealer's hand and the best poker hand wins.

If the player's hand beats the dealer, the player receives even money on their ante and is paid according to the following table on their bet:

      Royal Flush: 100 to 1
      Straight Flush: 50 to 1
      Four of a Kind: 20 to 1
      Full House: 7 to 1
      Flush: 5 to 1
      Straight: 4 to 1
      Three of a Kind: 3 to 1
      Two Pair: 2 to 1
      One Pair or less: 1 to 1

If the dealer's hand beats the player, the player loses both his ante and his bet. In the event of a tie the ante and bet are a push.

Progressive Jackpot

Caribbean stud also features a progressive bonus bet of $1. This is a bet on the player's hand ranking regardless of the outcome of their table bet. A flush or higher is needed to win, with the royal flush winning 100% of the progressive meter, which is displayed at the table. The remaining hands are usually paid off as follows, but can vary from casino to casino:

      Royal Flush: 100% of the progressive meter
      Straight Flush: 10% of the progressive meter
      Four of a Kind: $500
      Full House: $100
      Flush: $50

In the unlikely event that two players receive a royal flush at the same time, the jackpot is either shared or the first player to the dealer's right wins the jackpot and the other player wins the reseed value, usually $10,000.

Strategy

Players should bet with any pair or better, and fold with anything less than ace/king. The correct play with ace/king can often be very tricky, but a good rule of thumb to follow is to bet with ace/king/jack/8/3 or better, and fold with anything less. Not quite as good is the "matching rank" strategy, which calls for a bet with ace/king if one of the player's cards matches the dealer's up card. The house edge for caribbean stud poker is about 5.2%.