Caribbean Stud Poker

[heavy]

Okay, I'll admit that I'm surprised no one has brought this game up - for a couple of reasons. I've played it on occasion - often at the $25 level - and I've never lost a lot of money at it. In fact, more often than not I managed to quit while I was ahead.

Caribbean Stud is in just about every casino in the world. Although the 5.22% vig seems high, the game is played at a fairly slow pace - around 50 hands an hour. And with optimal play your "effective" negative expectation is about half what the math of the game says. And don't take my word for it. I got that direct from the Wizard of Odds website.

I view Caribbean Stud much the same as I do roulette - you know the vig is high but sometimes it's worth the $2 - $3 bucks an hour you'll pay just to "rent" a chair and stay on the comp clock when your feet will no longer hold up at the dice table.

The game is played on a special blackjack-type table. Each seat at the table has a layout for wagers as well as a slot for your "ante." This is a progressive "jackpot" side bet that pays bonus $$$ on certain hands. The ante bet can be any amount within the table's posted limits - say $1 - $25. There are small LED lights around that slot and they "reward" you by lighting up when you put your chip in the slot. When the dealer is ready to deal the cards he pushes a button that allows the ante bets to drop into the box. You should always make certain that your lights light up and you get credit for your ante - because it could cost you a lot of money if the drop system malfunctions.

The game uses a standard 52 card deck, usually dealt from a multi-deck shoe or an automatic shuffling machine. There's no such thing as card counting at this game, so don't sweat it. Players try to beat the dealer with the best poker hand. Simple enough, right?

The dealer gives five cards, face down, to each player and gives himself four down and one up. You then look at your cards and decide to either play or fold. If you choose to fold, you lose your ante best. If you choose to play, you place double the amount of your ante in the "Bet" box. This is your "call" bet.

Once all the players have called or folded, the dealer reveals her four hole cards. If she has an Ace with a King or higher hand, she qualifies to compete with the players. If she does not qualify with the A-K or higher she pays all the bettors even money on their ante bets. Each call bet, in this case, is a "push".

If the dealers does quality with A-K or higher, then she compares her hand to each of the players' hands. If the dealer's hand is higher, the player loses both his or her ante bet and call bet. If the player's hand is higher than the dealer's, then he or she wins even money on the ante bet and the bonus amount on the call bet, in accordance with the Call Bet Bonus schedule.

Okay, so far this is pretty straight forward, right? And I have to tell you that there are a lot or "pushes" in this game, so you don't lose as much as you might think on those call bets.

Now, a common mistake that many Caribbean Stud players make is to refuse to bet on low pairs like twos, threes and fours, and strong Ace highs because they seem to lose a lot more often than they win. But what they don't realize is that not betting those hands and forfeiting the ante bet every time, is more costly in the long term than betting them. It's sort of like not doubling down in blackjack or taking free odds at craps. Yeah, you COULD lose more but in the long run that's not the case.

If you make the $1.00 jackpot (ante) bet and have a flush or higher, you receive payment for the hand based on the game's Jackpot Payout schedule. Now here is the tricky part. When players are eligible for jackpot payouts they are supposed to announce to the dealer that they have a jackpot hand as soon as they see it and before the hand is over. Normally the dealer will see the jackpot hand and pay it without prompting, but it is up to the player to make sure it gets paid. Once the dealer has scooped your cards and mixed them in with the other dead cards you are pretty much out of luck. Protect your jackpot hands and don't let the dealer take it off the table or out of overhead camera sight if you want to be sure you get paid. Last of all, the progressive jackpot bet is a separate side game. The player wins whether he or she beats the dealer or not.

Okay, that's clear as mud. Let's talk about strategy. According to the Wizard of Odds, virtually no one understands the optimal strategy for playing Caribbean Stud. With that said, there are a couple of things you should always remember when playing this game:

1. Always raise with a pair or higher.
2. Always fold with less than the dealer's qualifying hand (ace/king).

Rather than repost the Wizard's strategy for Caribbean Stud, I'll simply give you a link to his site. Once you see the players strategy card you'll realize why no one plays perfect strategy:

http://wizardofodds.com/caribbean/when- ... -king.html

Anyone else out there play this game? I know my old buddy JJ Sugar in Detroit used to play it all the time. If you've had any luck with it - let's hear your story!

[Roller123]

You just like to use the word "stud"!

[heavy]

Yeah, you wonder why they didn't have Caribbean Omaha High Low Eights or Better.

[LeftyAJ]

Played Caribbean Stud at Bally's AC over the weekend. Table didn't open till 8pm on Friday night and the dealer told me that it's popularity has really fallen off over the past couple of years.

What I didn't like about the game was whenever I had a powerful hand the dealer did not have a qualifying hand of A-K. My flush and multiple trips and two pair only won me my ante bet. My raise bet was returned per the rules. Lost interest in the game very quickly. Another downside was the jackpot bet..... $5 not $1.

At least I can say I gave it a shot.

Aj

[heavy]

All you can do it all you can do. The game probably needs a millennium update of some sort. Some sort of "team" side bet where everyone gangs up on the dealer. Say if any two players can combine their hands to build a Royal or something like that then there's some sort of bell ringing light flashing bonus. Maybe put a vibrator in the seat cushions like they do on some of those slots the ladies love these days. Bzzzzz. Wheeee!!