Caribbean poker is a casino game based on the popular card game stud poker. It was first created by well known poker
player and respected gambling author David Sklansky. Another poker player acquired the rights to the game and took it
to the Aruba islands, a favourite destination for wealthy high rollers. With a few tweaks and help from a casino owner
Caribbean poker was unleashed and now is a famous game played all around the world. It is even said that some gamblers
travel to Aruba just to play Caribbean poker at its original home, now that's dedication!
To get Caribbean poker started you place a bet also known as the ante. You are then dealt 5 cards face up, now the
dealer is dealt 5 cards but only 1 of them face up. At this point you can choose to fold if you don't like your hand.
If you think you hand is strong enough to continue you put in a raise equivalent to twice the ante.
The dealer exposes his cards and he must qualify to continue. The minimum hand strength needed to qualify is Ace King.
If dealer fails to qualify, all players win double their ante and their raise is returned. In the event that the dealer
does qualify, it all comes down to who has the strongest hand.
Caribbean Poker uses the standard poker ranking system found in Stud and Texas Holdem. Once victorious over the dealer
the amount won varies based on the strength of your 5 card hand. A royal flush will pay 100 to 1 but a pair will only
return evens on your raise. You also win double your ante.
| Hand | Description | Payoff |
| Royal flush | A, K, Q, J, and 10, all in the same suit | 100 to 1 |
| Straight flush | Five cards in sequential order & of the same suit | 50 to 1 |
| Four of a kind | Four cards with the same value | 20 to 1 |
| Full house | 3 cards of the same value, along with a pair | 7 to 1 |
| Flush | Five cards of the same suit | 5 to 1 |
| Straight | Five consecutive cards | 4 to 1 |
| Three of a kind | Three cards of the same value | 3 to 1 |
| Two pair | Two pairs in the same hand | 2 to 1 |
| Pair | Two cards with the same value | 1 to 1 |
| Ace/King | An ace or king in your hand | 1 to 1 |
The popularity of Caribbean poker is because the rules are easy to pick up and its also very exciting to play. If you are new to Caribbean poker I would advise you to fold worse hands then ace king and to play all pairs. This should be enough to get you started so good luck at the tables.