Caribbean Stud Strategy Tips and Tricks
Audrey | July 15, 2023 | Updated on: July 31st, 2023
Recently updated on July 15th, 2023
Looking for effective Caribbean stud strategies? You’ve come to the right place. Caribbean Stud is one of the many poker variations available at casinos today. And, while poker is often described as a challenging game where skill is a big factor, Caribbean stud is perhaps one of the less intense versions where you can get away with using simple strategy.
If you would like to know more about the most effective strategies to use the next time you play Caribbean stud poker, keep reading.
Play Caribbean Stud for Real Money
How To Play Caribbean Stud
Before we get into different strategies and ways to win, it’s a good idea to brush up on the rules of the game and how to play. Caribbean stud poker carries a house edge of 5% and this version of poker is played against the house. This means that you are not competing against the other players, instead you are competing against the dealer. Your only goal in the game is to beat the dealer’s hand. We touch on the different winning hand rankings in a bit.
- At the start of the game, each player must place his/her ante bet. If you are playing at a land-based casino you will place you chips on the table for the dealer to receive. And, if you are playing online, you simply click on the relevant buttons to make your wager.
- Thereafter, you will receive five playing cards dealt face down. The dealer will then hand the same number of cards to himself, but only four will be face down. The other one will be face up. Remember, your cards are for your eyes only. You aren’t allowed to peep other players cards and they shouldn’t peep yours either. Repeat offenders can get in trouble.
- Now that you have your cards, its decision-making time. This involves looking at your cards, looking at the dealers up card and deciding what to do from there. Your options are playing or folding.
- When you decide to play, you will be required to place an additional bet that’s usually twice your original ante. Folding essentially means you’re tapping out of that round.
Most Effective Caribbean Stud Strategy
Now that we’ve touched on gameplay, we may move onto strategy. Once you’ve received your hand you need to know what the best next move to make is. This is where strategy comes in – it helps you make the right decisions based on the cards you’ve been given.
Fortunately, your options are limited to two, which means that your strategy options will be simple. Here are some of our general strategy tips that you can use for the various hands that exist.
- Always play a hand that has a pair
- Don’t play hands that have a lower ranking than an ace-king combo
When you’ve been dealt an ace-king combo, use the following strategy tips to guide you.
- If the dealer has any card between 2 and Q, and you have a similar card of the same rank you may raise.
- If the dealer has an Ace or King, its best to only raise if you have a Queen or Jack.
- If you have a Queen and the dealers up-card is lower than your fourth highest card, raise (i.e., you have A K Q 9 2, and they’re showing a 7).
The table below gives a more detailed breakdown of the best possible move to make with your last remaining cards in relation to the dealers up card.
| Your Remaining Cards | Dealers Up card | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | King | Queen | Jack | Ace | |
| 2 | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 3 | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 4 | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 5 | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 6 | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 7 | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 8 | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 9 | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| 10 | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| King | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold | Fold |
| Queen | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Fold | Fold |
| Jack | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Call |
| Ace | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Fold | Call | Call |
| Pair | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call | Call |
Caribbean Stud Strategy – Paytable
Now that you are a bit more informed about what the right Caribbean stud strategy is, you might want to know how much you can expect to win should you be so lucky. Below is a payable with the different hand rankings, odds and expected payout for each.
| Hand | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 100:1 |
| Straight Flush | 50:1 |
| Four Of a kind | 20:1 |
| Full house | 7:1 |
| Flush | 5: 1 |
| Straight | 4: 1 |
| Three of a kind | 3: 1 |
| Two pair | 2: 1 |
| Other |