Caribbean Stud Poker is the most popular of the poker based games at online casinos. All leading software providers offer this game in their portfolio. The crucial decision that the player takes in Caribbean Stud Poker is to raise or fold after the cards have been dealt. This has to be based on correct strategy if the player wants to perform well in the long run.

The Caribbean Stud Poker game begins with the player placing the ante bet. He is then dealt a hand of five cards and the dealer is dealt one card face up. It is at this point that the player has to decide whether to fold or raise. If he folds then he loses the ante bet. If the player raises then he has to place a second bet, which is twice the ante bet. The remaining cards are dealt to the dealer and the hands are compared. The dealer must have an ace and a king or better hand to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify the player gets a payout of 1:1 the ante and the second bet pushes. If the dealer’s hand qualifies and is better, the player loses both bets. If both hands are of the same rank, then both bets push. If the player’s hand is better then he gets a payout of 1:1 on the ante and the second bet is paid according to a payout table.

If the player does not have the dealer’s qualifying hand then he must fold. Because, in this event, if the dealer qualifies then the player will lose both the ante and the second bet. On the other hand if the player holds a poker hand that is Two Pairs or higher then he must always raise. It is being made clear that the player will not always win under these circumstances, but the chances of his winning are greater. This leaves two hand rankings. The first is One Pair and the second is Ace and King with no ranking.

The strategy with One Pair is always to raise. It is being discussed separately for a special reason. When the rank of the pair is greater than the rank of the dealer’s face up card then in the long run the player will win. This decision is straight forward. When the rank of the pair is less than that of the dealer’s face up card then in the long run the player will lose. But the correct Caribbean Stud Poker strategy still calls for the player to raise. If there was no ante wagered then the correct play would be to fold. But as things stand folding would mean losing the ante. When this is taken into account the player will minimize his loss by raising.

The most interesting hands are when the player holds an Ace and a King with no hand ranking. In this case the dealer’s face up card becomes important. The player must raise if any of the following three situations apply. The first is that the dealer’s card is a two through queen and matches one of the player’s cards. The second is that the dealer’s card is an ace or king and the player has a queen or jack in his hand. The third is that the dealer’s rank does not match any of the player’s cards and the player has a queen and the dealer’s card is less than the player’s fourth highest card. In all other cases the player must fold.