Caribbean Stud Poker: Five-Card Stud vs. the Dealer

Caribbean Stud is heads-up between you and the dealer. You're both dealt five cards. You see all five of yours; the dealer's first card is face-up, the other four face-down.

The flow:

1. You post an Ante bet.
2. Optionally, you post a $1 progressive side bet.
3. The dealer deals five cards to each player and the dealer.
4. You look at your hand. Decision: fold (lose your Ante) or raise (post a Play bet equal to 2x your Ante).
5. If you raise, the dealer reveals their hand.
6. The dealer must qualify with at least Ace-King high. If they don't qualify, your Ante pays even money and your Play bet pushes.
7. If the dealer qualifies, both bets play. Win: Ante pays even money, Play bet pays per a paytable based on your hand strength. Lose: both bets lose.

Ante (required): Even money payout when the dealer qualifies and you win. Pays even money when the dealer doesn't qualify regardless of your hand.

Play (variable, only if you raise): 2x your Ante. Pays per a posted paytable when the dealer qualifies and you win:

• Ace-King high: 1:1
• One pair: 1:1
• Two pair: 2:1
• Three of a kind: 3:1
• Straight: 4:1
• Flush: 5:1
• Full house: 7:1
• Four of a kind: 20:1
• Straight flush: 50:1
• Royal flush: 100:1 (or the progressive jackpot if you played the side bet)

Caps: Many casinos cap the maximum Play bet payout (typically $5,000-$10,000). Check the table card before playing big.

Caribbean Stud has just one strategic decision per hand: raise or fold after seeing your five cards and the dealer's upcard. Get this right and you've extracted most of the available value.

The folding cost: When you fold, you lose your Ante bet. Period. So folding is a real cost — you should fold less than your gut suggests, because the Play bet often makes money even on marginal hands.

The mathematically optimal strategy boils down to:

RAISE if your hand is:

• Pair or better. Always raise.
• A-K high or better, with one of these conditions:
• The dealer's upcard is 2 through queen AND you have a card matching the dealer's upcard (you block the dealer from making a pair with that card).
• The dealer's upcard is an ace or king AND your hand contains a queen or jack (you slightly improve your chance to outkick the dealer).
• You have a queen in your hand and the dealer's upcard is lower than your fourth-highest card.

The simplified rule used by most experienced players: Raise on A-K-J-8-3 or better. This loses ~0.16% versus the truly optimal strategy — irrelevant for recreational play.

FOLD if: Anything less than A-K high. Anything that's A-K high but doesn't satisfy the conditions above (which is rare).

The $1 progressive side bet pays based purely on your hand strength regardless of the dealer's hand. Typical paytable: flush $50, full house $100, four of a kind $500, straight flush 10% of the jackpot, royal flush 100% of the jackpot.

House edge: Depends entirely on the jackpot size. The break-even point is typically a jackpot of $200,000-$300,000.

When the side bet is +EV: If the progressive jackpot exceeds approximately $263,000 (varies by paytable), the $1 side bet has positive expected value. Some advantage players track jackpot levels across casinos and play only when the side bet is favorable.

For everyone else: The side bet is typically a 25-50% house edge proposition. If you play it, treat the $1 as entertainment cost.

House edge on the main game: About 5.2% on the Ante with optimal strategy. That's higher than Three Card Poker (~3.4%) and Let It Ride (~3.5%) — Caribbean Stud is the highest-edge of the three popular carnival poker games.

Hourly cost: At $5 Ante (so $15 in average wagered: Ante + average Play), expect about 50 hands per hour and ~$30 expected loss per hour. Higher than UTH or Pai Gow Poker.

Where to find it:

• Strip: Most major properties have at least one Caribbean Stud table. The Cromwell, Caesars Palace, and MGM Grand are reliable.
• Off-Strip: Red Rock and the Boyd properties spread it. The Orleans is dependable.
• Downtown: Variable — Golden Nugget and Plaza usually have it.

Why play it: The $1 progressive jackpot is the appeal. If you're not interested in the jackpot side bet, Three Card Poker and Let It Ride offer better house edges with similar pacing.