Both Microgaming and Real Time Gaming online casinos offer a game titled Caribbean Draw Poker. The game is available in the table games section of the games menu. Both these software providers also offer a casino poker variant titled Caribbean Stud Poker and therefore it is essential to know the basic difference between draw poker and stud poker. In draw poker games the players are dealt all five cards up front. They are allowed to replace some or all of the cards from the deck. In stud poker games players are dealt only a few of the cards up front. Today stud poker games are more popular. Therefore there are more online casino variants based on stud poker. However, the few draw poker variants have their own following.

Online Caribbean Draw Poker is played with a single standard deck. The player places the ante bet and clicks on the Deal button. He is dealt five cards face up and the dealer is dealt one card face up and four cards face down. Based on the face up cards the player has to choose from one of the following three moves. If the player feels that his hand has practically no chance of winning then he should fold. He will lose the ante bet and the game will immediately end. If the player is satisfied with the dealt hand he should stand. A play bet equal to twice the ante bet is automatically wagered. The dealer’s full hand is revealed and the process of payouts is initiated. The most common and most challenging option in online Caribbean Draw Poker is to select up to two cards for replacement. These cards are then replaced and the play bet is simultaneously wagered and the dealer’s hand revealed. The software is programmed to automatically replace cards in the dealer’s hand if required.

In online Caribbean Draw Poker the outcome depends on whether or not the dealer has a qualifying hand. The dealer requires a pair of eights or better to qualify. If the dealer does not qualify then the ante bet pays even money and the play bet pushes. If the dealer qualifies then the two hands are compared. If the player has the lower ranking hand then he loses both the ante and play bets. If the player has the higher ranking hand then the ante bet pays even money and the play bet pays as per a payout table. The payouts in the case of both Microgaming and Realtime Gaming Caribbean Draw Poker begin with 1 to 1 for Eights or Better and go 100 to 1 for Royal Flush.

At the start of the game the player can place a bonus bet if he so desires. This bet is of a fixed $1 amount and can be placed only if the player plays the main game. The bonus bet payout is based on the hand dealt before drawing and is independent of the decisions and outcome of the main game. This payout is also based on a payout table, but in this case Microgaming and Realtime Gaming have different tables. The Microgaming payouts start with a 4 to 1 payout for Two Pairs and go to a 2,500 to 1 payout for Straight Flush with the progressive jackpot for Royal Flush. The Realtime Gaming payouts start with a 75 to 1 payout for Flush and go to 10% of the progressive jackpot for Straight Flush with the full progressive jackpot for Royal Flush.