Caribbean Poker is a favorite game
aboard cruise ships and in South Pacific clubs. It's
an easy game to learn and employs many of the skills
of standard 5-card Stud.
Objective
You ante in and
the dealer deals five cards to you and five to themselves.
The dealer
turns one of their cards up. At this point you can
make an additional bet, the "call" bet or surrender.
If you surrender you lose the hand and your ante.
If you make the "call" bet then the
dealer turns over their cards. To continue to the showdown,
the dealer must "qualify" by holding at least an Ace-King
or better. If the dealer does not qualify, you win
the ante but your "call" bet is simply returned, no
matter what the cards show.
If the dealer does
qualify then it's a good old fashioned showdown, with
a catch. If
you
win, the ante pays even money. But if you win with
anything better than a pair, then the house pays you
a multiple of your "call" bet based on a bonus ranking.
The better your hand, the higher the bonus.
Betting
There are two betting
rounds in a hand of Caribbean Poker. The first is your
ante.
The
second comes when the dealer turns one of their cards
face up. If you like what you see and think you're
still in the running, you can place a "call" bet
which is fixed at twice whatever you anted and
play
on. If you don't "call" you surrender and forfeit your
ante.
Payoff
Payoff in Caribbean
Poker is very simple. If you place a "call" bet and the dealer fails
to qualify, you win even money on your ante and the "call" bet
is simply returned.
If the dealer qualifies
and you win the showdown, you get even money on your
ante and
your "call" pays
out according to the following chart:
| Hand |
Payoff |
| Royal Flush |
100:1 |
| Straight Flush |
50:1 |
| 4 of a Kind |
20:1 |
| Full House |
7:1 |
| Flush |
5:1 |
| Straight |
4:1 |
| 3 of a Kind |
3:1 |
| 2 Pair |
2:1 |
| 1 Pair |
1:1 |
If you lose the showdown, the dealer takes both your bets
and it's time for another hand.
