Caribbean Stud Poker Rules

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Casino Stud Poker Objective

In this variety of poker, often found on board cruise ships and in the Caribbean, each player is against the dealer rather than the other players. A player places the ante, receives a hand, and then decides whether to bet or not. If a player bets and the dealer’s hand qualifies (contains an Ace/King combo or better), the player’s hand will be compared to the dealer’s. If a player wins, his/her payoff is determined by the quality of the hand played.

Casino Stud Poker Rules

After the player has placed the ante, he/she will be dealt 5 cards. The dealer receives 4 cards face down and one face up.

A player may bet or surrender. If the player bets, his/her hand will equal twice his/her ante. If the player surrenders, the ante is lost to the dealer and the hand ends.

The dealer reveals his cards and one of two things happens: he will either qualify or fail to do so. If a dealer doesn’t have an Ace/King combo, he fails to qualify. (A dealer must have at least a pair if he doesn’t have both an Ace and a King).

If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the players hand receives a 1 to 1 payoff on the his/her ante and the bet will be returned. If the dealer qualifies, your hands will be compared.

If the dealer’s hand beats the player’s, both the bet and the ante will be lost. If the dealer’s hand and the player’s hand are equal, no money will be exchanged. If the player’s hand beats the dealer’s, the player wins equal money on the ante, plus a payoff on the bet based on the quality of the hand. (see below).

If both the player and the dealer have the same hand (both have one pair for example), then the winner is the one with higher ranking cards. If the dealer has one pair, for example jack, jack, 10, 6, and 5 and the player has a one pair hand of jack, jack, 10, 8 and 4, then the player wins.

The player’s original ante and bet in addition to any winnings will be displayed as separate piles of chips.

Hand rankings in Caribbean stud poker are the standard poker rankings, listed from lowest to highest below:

Casino Stud Poker Hand Rankings

Hand	Description
Nothing	A hand with five non-matching cards
One Pair	One pair of identically ranked cards
Two Pairs	Two groups of two cards showing the same number (or picture)
Three of a Kind	Three cards from different suits displaying the same number or picture
Straight	Five cards in consecutive order, any combination of suits
Flush	Five cards of same suit
Full House	Three of a kind and a pair
Four of a Kind	Four cards from different suits of the same rank
Straight Flush	Five cards in consecutive order from same suit
Royal Flush	Ace, King, Queen, Jack and ten from same suit

Casino Stud Poker Payoffs

Winning Wager	Odds Payout
Nothing	1 - 1
One Pair	1 - 1
Two Pairs	2 - 1
Three of a Kind	3 - 1
Straight	4 - 1
Flush	5 - 1
Full House	7 - 1
Four of a Kind	20 - 1
Straight Flush	50 - 1
Royal Flush	200 - 1 (plus jackpot)