Caribbean Stud Online Casino

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The Internet’s #1 Caribbean Stud Poker Resource Caribbean Stud Poker is a casino table game that can be found in Macao, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Aruba, Tunica and all other casino towns. While it doesn’t have the same appeal as blackjack, roulette and craps. The Internet’s #1 Caribbean Stud Poker Resource Caribbean Stud Poker is a casino table game that can be found in Macao, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Aruba, Tunica and all other casino towns. While it doesn’t have the same appeal as blackjack, roulette and craps, this is mostly due to exposure.

Casinos with Caribbean Stud Poker

Introduction to Caribbean Stud Poker

Most styles of casino poker offer players some balance between luck and skill that keeps the game exciting while still giving you situations where you’ll have to think a bit to come up with the best play. Playing online Caribbean stud gives you a good balance between these elements, but because of the common side bets that are completely optional, you can add just about as much action as you want with chances to take down big progressive jackpots. Alternatively, if you just want to sit around and enjoy a fun game while meeting people online, live dealer Caribbean stud games will allow you to do just that.

In short, it’s a game with a lot of potential for you to pick out the types of tables that will give you the kind of experience that’s tailored to what you want as an individual.

The History of Caribbean Stud

In the 1980s, a lot of different casinos were coming up with table games based on poker concepts due to the popularity of the game at the time. The most popular games then were based on stud-style variations instead of hold’em variations that are mostly played today, and that fit well within the structure that’s usually found at different types of casino poker tables.

Well-known poker author David Sklansky has claimed that he invented a game very similar to the modern version of Caribbean stud around this time but that he received incorrect information that led him to believe that he wouldn’t be able to patent it. He essentially gave the game away for free and taught it to a number of people, according to his claims, and it was eventually patented in its current form by what’s now known as Excelsior Casino in Aruba (then King International).

There were some key changes in the rules to Sklansky’s game, which he referred to as Casino Poker, compared to the Caribbean stud tables that you’ll see today. The number of dealer cards that are face-up was changed, and there were no side bets in his version. With that having been said, and with the caveat that he’s generally considered trustworthy by the industry as a whole with things like this, there’s no way to tell if David Sklansky actually invented the game or not. However, we do know that it was patented by King International Casino in Aruba within the time frame that he suggests.

Rules and Play Procedure

This game is all about two five-card poker hands facing off against each other, so the winner is determined by five-card poker hand rankings. You will need to know these hand rankings in order to make decisions about how to play your hand.

There are a number of available side bets in different Caribbean stud games online that are outside of the normal flow of the game as well. Those will be considered further down below.

Stud Poker Hand Rankings

Very briefly, we want to cover the poker hand rankings for players who might not be familiar with them or who may need to brush up on the order in which the hands are ranked. These are listed in order from strongest hand down to weakest hand, along with their chances of being dealt to the player in this game, and the hand closest to the top of the list will win.

  • Royal Flush – The cards A, K, Q, J and T all of the same suit. (1/649,741)
  • Straight Flush – Any five consecutive cards other than AKQJT all with a matching suit. (1/72,193)
  • Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same rank where the fifth card doesn’t matter. (1/4,166)
  • Full House – Three of a card of one rank with two other cards of a different rank. (1/694)
  • Flush – Five cards, not consecutive, all of the same suit. (1/509)
  • Straight – Five consecutive cards where all of them are not of the same suit. (1/255)
  • Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same rank where the other two cards do not have the same rank. (~1/47)
  • Two Pair – Two cards of the same rank with two other cards of a different rank where the fifth card does not matter. (1/21)
  • One Pair – Two cards of the same rank where the other three cards are irrelevant. (~1/2.4)
  • High Card – A hand that does not qualify for any of the above (~1/2).

For the purposes of the results of this game, your hand will always be considered as the highest-ranking hand on this listing that’s possible with the five cards you were given.

Gameplay

One of the key aspects of this game that has helped it to maintain its popularity over time is that the gameplay is straightforward without a lot of complications. Consider the following as for how a hand of Caribbean stud goes:

