Archive for January, 2009

Carriberian Stud Poker Strategy

Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Riza asked:


If you are logging on to play at a play tech casino, you will find this game readily available.

Click here to visit The Best Online Casino

The basics of the game are very simple.

1) The player makes an ?ante? wager, which is not optional. In some games there is a progressive side bet.

2) The player and the dealer each get five cards. All players in the game get five cards, and they are all dealt face down. One dealer card is exposed. Players are allowed to look at their own cards but can’t share information.

3) A player must then fold and forfeit his or her ante and side bet, or raise, with the wager being twice the ante.

4) The dealer reveals his other four cards.

5) For the dealer to qualify, he must have an ace, king or higher. If he doesn’t, the player wins even money on his ante and the raise is a push. If the dealer qualifies and has a better hand than the player, the player loses both the ante and raise. If the dealer qualifies and the player wins, the ante pays even money and the raise pays odds based on the winning hand. If dealer and player tie, the ante and raise are a push. The progressive side bet is based solely on the poker value of the player’s hand.

The house edge is just over 5 percent, which is high. But a player who employs a sound raise strategy can cut that number in half.

There are very few absolutes in the game, but some of the general rules to follow: Always fold if you have less than the dealer’s qualifying hand (king high) and always raise if you have any pair or better.

Also, playing the progressive side bet is popular, but it is difficult to hit and the house edge is almost 30 percent.

Caribbean stud poker is a game with one simple decision to make based on the cards you have in your hand and what the dealer is showing. On the whole, it is not a difficult game, and once you get the hang of it, you can really make progress as a player.

Play tech casinos offer free online versions of the game if you have never played before, and this is a good way to get involved, learn what you can about the strategy of the game itself. Don’t really pay attention to your wins and losses in free play. This is really about establishing a knowledge of the game and how to play it so you will be familiar with it when you get to the real money on play tech.

Caribbean Stud is a fun, easy game that you will get the hang of quickly and it won’t take you long to find some success.



Steve

Skill Matters in Stud Poker

Sunday, January 18th, 2009
Alberto asked:


Since stud poker is not commonly played like holdem, it might be difficult to come across some really valuable information about stud poker. However, valuable information is scare and not totally absent. A bit of search can help one dig out some useful information about stud poker. Truly, stud poker game can give some quick and better profits than holdem if played in the right way. Those that have played complex strategies in holdem will find stud poker to comparatively be easier to play. Easier does not mean winning always, it refers to less complex.

When money is put in to stakes in stud poker one must be knowledgeable about what they are up to. Basic starting hands and playing strategies should be understood in stud poker and only when these things are mastered one will know what to expect in a stud poker table and about how to make the winnings in the table without depending only on luck. Skill matters in stud poker.

A careful consideration of all the door cards that are showing up in the table with each layer helps to design a winning strategy. After examining the door cards it is necessary to estimate about how many of each suit is already out of scope. After looking in to the card numbers going out, we will have to see the numbers that are out of scope. This will give a basic idea of what can be expected and what can be waited for winning.

After this we need to recollect about which player was the first to raise the bring-in in stud poker and one will also have to consider their position in the table. Per stud poker strategy and stud poker research it has been estimated that anybody that calls and raises are definitely to be in a better place. However, if we raise and re-raise without showing any signs of fear, the rest of the table might be wondering who is truly confident. However, there is no need to keep playing after a dramatic raise and reraise if a new card has killed the chance for winning.

There is no need to keep playing a table just because we have invested in the pot. Hanging is not really a compulsion unless there is a real and tough competition between equally qualifying hands that can win. All the above said things matter a lot in stud poker.



Eugene

How to Play 7 Card Stud Poker

Sunday, January 18th, 2009
PKR Poker asked:


Many people sit around and play stud poker in their homes and in casinos. However, if you are mainly an at home player you may not be playing by the rules that you will see at an online poker room or in a casino. This could be very bad, if you start playing and make a big mistake that can hurt your pocketbook. The best way to ensure you are ready to play is by learning the rules of stud poker. All casinos offline and online use the same basic rules of play. This article will give you the basics for playing 7-card stud poker, even though there are other varieties such as 5-card stud poker.

The way in which the game of 7 card Stud Poker is played is that each player begins by putting the ante in the center of the table. This is normally a predetermined amount of money set by the casino or online poker room.

Once everyone has anted the dealer begins with the player on his or her left and deals two cards down and one card face up to each player. The player that has the lowest card face up begins the betting, known as the “bring in”. The betting goes around the table in clockwise fashion until every player has made their bet with each player either calling, raising the bet, or folding.

After this round of betting, the dealer deals the fourth card to every player that is still in the game, meaning they have not folded. Now, the player with the best hand showing begins the betting. Then the betting goes around the table again with players once again calling, raising, or folding.

The next card or fifth card is dealt to each player face up with another round of betting as before. Then the sixth card is dealt face up with a round of betting. The last card or seventh card is dealt by the dealer to each player that has not folded face down.

