You need to play with strategy and out beat your opponent’s thinking in order to win. There is a lot of bluffing and deception involved in poker. You need to toy with your opponent’s psyche and make him fold even when his hand is better than yours. This is why poker is very popular in casinos worldwide.
There are several types of poker games; here are a few popular types of poker normally played in casinos:
- Seven Card Stud
- Five Card Draw
- Texas Holdem
- Caribbean Stud
Out of these, the Caribbean Stud is played with a dealer and not with opponents like the other poker games. This type of poker is straightforward, as there is no bluffing or deception involved.
Playing Caribbean Stud poker
To begin playing Caribbean Stud poker you need to place your initial bet, or ante, in the specified place at the table. Once all the players finish placing their antes in their respective specified places the dealer distributes five cards to each player and to himself. All the cards are dealt face down. At this point in Caribbean Stud you are allowed to view your cards without showing it to the other players, and you have an option to either play or fold.
If you are confident that you have a strong hand and if you choose to play, you need to place twice the amount of your initial bet, in the specified place. If you choose to fold, you lose your ante, and the game continues with the remaining players. Payout is based on the strength of the hand of each player. Once the dealer reveals his hole cards he compares it with the players’ cards, one at a time, from right to left.
A player having the strongest hand wins and the remaining players lose both their ante and their bets. A lot of people assume that their hand is strong, or simply depend on their luck, and bet without analyzing their card strength, losing a lot of money in the process.
Tip: Observe the reactions of other players carefully when they view their cards as it can give you some helpful clues about their card strengths.
Like all poker games, the Caribbean Stud too has strict rules that you must follow:
- Each player is allowed just one hand to play. You cannot play and bet on multiple hands.
- Once the dealer starts to deal the cards you are not allowed to talk to other players or look at their cards.
- After you examine your cards and put it face down on the table to indicate that you are folding, you are not allowed to touch it again.
- You are not allowed to place any more bets after the dealer announces No More Bets.