  1. You start out by making an initial bet called the ante for the regular game. Any side bet wagers, including for a progressive jackpot, will be made at this point as well.
  2. Five cards are dealt to the player face-up, and five cards are dealt to the dealer so that all but one are face-down.
  3. The player decides to fold or raise: Folding means that you give up your ante and any chance of winning the hand, and raising means that you add an additional wager worth twice the value of the ante.
  4. Once your decision is made, the dealer’s remaining four cards are revealed, and it’s decided if the dealer qualifies: The dealer needs at least AK-high to qualify. This means a high card hand with both an ace and a king in it.
  5. When the dealer does not qualify, the ante pays 1:1 regardless of the player’s cards, and the raise is simply returned to the player.
  6. If the dealer qualifies, and the player’s hand loses, then both the ante and the raise are lost.
  7. If the dealer qualifies, and the player’s hand wins, the ante pays at 1:1, and the raise pays according the raise pay table. This pay table can vary, and we’ll look at different options below, but the idea is that you’ll get better wins for better hands.
  8. Progressive jackpot wins are based completely and totally on the five cards that the player is dealt, and the player can lose the hand and still get a progressive jackpot payout because the dealer’s cards are irrelevant for these wins.

There are two main variables that can change how the game goes from this basic style of gameplay: the structure of the raise pay table and the structure of the progressive jackpot pay table.

Raise Pay Table Structures

There isn’t really a standardized pay table for how raise bets pay out in this game. What this means for players is that you can shop around a bit to see what’s available from different software providers in order to try to get better payout rates. This is done by picking the tables with the lowest house advantage that you can.

To give a standardized approach to comparing the different games, we’re going to list out the house advantage available with computer-generated perfect play at online Caribbean Stud tables from a variety of different software companies.

  • Microgaming – 5.01 percent
  • Cryptologic – 5.21 percent
  • Evolution Gaming (Live Dealer) – 5.21 percent
  • Galewind – 3.35 percent
  • Realtime Gaming – 5.21 percent
  • Playtech – 5.22 percent

While the Galewind pay table was the best that we could find, it’s not as popular as a software as the other options, and it doesn’t have any interesting side bets, so there are downsides as well.

Progressive Caribbean Stud Jackpot Payout Structures

You’ll find a lot more variation in the Caribbean stud progressive jackpot pay tables than the raise tables, but they almost always have a few things in common. First, they usually pay 100 percent of the progressive for a royal flush and 10 percent of the total jackpot for a straight flush. From there, you’ll get static wins on various hands that usually pay out for a flush or higher, but there are some that will pay you for three of a kind or better.

Players who are interested in situations where a progressive jackpot can be high enough to make it profitable in the long run for the player shouldn’t get too excited about the jackpots for Caribbean stud. For the most popular pay tables, you need the jackpot to get well over the €250,000 mark, and that very rarely happens because they pay out so often (the chances of getting a royal flush are only around 650,000:1, much more likely than most slot-based progressives, for example).

Caribbean Stud Strategy

Of all of the table games that use poker motifs and concepts, the basic strategy for Caribbean Stud is one of the easiest for a new player to pick up and run with because it’s so cut and dry. There are multiple levels of strategy that you can use depending on how much you want to learn for the game, but the basic level is really simple.

Something to understand about this game is that playing online is different than playing live because if you were able to see the cards that the other players were dealt at the table, then it could help you to make better decisions in certain situations.

Keeping that in mind, the most basic online Caribbean stud strategy (being online is important since you’re the only person at the table) is to simply raise if you have a pair or better and to fold if you have a high card hand. This will have you playing correctly almost always.

To improve on that, you can learn advanced AK-high strategies along with learning how seeing cards from other players’ hands could help you.

AK-high Strategies

There are certain situations where you can break away from the basic strategy and raise if you have AK-high instead of folding. Remember that AK-high is when you have a high card hand that includes both an ace and a king.

The relevant information you have to make a decision in these spots, which are admittedly uncommon, are the three remaining cards in your hand (called kickers) along with the one card that the dealer is showing. To use these advanced strategies, you’ll look first at the dealer’s card and then compare it to those three kickers that you hold.

Along these lines, we’ll give you two rules for these AK-high strategies:

  1. Dealer Shows Ace or King – Raise if you hold a queen or jack in your kickers.
  2. Dealer Shows Queen or Lower – Raise if it matches one of your kickers.

Adding these exceptions to basic strategy will improve your payout rate and lower the house advantage, but keep in mind that it’s virtually impossible for a player to learn how to play perfect Caribbean stud poker. Instead, we can just try to make the house edge as small as possible with these types of strategies.

Player Collusion

Here’s the premise to know when it comes to Caribbean stud collusion: In theory, if there were at least seven player hands being dealt at a time at a Caribbean stud table, then players would be able to collude to get an advantage of a couple of percentage points against the house in the long run.

There are a few problems with putting this into practice:

  1. Tables at brick-and-mortar casinos do not allow players to show each other their cards, and collusion is not allowed.
  2. Typical online tables only deal to one player at a time.
  3. Live dealer games usually deal fewer than seven hands at a time. Otherwise, players could try to collude using telephone or instant messaging systems.

