a young couple having a great time together on a Caribbean vacation

Caribbean Poker is fast becoming one of the most popular games here at Jackpot Capital. It still has a way to go before it supplants slots, blackjack, or video poker for the number one spot but gamers who take a whirl at Caribbean Poker tend to love it to pieces.

Playing Every Game Has Benefits

One of the biggest mantras here at Jackpot Capital is that you should use the flexibility of online casino gaming to play all of our games over time.  There may be games you like more than slots.  Banana Jones is such a game.  It is a great game of chance that people love.

Caribbean Poker is another such game.

There Are Actually Three Caribbean Poker Games

Caribbean Poker comes in three forms: Stud, Draw, and Holdem.  Each has slightly different rules that gamers like.  The most important rule is that the dealer cannot win both of your bets unless he “qualifies” with a minimum hand.

We have gotten a little bit ahead of ourselves, so let’s take a step back and explain how it is that you might have two bets on the line.

Ante and Call

To start any game of Caribbean Poker, you have to make an ante bet.  Then you receive cards.  We will go into the specific details soon, but for now, let’s just say that at a certain point you have to decide whether to stay in the hand or fold.

If you stay in the hand, you make another bet that is double the ante bet.

Now the hand proceeds.  The dealer has to qualify, as we said, in order for the house to win both of your bets.  If the dealer qualifies and you have the better hand, you win both bets.  If you have stayed in the hand and the dealer does not qualify, you win the ante bet at 1-1, and the second bet is a push.

Let’s Get into The Specifics of Caribbean Stud

The dealer deals five cards to you face up and five cards to herself.  Four of the dealer’s cards are face down, and one card is face up.  This is the point at which you have to decide to stay or fold.

Remembering that to stay in the hand involves another bet that is twice the ante, in order to maintain a sound monetary strategy for gaming, you should ante only what you can afford to triple.

It is much better to ante a few pennies than to price yourself out of a hand by an overly large ante bet.

In Caribbean Stud Poker, the dealer needs at least an ace-king to qualify.  Any pair qualifies as well.  So, one of the most common strategies is to fold with less than an ace-king.  Some say to fold without a pair.

Some gamers never fold even with a very weak hand since the dealer doesn’t qualify for plenty of hands and the gamer has made a very sound ante bet.  If you can afford to lose triple the ante bet, then it might very well pay to stay in every hand.

Another consideration in your decision to fold or stay is the dealer’s up card.  If it is an ace or a king, a lot of gamers who don’t like to fold will fold anyway if they can’t beat a pair of aces or a pair of kings.

The dealer does have 7 outs out of 42 cards left in the deck.  Here is a good reason for some gamers to fold.

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Caribbean Poker Has a Graduated Pay Scale

If you win the second bet, you will get paid according to this:

  • 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
  • One Pair             1-1

The house edge in Caribbean Stud Poker is about 2.55%.  This makes it a fun game with little risk if you stay within a sound monetary budget and you fold very poor hands, especially against an ace or a king.

Caribbean Holdem

This game resembles Caribbean Stud, but it uses 7 cards just as in Texas Holdem.  So, the pay table reflects this as a straight and less pays out only 1-1.  The dealer deals two cards face down to you and herself.  Then the dealer deals the flop.  At this point, you decide to fold or call.  The call bet is twice the ante bet.

The dealer has to have at least a pair of fours to qualify.  Here we see that if there is any card 4 or above on the flop and you don’t have a pair, you should often fold.  However, if you have a high card in the hole or a straight or flush draw after the flop, most people say that you should call.

Caribbean Draw

This version of Caribbean Poker is the only one in which you can improve your hand.  You can draw cards as in regular draw poker.

Both you and the dealer can draw up to two cards.  In this way, you will have 7 cards with which to fashion a good hand.  The dealer needs a pair of eights or better to qualify.

The dealer’s rules for drawing cards are strict.  She cannot change her strategy in any way.  You can, however.

In many cases, you should treat your hand as if you were playing video poker.  Four to a Royal Flush is a good holding, even if it means breaking up a pair.  Remember, even if you don’t get one of your many outs, the dealer might not qualify at all!

Caribbean Poker Has a Progressive Jackpot

All three variations of Caribbean Poker share in the jackpot, so it is won more often than a standard progressive jackpot in slots.  Also, you can win a fraction of the jackpot with less than a Royal Flush, with which you win 100% of the jackpot.

A lot of players choose to make the side bet for the progressive jackpot.  We advise against it until the jackpot reaches a very high sum.  This advice treats playing for the big jackpot like you treat good pot odds in standard poker.

Caribbean Poker is a New Variation in the Poker World

Caribbean Poker was created by David Sklansky in 1982!  The rules have changed a bit but it is still basically the game he created.  It has grown very popular among poker players who prefer the Caribbean Poker variations or video poker over regular poker.

There is no bluffing in Caribbean Poker.

There is No Bluffing at Jackpot Capital

Our casino is totally straightforward in all aspects.  We carry about 300 games in several categories.  Slots are still the most popular game but the games of skill such as blackjack, video poker, and Caribbean Poker are very popular as well.

David Sklansky created Caribbean Poker during a vacation in the Caribbean!  Maybe it’s time for you to take a Caribbean vacation, too!

In order to enjoy playing all of our games over time, we invite you to…

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