How to Play Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Poker is a five-card stud poker game, which was originally developed for Caribbean cruise ships. It is played against the dealer with a standard 52-card deck, reshuffled after 30 cards are drawn.

After placing a first "ante" bet, you are dealt five cards and the dealer another five, four of them face down and one face up. If you doesn't like your cards, you may fold and surrender your ante bet, otherwise you place a second "call bet" equal to double your ante bet.

If the dealer's hand qualifies (contains and Ace/King combination or better), both hands are compared and if you win you will be paid according to the table shown on the screen. If the dealer does not qualify, you win the "ante" bet, which is paid even money (1 to 1), and the "call" bet is returned to you.

Ante Bet: To place your ante bet in Caribbean Poker you should first select the value of the chips you will use, by clicking once the left button of your mouse on the selected chip in the lower part of the screen. A yellow circle around the chip indicates which one is active ant any time. Then click on the "Ante" betting circle in the middle of the screen or double click on the selected chip. Each click adds one chip to the "Ante" bet and its value is automatically deducted from your balance. If you change your mind and want to withdraw some or all the chips from the bet, you can do so by clicking the right button of your mouse on the "Ante" bet position. You can mix chips of different value, but cannot exceed the maximum allowed for the table nor exceed 1/3 of your current balance.

Jackpot Bet: Caribbean poker offers the option of a side bet that has huge rewards for the two highest poker hands. The amount that can be wagered on this bet is fixed as $1 and only one chip wager is accepted per hand. To place your jackpot bet, click on the slot on the center of the table and a $1 chip is automatically inserted there. A red light above the slot indicates that a jackpot bet has been placed. The amount you can win with the jackpot bet doesn't depend on the dealer's hand. If you make a winning hand, your are paid regardless of what the dealer has or if she qualifies or not or if she has a higher hand.

How to Play Caribbean Poker: You can play Caribbean Poker with an ante bet alone or the jackpot bet alone, or both. First place your ante or the jackpot bet or both as explained above and then click on the "DEAL" button. You will be dealt five cards and the dealer another five, one of them face up. Then, looking at your cards and seeing also one of the dealer's hand, you must decide if you play the hand or surrender. If you surrender, you loose your ante bet and the hand is over. To surrender, click your mouse on the "FOLD" button. If you think you can beat the dealer's hand, then click on the "CALL" button or on the empty "Call Bet" betting circle. The "Call" bet, which is exactly twice the amount of the ante, is automatically placed there. Then the dealer shows her hand and both hands are compared. The winner and the prize is decided according to the rules below. After the hand is over, click on the "NEW GAME" button to start a new hand.

Sound: The game sounds can be controlled with the "SOUND" button. When the game starts, sounds may not be active because sound files download may delay a few seconds. The sound is active when the "SOUND" button is depressed. To deactivate it, click and release this button. Click on it again to resume playing sounds.

Music: You can choose to hear music while playing the game by depressing or releasing the "MUSIC" button, which is done by clicking the left mouse button on it. Music volume is lower than the sounds of the games, so you can hear both. The game starts with the music turned off. As tune files are lengthy, they take some time to download, so when you turn it on, a few seconds elapse before the music begins. Tunes have a duration of about three minutes, and when one is finished it is replaced by a new one chosen at random. The music is turned off when the "SOUND" button or the "MUSIC" button is released. You can change the tune at any moment by clicking twice on the "MUSIC" button.

Caribbean Poker Rules:

1.- If the player surrenders, he or she loses the ante bet and the hand is over.

2.- If the player decides to place a call bet then, to play the hand, the dealer must have at least an Ace/King combination or better, otherwise the dealer's hand does not qualify.

2.a.- If the dealer's hand does not qualify (has a hand ranking lower than an Ace/King combination) then the player wins the "ante" bet, which is paid even money (1 to 1), and gets the call bet returned, even if the player's hand is lower than the dealer's hand.

2.b.- If the dealer's hand qualifies, both hands are compared and the higher-ranking hand wins.
2.b.i.- If the dealer wins, the player loses both the ante and the call bets.

2.b.ii.- If the player wins, he or she will be paid even money (1 to 1) on the ante bet plus an amount on the call bet which depends on the quality of the player's hand and can be as high as 100 to 1, as shown in the table below. The ante and call bets, as well as any winnings, are displayed as separate piles of chips, and the total amount is automatically added to the player's balance.

2.b.iii.- If the dealer and the player both have the same hand (for example, both have one pair or both have a "flush"), then the winner is the one with the higher-ranking cards. If the tie still persists, the remaining cards in the hands are taken into consideration and the highest hand wins. Suit does not count.

2.b.iv.- If both the dealer's and the player's hands are equal, it is a tie, no money is exchanged and the player gets his or her bets returned back.

3.- Caribbean Poker Jackpot bet payoffs do not depend on the dealer's hand. If player makes a winning hand, he or she is paid regardless of what the dealer has or if she qualifies or not or if she has a higher hand.

Payoffs: Ante bet is paid at even money (1 to 1). Call bet is paid according to the following table, which lists the standard poker hands by rank in descending order.

CALL BET PAYOFFS TABLE

Hand	Description	Payoff
Royal Flush	Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten from same suit.	100 to 1
Straight Flush	Five cards in consecutive order from same suit.	50 to 1
Four of a Kind	Four cards from different suits displaying the same number or picture (same rank).	20 to 1
Full House	A hand with a Three of a Kind and a Pair.	7 to 1
Flush	Five non-consecutive cards of same suit.	5 to 1
Straight	Five cards in consecutive order, any combination of suits.	3 to 1
Three of a Kind	Three cards from different suits displaying the same number or picture.	2 to 1
Two pairs	Two groups of two cards showing the same number (or picture).	1 to 1
One Pair	One pair of identically ranked cards.	1 to 1
Ace/King High	A hand with five unmatching cards including an Ace and a King.	1 to 1

The winning hands and their payoffs for the Caribbean Poker Jjackpot bet are the following:

JACKPOT BET PAYOFFS TABLE

Hand	Payoff
Royal Flush	100% of Jackpot
Straight Flush	10% of Jackpot
Four of a Kind	$500
Full House	$100
Flush	$50

The above rules and payoffs of Caribbean Poker conform to the rules and payoff regulations found in Las Vegas and casinos around the world. The jackpot usually goes above $50,000 and sometimes is above $100,000. This places Caribbean poker as the highest paying game in a casino, with rewards in the order of 80,000 to 1 or even more for a Royal Flush.