With that having been said, you could still use this type of strategy in certain situations, especially at online live dealer Caribbean stud tables, with six or fewer hands being dealt at a time. It wouldn’t get an edge against the house, but it would put you in a position to lower the house advantage down to something better than what you typically see when playing alone, so it’s a fun idea to think about.

Live Dealer Caribbean Stud

Evolution Gaming is the most popular provider to offer live Caribbean stud tables as a part of their software package. Vivo Gaming and some other smaller companies have been known to run this game, but you won’t find their games all that often, so we’re going to focus on what’s available from Evolution.

They offer a pretty balanced raise pay table that we described above, but they also offer some great side bets that include a progressive.

The 5+1 Bonus Bet uses the dealer’s up-card along with all five of the player’s cards to give wins if at least three of a kind can be made. The highest payout with this side bet is 1,000:1.

The Progressive Jackpot works much like what we described above in our section on progressive jackpot pay tables. However, something that stands out here is that you’ll get payouts for three of a kind or more, which means this side bet is a win more often than most Caribbean stud progressives.

Tie-in With Caribbean Draw Poker/Oasis Poker

There’s another style of casino poker that will be called either Caribbean draw poker or, less commonly, Oasis Poker depending on where you play online. Caribbean stud is related to this game because you’ll actually play a hand of caribbean stud within each hand of Caribbean draw poker.

The basic idea is that the draw variation has the cards dealt in the same way as the stud variation, but before you decide to raise or fold, you get an option to draw up to five cards for a given price. The price is usually a multiple of the ante, so you’ll spend 1x the ante to draw one card, 2x the ante to draw two cards and so on.

We mention this tie-in because to learn to play that game well, you have to understand the rules and strategy for the Caribbean stud poker as well since you’ll actually play a hand of it after the draw even if you decide not to take the draw.

In fact, if you play Caribbean draw poker and never take the draw, then you’re ultimately just playing Caribbean stud instead.

Overview

With online and live dealer Caribbean stud poker games, you’ll find that the whole experience centers around using a limited amount of information to choose between a couple of options, which is pretty normal for how casino poker games go. From a strategic standpoint, it’s a really easy game to learn to play, and even the more advanced strategies aren’t very difficult.

The live dealer version of this title has more options than most with a progressive jackpot option and an innovative side bet that pays out often, so you can add on even more action, but you also have the choice to just sit back and enjoy the regular gameplay while socializing with new friends you meet online.

FAQ

Which online casinos have Caribbean Stud Poker?

Use the list of Caribbean Stud Poker casinos to see all online casinos that have Caribbean Stud Poker.

Caribbean stud is a poker game that’s similar to five-card stud. Unlike five-card stud, though, it pits you against the dealer (house) rather than against other players.

Since its inception in the 1980s, Caribbean stud has become one of the most popular table games. It offers strategic play and provides a different take on poker.

If you’re interested in trying Caribbean stud, you can learn more about it through our guide. This page covers the top Caribbean stud casinos, rules, bonuses, strategies, and more.

Best Caribbean Stud Casinos

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Criteria for choosing the top Caribbean stud casinos

All gaming sites feature the same basic rules and structure for Caribbean stud. However, certain casinos offer a better overall experience than others.

We vet gaming sites to find the best of the bunch. Below, you can see how we determine our top picks for stud casinos.

Quality software

Most online casinos and software providers present different looks with their Caribbean stud games. However, not all of these looks offer quality graphics and an efficient table layout.

You should choose gaming sites that deliver high-quality graphics and functional tables. We recommend trying free Caribbean stud at one or more casinos before making a decision.

Jackpot

A casino doesn’t necessarily need to feature a big Caribbean stud jackpot just to rate highly. However, they earn bonus points by offering a large progressive payout.

Some jackpots have paid over $200,000 in the past. Plenty of others have delivered six figures as well.

Licensing & reputation

The best gaming sites excel through quality software, friendly support, and fast payouts. Furthermore, these casinos build a strong reputation over time.

Top Caribbean stud casinos typically carry premier licensing too. Only the best casinos can obtain licensing from jurisdictions like the UK Gambling Commission.

Website security

You exchange sensitive details with casinos when registering and placing deposits. Therefore, you should only deal with gaming sites that offer secure websites.

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Most online casinos use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt your data. This encryption prevents hackers from stealing your financial and personal information.

Caribbean stud bonuses

Not all internet casinos offer Caribbean stud bonuses. You should ensure that any prospective casino includes stud in their offers.

