Online poker has become world acclaimed lately, with televised competitions and celebrity poker game shows. The games popularity, though, stretches back quite a bit further than its TV scores. Over the years numerous variations on the earliest poker game have been developed, including a handful of games that are not quite poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is 1 of these games. Regardless of the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely resembling chemin de fer than old guard poker, in that the players bet against the casino instead of each other. The winning hands, are the long-standing poker hands. There is no bluffing or different types of boondoggle. In Caribbean stud poker, you are expected to ante up before the dealer declares "No further bets." At that point, both you and the house and of course all of the other gamblers acquire five cards each. Once you have looked at your hand and the bank’s first card, you have to either make a call wager or bow out. The call bet’s amount is akin to your beginning ante, meaning that the stakes will have increased two fold. Surrendering means that your bet goes instantly to the house. After the wager is the face off. If the casino doesn’t have ace/king or better, your wager is returned, with a figure on par with the original wager. If the dealer has a hand with ace/king or better, you win if your hand is greater than the casino’s hand. The dealer pays out money even with your bet and fixed expectations on your call bet. These expectations are:
- Equal for a pair or high card
- 2-1 for two pairs
- three to one for three of a kind
- 4-1 for a straight
- 5-1 for a flush
- 7-1 for a full house
- twenty to one for a 4 of a kind
- 50-1 for a straight flush
- 100-1 for a royal flush