Caribbean Stud Poker (or just Caribbean Poker) is one of the easiest poker games to play for the beginner. This casino poker game pits the player against the dealer only and requires much less mastery than like likes of Texas Hold'em or Seven Card Stud poker.

The basic gameplay and rules of Carribbean Stud Poker are as follows:

Ante

Before being dealt his cards the player must first place an ante equal to the minimum bet he is willing to risk.

The Deal

Following the ante, the dealer now deals 5 cards face down to the player and 5 to himself, 4 face down and the final one face up.

Betting

With his cards now in front of him the player has to make a decision. To either fold the cards, losing his ante, or to bet that his hand will beat the dealer's hand. If he choses to bet on having a winning hand then his bet must be exactly double the ante.

Scoring & Dealer Hand

After the player has chosen to bet, the dealer will turn over his cards to reveal who the winner is. Normal poker rules apply as the value of a hand with several rule additions:

• If the dealer's hand is not Ace-King or better, the game is declared a push and all bets are returned with the ante being paid on a 1:1 basis.
• If the dealer's hand is Ace-King or better then it is said to "qualify" and will then be compared against the player's hand using normal poker rules.
• If the dealer beats the player then he loses both his bet and the ante. If he wins, then he is paid x times his bet amount depending on the pay table. For example, a pair may pay 1:1 whilst two pair may pay 3:1 and a flush 20:1.
• If the dealer does not qualify to play then it doesn't matter what hand the player has, even if it's a royal flush, he'll still only be paid the 1:1 ante.

The winner is basically, highest hand wins. Simple as that.

Basic Carribean Poker Strategy

There is not a lot of strategy involved in Carribbean stud poker because there's not an awful lot you can do to influence the outcome of the cards once dealt. Nothing legal anyway...*grin*.

The only strategic play you can make is when to bet and when to fold. At the basic level you can choose two strategies here. Either bet only on pairs or better and fold the rest, or bet only on AK or better and fold the rest. More adventurous players might like to play against the up card and bet when their high cards beats it but that's more often than not a losing strategy in the long term.

Beginners might note that folding loses their ante and the dealer doesn't qualify a lot of the time...so it might be worth a gamble. Well, it might, but the dealer will qualify on average at least half the time so it's ultimately another losing strategy.