Poker has become globally celebrated lately, with televised tournaments and celebrity poker game shows. Its universal appeal, though, stretches back quite a bit further than its television ratings. Over the years several variants on the original poker game have been developed, including a few games that are not really poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is one of these particular games. Despite the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely affiliated with twenty-one than old guard poker, in that the gamblers bet against the bank rather than each other. The winning hands, are the established poker hands. There is little bluffing or different kinds of concealment. In Caribbean stud poker, you are expected to ante up before the dealer announcing "No more bets." At that instance, both you and the casino and of course all of the other gamblers acquire five cards each. Once you have seen your hand and the casino’s initial card, you must in turn make a call bet or bow out. The call bet’s amount is akin to your original bet, meaning that the risks will have doubled. Bowing out means that your ante goes instantaneously to the bank. After the wager comes the face off. If the casino doesn’t have ace/king or greater, your wager is given back, with a sum equal to the original wager. If the dealer has a hand with ace/king or greater, you succeed if your hand defeats the dealer’s hand. The house pays out chips even with your ante and controlled expectations on your call wager. These expectations are:
- Even 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
- 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