Caribbean Stud Poker is a table card game that has many things in common with its predecessor, Poker. It is also played with five cards, and the goals are pretty much the same, that is to create a winning hand that is of a higher score than your opponents and the dealers. The big difference with Caribbean Stud Poker is that there is no deception, and thus no need for a Poker Face.
When Poker itself became so popular in casinos all over the world, casinos sat up and took notice of this and between them came up with a variant to Poker that is a house banked game, in the hopes of attracting even more players to their tables. The actual story behind who came up with Caribbean Stud Poker and where, is a bit murky and has been claimed by a number of people. Safe to say that Caribbean Stud Poker began its life on the island of Aruba, and from there spread to the rest of the world.
What makes Caribbean Stud Poker Stand Apart
Caribbean Stud Poker is relatively unique in that it has a progressive jackpot linked to it. This jackpot varies from establishment to establishment, and can be that various games in the same casino are linked, or various games in various casinos are linked. With the advent of the Internet, Caribbean Stud Poker has taken on a whole new life in its progressive jackpot, as online casinos have access to a vastly greater number of player than brick and mortar casinos. Other than that Caribbean Stud Poker does not have any deception in it. You are not allowed to pass on any information about your hand at all, either true or false.
Rules of Caribbean Stud Poker
The rules to Caribbean Stud Poker are very similar to those of regular poli poker. Some details such as payouts and betting limits will vary depending on where the game is played, but generally the rules are the same internationally.
The game is started by players placing their ante on a marked spot on a playing surface. This is the initial bet and cannot be changed once it has been laid down. Here you have the choice to participate in the progressive jackpot or not. A chip is usually dropped into a slot marked for the purpose, and activates a light which states that you are participating. This obviously costs extra.
From here the dealer deals each player and himself five face down cards. The players then look at their cards, but may not discuss their hands in any way. They then have the choice to fold or play. If they fold they forfeit any previous bets. If they play they will have to raise their previous bet to double their ante. Once all players have folded or raised, the dealer then reveals his four hole cards. He may only qualify if his hand contains either an ace or a king, or if his hand forms a pair or any other higher ranked poker hand. He will then compare his five card hand to all the players’ hands. Any players whose hands beat the dealers hands win. If a dealers hand does match the criteria above, all players get their ante’s back doubled while the raised bets get returned with no effect.
Caribbean Stud Poker can only be played with one hand per player. Any player found discussing or otherwise communicating information about his hand in any way will be disqualified.