Playing Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker is an interesting and enjoyable game, played against the dealer. Simple to learn and full of excitement, Caribbean poker will give you the feel of the gambling world. The game: The house advantage in Caribbean stud poker is 5.26%. So for every $100 you bet, in the long run you will lose $5.26. Yet, do not despair, here is a simple and sound strategy that will keep the house edge to a minimum and at the same time help control the amount of bankroll instability a player encounters. Once the cards have been dealt, you can either fold and lose your ante but no more, or raise. In the case of raising there are three possible outcomes: 1. The dealer doesn’t qualify and so the player wins only the ante bet. 2. The dealer qualified and the players’ hand beats the dealer’s hand and so the player wins both the ante and the raise bet. 3. The dealer qualified and the dealer’s hand beats the player’s hand and so the player loses both the ante bet and the raise bet. There are hands when the decision whether to raise or fold is obvious. If the player has a flush for example, he will raise, however, when the player does not have a pair and any Ace or King in their hand it is clear he should fold. It’s the times when a player’s decision is not as clear, that will determine whether or not they hold onto as much of their money as possible. Some basic methods to play your hands: Pair strategy You should ALWAYS play ALL pairs without considering the dealer’s up card. Pairs are dealt out a little more then 42% of the time. Of the thirteen possible pairs, seven of them have a positive expectation, meaning that in the long run, they should win more times than they lose. Three of the possible pairs have a positive expectation when the dealer’s up card is equal to or lower than the player’s pair. In addition, there are only three pairs that are expected to lose in the long run (2’s, 3’s and 4’s). Therefore, ten of the thirteen possible pair combinations should show a profit and three should not. The inevitable question then, is why not just avoid playing the small pairs? If a player folds these pairs and gives up his ante bet, the casinos advantage jumps to 7%! Since any player or the dealer can expect to be dealt a hand containing a pair over 42% of the time, that means the dealer will have a non – paired hand over 50% of the time. Also the dealer will actually qualify with an Ace – King hand around 6 percent of the time. During these times, the player will win both their ante bet and their raise bet. Non-pair strategy Now let’s look at non-paired hands. Players should fold all non-paired hands that do not contain an Ace and a King. Players should raise when they hold an Ace and a King under the following conditions: Here is the complete chart of when the player should make the raise bet: Players Hand Dealers Up-card A – K – Q – J – x Any Up card A – K – Q – x – x Must match one of players cards A – K – J – x – x Must match one of players cards A – K – 10 – x – x Must match one of players cards The reason the dealer’s up card must match one of the player’s cards is to reduce the chance of the dealer having a pair.