By Tarun Sharma

All the games we have looked so far involved betting against other players. But this game is different; here everyone plays against the casino or room which acts as a bank (dealer), paying out all winning bets. To win you have to beat the dealer's hand, other player's hands don't make a difference.

First each player makes an ante (initial blind bet) and is dealt 5 cards face down. The dealer receives 4 cards face down and 1 card face up. Now each player decides whether to fold or play by looking at their cards, if they fold then their ante is lost but if they continue, they have to double their ante-bet.

Now the dealer reveals his hand, but he must have an A-k or higher in order to play his hand, if not the player is paid even money on the ante and also the additional bet is not lost (See the table for odds). If the player's hand beats the dealer's, the ante is paid at evens. However, if the dealer's hand beats the player's hand then both bets are lost.

Additional Bet Payout odds:

1/1 One pair or High card (Even)
2/1 Two pair
3/1 Three of a kind
4/1 Straight
5/1 Flush
7/1 Full House
20/1 Four of a kind
50/1 Straight flush
100/1 Royal flush

If the dealer and player play the same poker hand, then remaining cards are taken in to consideration. If all five cards are equal, the hand is void. Neither the ante nor the additional bet is lost. The ranking of suits makes no difference to the hand.

Here the odds are poor; a normal game of poker with seven players will have odds of at least 6/1 which is a great deal better when compared to the minimum odds in this game which is 1/1. Also the odds paid for additional bet are poor. Again there is no skill required and you rely too much on luck. Finally remember you have much better odds of winning money when you are playing for the pot. Good Luck.

For more info on Caribbean Stud Poker Rules check out our other articles.