The players after this have another round of betting and then show their hand, known as the showdown. The winner is the one with the best 5-card hand. Each card that is dealt is also referred as street such as Fourth Street instead of the fourth card and so on until reaching Seventh Street or the seventh card.

Of course, this is just the basic game play, in order to play poker well, you must learn all about the rankings and what hands beat which hands. You may think that you have a great hand just because you have 2 pair, however, if another player has 3 of a kind or a full house, you will loose. The better you are at learning the rankings and the way in which to play the various types of poker games, the more likely you are to bring in some winnings.



Floyd

Enjoying Caribbean Stud Poker - Part 3 of 4

Saturday, January 17th, 2009
Will Win asked:


Up to this point we’ve talked about Caribbean Stud Poker’s layout basics, typical hand play and some other entry-level information. Today, we’ll continue the discussion by venturing into payouts. After all, that’s the best part, right? We’ll start with Caribbean Stud Poker hand payouts and finish with a segment about progressive payouts. Let’s get started.

As you know from our previous segment, the dealer must qualify for you to be paid on your raise wagers. Antes are always paid even money. Here’s a handy listing of what raise wagers are paid when the dealer’s hand rank is an Ace-King or better.

One Pair: paid even money. Ex: $10 is paid $10.

Two Pair: paid 2x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $20.

Three of a Kind: paid 3x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $30.

Straight: paid 4x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $40.

Flush: paid 5x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $50.

Full House: paid 7x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $70.

Four of a Kind: paid 20x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $200.

Straight Flush: paid 50x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $500.

Royal Flush: paid 100x your raise. Ex: $10 is paid $1,000.

Here’s an important note. These payouts are not globally applied. Each casino may have different payouts. For instance, I once saw an online casino that paid 200x on the Royal Flush and 6x on a Full House. Shop around. That’s vital for the progressives.

The real money in Caribbean Stud Poker is won via the progressives. These payouts vary from casino to casino, so shop around to find the best deal. Some will pay less on a Royal Flush, but a lot more on a Four of a Kind. Also keep in mind that these payouts are always made regardless of the dealer’s hand. It’s $1 per hand to get locked into the progressives.

Here’s an example setup for a Caribbean Stud Poker progressive:

Flush: Payout of $50 - $100.

Full House: Payout of $75 - $250.

Four of a Kind: Payout of $100 - $500 (see, shop around).

Straight Flush: 10% of the current progressive jackpot amount. Ex: progressive is $50,000 so the payout would be $5,000.

Royal Flush: The big boy. It pays the whole progressive.

If you read any decent book on casino gambling, it will probably tell you that the progressive is a bad wager. But, they obviously haven’t been sitting at a Caribbean Stud Table and received a Four of a Kind only to see the dealer not qualify. To me, it’s a small price to pay for insurance.

In our last part of this series, we’ll talk about hand rankings and perhaps look at some strategy for winning.



Bradley

Enjoying Caribbean Stud Poker - Part 4 of 4

Friday, January 16th, 2009
Will Win asked:


It’s time to close out our series on Caribbean Stud Poker. We’ve looked at layout issues, hand play, the basics of the game and payouts. In this final installment, I’ll go over hand rankings and briefly touch on strategy.

It’s not wise to play the game without knowing how it works, so let’s go over hand rankings. If you’ve played poker of any kind, you probably know this already. It’s fairly simple. Here is the Caribbean Stud Poker hand-ranking list. I’m starting with the lowest hands first.

High Card: This is the hand you have when you can’t make any hand. Your highest card is your hand.

One Pair: Having two cards of the same rank, such as two Kings.

Two Pair: When you have two cards of one rank and two more cards of an additional ranks, such as two Kings and two Queens.

Three of a Kind: When you have three cards of the same rank, such as three Jacks.

Straight: When you have five cards all in sequential orders, such as 6, 7, 8 ,9 and 10. As a note, the Ace can be used before the 2 or after the King.

Flush: All five of your cards are the same suit, such as five clubs.

Full House: You have three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, such as three Jacks and two Aces.

Four of a Kind: Four of your cards are the same rank, such as four 7s.

Straight Flush: This is the same as the straight except all five cards are the same suit, such as hearts.

Royal Flush: This is the granddaddy of the them all. It’s a straight flush that has the cards 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. Think the progressive is a waste of $1? Imagine you have this hand and the dealer doesn’t qualify. You’d be paid even money on your ante bet only.

Let’s close with a little strategy talk. Strategy is all over the place in this game. Since the dealer doesn’t qualify a good amount of time, I have two strategy ideas to present with you.

First, if you’re playing $10 or higher hands, bet the progressive. At $10 antes, the progressive is a 10% add-on, so it’s not too much. And you’ll be glad when you have a decent hand and the dealer doesn’t qualify.

Second, stay in hands when you have a hand. If all you have is a high card, you have to pray the dealer doesn’t qualify. I don’t think it’s worth risking 2x your ante for a shot in the dark.

Either way, Caribbean Stud Poker is a great game to play. I hope you’ll give it a try.



Terri