Caribbean stud rules

Five-card stud against the house, with no drawing and no bluffing — the whole game is one decision.

The table

Up to seven players each play their own hand against the dealer. Hands rank as in ordinary five-card poker, from high card up to royal flush.

The deal

Place an ante. Everyone gets five cards face down, and the dealer gets five with one turned face up.

The decision

Look at your hand. Either fold and lose the ante, or raise with a bet of exactly twice the ante.

The dealer must qualify

The dealer needs ace-king or better. If they do not, the ante pays even money and your raise is simply returned — so a strong hand can win far less than it deserves. If they do qualify and you win, the ante pays even money and the raise pays on a scale: even money for a pair, and rising through two pair, trips, straight, flush, full house and four of a kind up to a large multiple for a royal flush.

If the dealer qualifies and beats you, the ante and the raise are both lost. An exact tie returns both.

The raise pay table

A common table pays the raise: Ace-king or one pair: even money. Two pair: two to one. Three of a kind: three to one. Straight: four to one. Flush: five to one. Full house: seven to one. Four of a kind: twenty to one. Straight flush: fifty to one. Royal flush: a hundred to one.

An example

You ante 5 and hold a pair of eights, so you raise 10. The dealer shows A♣ K♦ 9♠ 6♥ 2♣: ace-king qualifies, and your pair beats it. The ante pays 5 and the raise pays 10. Had the dealer held queen high, you would have won only the 5 on the ante — even with a full house.

Progressive jackpot

Most tables offer a separate side bet paying for a flush or better regardless of the dealer's hand.

Strategy in one line: raise with any pair or better, raise with ace-king when the dealer's up card is one you also hold, and fold everything less than ace-king.