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Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker is an online casino game with an optional progressive side bet. While the game doesn't have the greatest odds in the house, the $1 progressive bet can pay out the equivalent of a small lottery prize for those who take the gamble. The game is house-banked, which means it is played against the dealer, rather than against other players.

The object of the game is to end the round with a 5-card poker hand that outranks the dealer's hand. There are three possible bets - The ante and raise bets and the side bet. Most players stake the progressive side bet even though the odds of winning the top prize are well more than 500,000:1, and the jackpot seldom reaches that high. The jackpot can grow fast and fat with some online casinos pooling the jackpots of all similar games such as Caribbean Hold'em and Caribbean Draw Poker.

How to Play

To start the game place your ante and the $1 side bet if you choose to. You'll receive 5 cards face up and the dealer with receive four down and one up. Based on your hand and what you know about the dealer's at this point you can either fold or raise, there is no check bet possible. A raise will cost two-times your ante, a fold will cost your ante and side bet and a new round can begin.

Whatever your decision, the dealer will reveal their four face-down cards. At this point, the dealer hand is qualified or not. If the dealer holds at least an Ace and a King, or any Pair, the hand qualifies and the game continues. If the dealer does not qualify your ante is paid 1:1 and the raise bet is returned. If tied, both bets are considered a push and both are returned.

Dealer Qualifies With A/K

If the dealer has A/K or better and a hand superior to yours, you lose both the ante and the raise bets. If your hand beats the dealer's the ante is paid 1:1 and the raise bet is paid out according to the game's pay table. The pay schedule can vary from casino to casino but will always be standard poker hand rankings with a high card or One Pair lowest and Royal Flush highest. Usually, a Pair will pay 1:1; Two-Pair, 2:1; Three-of-a-Kind, 3:1, etc., with a Straight Flush returning 50:1 and Royal Flush paying 100:1.

At this point, all bets are settled and the game round is completed unless you made the progressive side bet, in which case another round of reckoning will occur.

Progressive Side Bet Payouts

In order to collect on the side bet, your hand needs to rank a Flush or higher. Pay schedules vary from site to site. The most common progressive paytable awards $75 for Flush, $100 for Full House, and $500 for Four-of-a-Kind. Ten percent of the entire jackpot will be awarded for a Straight Flush and the entire pool is awarded when you land a Royal Flush.

The house edge for the game is 5.224%. However, the Wizard of Odds explains that the reality is not as bad as it first seems since players will raise more than half the hands, changing the element of risk to the average wager to just 2.555%. This number doesn't apply to the progressive side bet, which has odds of 649,740:1 (2,598,960 possible hands/4 suits).

Caribbean Stud Odds

The house edge for the game is 5.224%. However, the Wizard of Odds explains that the reality is not as bad as it first seems since players will raise more than half the hands, changing the element of risk to the average wager to just 2.555%. This number doesn't apply to the progressive side bet, which has odds of 649,740:1 (2,598,960 possible hands/4 suits).

Frequently asked questions

The reason, Chuck, that both the dealer and pit boss have never eye-witnessed two royals in one hand is because the odds of that happening are over 20 billion to one. To be exact, it’s one in 20,103,110,301. Very few have ever played that many hands, and anyway, after the ten billionth, one’s memory begins to fade.

I’m frowning deeply here, and if wrong I’m sure I’ll hear about it, but I believe the player on the right gets the progressive jackpot and the other player wins a measly $10,000. Reason being, with Caribbean Stud, players get paid right to left, so the player on the right gets paid first, which would be the progressive jackpot, then the meter is reset to $10,000, and then the gone berserko second player would then get paid.

Settling this squabble could get ugly, but luckily, and I’m guessing, here again, it’ll never happen in our lifetimes.

Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “Industry executives and analysts often mistakenly talk about strategy as if it were some kind of chess match. But in chess, you have just two opponents, each with identical resources, and with luck playing a minimal role. The real world is much more like a poker game, with multiple players trying to make the best of whatever hand fortune has dealt them. In our industry, Bill Gates owns the poker table until someone proves otherwise.” -- David Moschel

Sorry, Jimbo, I can't recommend this wager to anyone. First, note there are 2,598,960 possible poker hands using a standard 52-card deck. Now divide that figure by four (the different suits) and you'll come up with 649,740. Because you don't get to draw any cards in Caribbean Stud, this mathematically is the odds of hitting a royal. Jimbo, one in 649,740 is too big a differential from the $55,200 they plan on paying you for me to endorse this play.