The house edge in Caribbean Stud Poker is about 2.6%. Optimal strategy becomes difficult to memorize because of all of the possible hand combinations combined with the dealer’s upcard (over 120 million combinations). Fortunately, the only time a player needs to make a decision is when he is dealt an Ace/King hand. We recommend the following basic strategy:

ACE/KING QUALIFYING HAND

A. Always Fold if you don’t have at least an Ace/King; conversely,

B. Place a Call Bet if you have any pair or better.

C. Place a Call Bet on an Ace/King if one of your other cards is the same as the dealer’s upcard, thus decreasing the dealer’s chance of pairing that card. (In the example above, the Ace/King player should Call if the dealer is showing a Jack, 6 or 7.)

Caribbean Stud Poker is a good table game for Poker lovers, although it can be very frustrating when you are dealt a great poker hand and the dealer does not qualify.