Web poker has become globally celebrated lately, with televised championships and celebrity poker game shows. Its popularity, though, stretches back in reality a bit farther than its TV ratings. Over the years several variants on the first poker game have been created, including a handful of games that are not really poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is one of these games. Regardless of the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely resembling chemin de fer than traditional poker, in that the gamblers wager against the casino rather than each other. The winning hands, are the traditional poker hands. There is little bluffing or different types of deception. In Caribbean stud poker, you are expected to ante up prior to the croupier broadcasting "No more bets." At that moment, both you and the dealer and of course all of the different gamblers receive five cards each. Once you have looked at your hand and the dealer’s 1st card, you have to either make a call bet or give up. The call bet’s amount is equal to your beginning ante, which means that the risks will have increased two fold. Bowing out means that your wager goes instantly to the casino. After the wager comes the face off. If the bank doesn’t have ace/king or better, your bet is returned, including a sum equal to the ante. If the bank does have ace/king or greater, you win if your hand defeats the dealer’s hand. The bank pays chips even with your bet and controlled odds on your call bet. These expectations are:
- Even for a pair or high card
- two to one for 2 pairs
- three to one for three of a kind
- 4-1 for a straight
- 5-1 for a flush
- seven to one for a full house
- twenty to one for a 4 of a kind
- fifty to one for a straight flush
- 100-1 for a royal flush