You can do so by reading the terms and conditions behind each deal. The T&Cs should also clearly summarize excluded games.

Plentiful banking options

You may prefer certain banking methods when playing casino games. Sites that offer a variety of deposit and cash-out options are more likely to feature your preferences.

Helpful support

If you play long enough at a casino, you’ll inevitably experience an issue or need a question answered. A helpful support department solves issues and answers questions knowledgeably and quickly.

Caribbean stud rules

Placing bets & playing hands

Each Caribbean stud round begins with you placing an ante bet. At this point, you may also place the optional progressive-jackpot bet (if applicable).

Once the initial betting round is finished, the dealer delivers five cards each to you and to themself. The dealer turns over one of their cards before you act.

You can either bet (a.k.a. raise) or fold after reviewing your cards and the dealer’s upcard. If you fold, you forfeit your ante and jackpot bet (if placed).

To raise, you must wager double your original ante. Here’s an example:

  • You place a $1 ante.
  • The dealer delivers the cards.
  • You raise, and put an additional $2 in the “bet” circle.

The dealer turns over their remaining four cards after you raise. They must hold an AK (Ace and King) combo or better to qualify.

You automatically win even money on your ante if the dealer doesn’t qualify. Your additional bet, however, is a push.

If the dealer qualifies, they compare their five-card hand to yours. They win your ante and raise if they hold a stronger hand.

Caribbean Stud Online Casino Games

You win even money on your ante with better cards than the dealer. Meanwhile, your hand strength determines if your raise qualifies for a payout.

The following shows which payouts you stand to win:

  • Royal flush = 100:1 (or 100% of the jackpot)
  • Straight flush = 50:1 (or 10% of the jackpot)
  • 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 or high card = 1:1

Progressive jackpot payouts

Again, you qualify for the progressive jackpot as long as you place the $1 side bet. Each wager goes toward seeding the progressive prize.

You win the full jackpot amount by getting a royal flush. Many casinos pay you 10% of the progressive jackpot if you get a straight flush.

Some gaming sites award you additional payouts for high-ranking hands. Here are examples:

  • Four of a kind pays $500
  • Full house pays $100
  • Flush pays $50

Side-bet payouts are entirely dependent on your hand strength. You can lose to the dealer and still earn a side payout with a really strong hand.

How to play Caribbean stud online

You can start playing Caribbean stud by completing the following steps:

  1. Find a quality online casino (refer to our list for help).
  2. Register for an account.
  3. Use a bonus code (if applicable).
  4. Play free Caribbean stud.
  5. Place a deposit and play for real money.

The account registration process doesn’t take long. Registration forms require you to enter basic pieces of information, including your full name, birthdate, email, and phone number.

Some casinos also ask you to enter a bonus code during this process. Such codes qualify you for a welcome bonus.

Once registered, you should consider playing free Caribbean stud first. The free version gives you an opportunity to test out the software before depositing.

Assuming everything checks out and you want to gamble, then you can place a deposit. You must choose an authorized banking option to do so.

Caribbean stud bonuses

A bonus helps you pad your Caribbean stud winnings. You should take advantage of these offers whenever you play online.

You must first read the T&Cs behind bonus offers to ensure that the game qualifies. If so, you want to note what other terms are required before you will be permitted to cash out bonus funds.

Like most table games, Caribbean stud bonuses usually require higher wagering requirements (a.k.a. playthrough) than slots offers. Playthrough refers to how much you must wager before cashing out a bonus.

Here’s an example:

  • A casino offers a 100% match bonus worth up to $200.
  • You deposit $50 and qualify for a $50 bonus.
  • Playthrough on the bonus is 100x.
  • 100 x $50 = $5,000 must be wagered

Lower wagering requirements are always better for the player. Therefore, you should compare bonus playthrough between casinos to find the best deals.

Other important terms worth noting include:

  • Claiming the bonus – You must visit your account and claim the offer within a specified number of days.
  • Time frame on playthrough – Casinos limit the number of days they give you to satisfy playthrough.
  • Bonus code – To qualify, you may need to enter a bonus code when depositing/registering.
  • Maximum bet – Gaming sites cap the amount you can bet while a bonus is active.
  • Game restrictions – This game doesn’t always qualify for offers.
  • Deposit restrictions – Casinos sometimes exclude Neteller and Skrill deposits from qualifying for bonuses.

Different places to play Caribbean stud

You can play Caribbean stud through three main formats/settings:

  • Land-based casinos
  • Online casinos
  • Live-dealer casinos

Land-based casinos offer the best social experience. You can chat with the dealer and other gamblers while playing Caribbean stud in a brick-and-mortar venue.

