Poker has become world acclaimed lately, with televised events and celebrity poker game shows. Its universal appeal, though, stretches back quite a bit farther than its TV ratings. Over the years many variants on the earliest poker game have been developed, including a handful of games that are not in reality poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is 1 of the above-mentioned games. Regardless of the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely related to chemin de fer than old guard poker, in that the players bet against the dealer instead of the other players. The succeeding hands, are the established poker hands. There is no bluffing or other types of deceptiveness. In Caribbean stud poker, you are expected to pay up prior to the dealer announcing "No further bets." At that point, both you and the bank and of course all of the different players are given 5 cards. After you have looked at your hand and the bank’s initial card, you must either make a call wager or bow out. The call bet’s value is equal to your beginning wager, indicating that the stakes will have increased two fold. Abandoning means that your bet goes immediately to the bank. After the wager is the showdown. If the dealer does not have ace/king or better, your wager is returned, plus an amount equal to the original bet. If the dealer has a hand with ace/king or greater, you win if your hand is greater than the casino’s hand. The dealer pays chips even with your original bet and controlled expectations on your call wager. These expectations are:
- Equal for a pair or high card
- 2-1 for 2 pairs
- three to one for three of a kind
- four to one for a straight
- five to one 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
- one hundred to one for a royal flush