Caribbean Poker

This game is popular in Russian casinos now. The difference between the American variant and the Russian one consists in the fact that in American game you can`t change one of the cards. It resembles 5-card Stud.

Caribbean Stud Poker is a lot of fun to play, but just a word of warning...it is not a great returner, with a house edge of over 5% even if played optimally. So don`t look to raid the casino`s coffers playing this game.

The rules of the game are pretty simple.

Play begins with players placing a starting wager, called the `ante` .Each player is dealt a 5 card, face up hand. The dealer also receives 5 cards, although 1 is face up, the other 4 are face down. Players must then decide whether to stay of fold. If they fold, they forfeit their ante. If they stay, they must add a further bet equal to 2x the ante (`the raise`).

Once players have made their choices, the dealer reveals their cards. Now, for the game to continue, the dealer must qualify (have a minimum Ace and King poker hand). If the dealer doesn`t qualify, players still in the game win even money on their ante and the raise is pushed (ie returned to the player - no win no lose) If the dealer does qualify, then the player`s and dealer`s hands are compared and the highest wins (applying normal poker rankings).

If dealer`s hand wins, the player loses both the ante and raise.

If the player`s hand wins, the player wins even money on the ante, and gets odds on the additional wager according to the following payoff table:

If you lose when the cards are exposed you are devoid of your stakes.