Poker has become globally acclaimed as of late, with televised competitions and celebrity poker game events. Its universal appeal, though, stretches back in fact a bit farther than its TV scores. Over the years numerous variations on the original poker game have been developed, including a few games that are not in reality poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is one of these games. Despite the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely related to twenty-one than traditional poker, in that the players bet against the casino instead of the other players. The winning hands, are the traditional poker hands. There is little bluffing or other types of concealment. In Caribbean stud poker, you are expected to ante up before the dealer announcing "No further bets." At that point, both you and the casino and of course all of the other players acquire five cards. Once you have looked at your hand and the dealer’s initial card, you have to either make a call wager or bow out. The call wager’s value is akin to your beginning ante, which means that the stakes will have doubled. Abandoning means that your wager goes instantly to the dealer. After the bet comes the face off. If the casino doesn’t have ace/king or better, your bet is given back, plus a sum equal to the ante. If the bank does have ace/king or better, you succeed if your hand defeats the dealer’s hand. The house pays out money equal to your ante and fixed odds on your call wager. These odds are:
- Equal for a pair or high card
- 2-1 for 2 pairs
- 3-1 for three of a kind
- four to one for a straight
- five to one for a flush
- 7-1 for a full house
- 20-1 for a 4 of a kind
- 50-1 for a straight flush
- one hundred to one for a royal flush