Caribbean Stud Poker Strategy

Even assisted by the optimum strategy for Caribbean Stud poker, a player only reduces the house edge to just over 5.2%. For this reason, Caribbean Stud poker is not one of your better longer term bets. Though popular on cruises, Caribbean Stud poker is not a favorite among pro gamblers.

If hell bent on having a wager war on Caribbean Stud, a player can be happy to know that the basic strategy for the game is quite simple. Here it is:

• Raise on A-K-J-8-3 or better
• Fold otherwise

A-K-J-8-3 is called the “beacon hand” and it’s the lowest break-even hand in the game. While this won’t make a player a long-term winner, it does slow losses. The paying hands, a pair or better, are the ones that net players good wins. The problem is that the dealer must qualify (A-K) in order for a player to get real payoffs and this only happens 54% of the time. 46% of the time a player only gets paid for his/her ante bet at 1:1 odds, no matter how good his/her cards are.