Internet casinos feature software-generated stud tables. Online Caribbean stud offers no social experience, but it does let you control the game speed and place small bets.

Live-dealer sites are part of online casinos. However, they differ from software-generated tables by streaming the games from a land-based casino studio.

Caribbean stud strategy

This game requires you to use strategy to lower the house advantage. With optimal play, you can reduce the Caribbean stud house edge to 5.224%.

Perfect Caribbean stud strategy boils down to the following:

  • You hold A-K-x-x-x: Raise if the dealer’s upcard is 2-Q and matches one of your remaining three cards.
  • You hold A-K-Q-x-x, or A-K-J-x-x: Raise if the dealer’s upcard is an ace or king.
  • You hold A-K-Q-x-x : Raise if the dealer’s upcard doesn’t match any of yours and it’s lower than your fourth-best card.
  • Fold in all other situations.

If you’re seeking a less-complicated strategy, you can abide by the following rules:

  • Always raise with A-K-J-8-3 or better.
  • Fold A-K-J-8-2 or anything worse.

This strategy isn’t optimal. However, it will reduce the house advantage to around 5.3%.

Should you place the progressive jackpot bet?

Progressive jackpots are the main draws to Caribbean stud. However, jackpot side bets feature terrible house edges.

On average, you’ll face over a 26% house advantage when placing the $1 side bet. Furthermore, you stand just 1 in 649,740 odds of getting a royal flush and winning the progressive jackpot.

Unlike with video poker, you can’t draw for a better hand in Caribbean stud. Therefore, you’re relying on pure luck to get a royal flush or another qualifying hand.

The Caribbean stud side bet does feature one redeeming quality in that you only need to risk $1.

You might still consider playing for the jackpot at such a low cost. From a pure strategy perspective, though, side bets are a bad deal.

Caribbean

Controversial origins of Caribbean stud

Located in Noord, Aruba, King Casino (now Excelsior Casino) became the first gambling venue to offer Caribbean stud in the 1980s. However, the game’s true origins lie in dispute.

Based on various accounts, Caribbean stud may have been invented:

  1. On a Caribbean cruise journeying to Aruba.
  2. By an anonymous person who sold the rights to King Casino owner Dennis King.
  3. By poker expert and author David Sklansky.

Very little information exists regarding the first two scenarios—especially the cruise ship story.

King claims to have invented Caribbean stud, and he owned the first casino that offered this game. However, he could’ve also purchased the rights from the real inventor.

Sklansky has provided the most details regarding the game’s origins. He claims to have created a similar game called “Casino Poker” in 1982.

Play Caribbean Stud Online

Sklansky recalls the following events:

  • He trademarked Casino Poker and presented it at the Vegas World convention.
  • However, he gave up on the game after his girlfriend died.
  • U.S. patent laws at the time prevented him from patenting Casino Poker.
  • A poker player took his idea to a casino owner (possibly King).
  • The poker player and casino owner slightly modified the rules to create Caribbean stud.
  • The casino owner eventually sold the game’s rights for $30 million.

FAQs

What’s the difference between an ante and raise?

You place an ante before receiving your five-card hand. You raise (2x the ante) if you like your cards and odds of beating the dealer.

Can I play free Caribbean stud?

Yes, online casinos offer free stud games as a means of getting you to sample their sites. You must register at most casinos before playing free games.
The registration process is quick and straightforward. You merely fill in the required fields and submit your application for approval.

Does online Caribbean stud offer any advantages over the land-based version?

The internet version is more convenient and offers lower stakes than Caribbean stud in brick-and-mortar casinos.
You can play online through a smartphone, tablet, PC, or Mac. This negates the need to travel to a land-based casino.
After completing registration, most gaming sites let you play for $1 per hand. Alternatively, you may choose to play for free.

What is live Caribbean stud?

Live-dealer Caribbean stud streams action from a brick-and-mortar studio. It features a human dealer, real table, and real cards.
You can communicate with the dealer via a chatbox. The dealer can respond verbally to your questions and comments.
The live version of the game offers a nice blend of online and land-based gambling. It’s a good alternative for when you feel like enjoying a social gaming experience from home.

Is online Caribbean stud safe?

Yes, most online casinos and software providers undergo third-party testing. This testing ensures that the casinos’ and providers’ games offer fair, random results.
Nevertheless, you should always read reviews on casinos before trusting them. We offer reviews of many Caribbean stud casinos on this site.