What do you think about upon hearing the word ¨poker?¨ Old sailors gathered in festive moods over a wooden table slapping chips down? A group of college students parading around with booze in their hand about to call a Flush? High stakes gamblers at the Mirage casino ready to pounce on the dealer when the opportunity strikes? Poker is by far the most popular card game of all-time. It extends to many levels – having its own ¨World Series¨ on ESPN television and even its own job title (professional poker players do exist – when did you hear the same thing for Blackjack players?) Poker exceeds boundaries when it comes to pure entertainment – players sit at the table for hours playing this enjoyable game. Top partners at law firms set up poker tables in their meeting rooms after a long hard day at work to relax. It is played by everyone and everywhere.
The casino style Caribbean Stud Poker is a variation of the popular five card poker game. As the name indicates, it originated from the Caribbean islands and spread soon after to different regions of the world. Using one standard deck of playing cards, the game is started with a wager by the player. The dealer (common to a myriad of card games) then distributes five cards face down to each individual player. When the dealer deals his own cards, he leaves four face down and leaves the last card up for everyone to see. Based on a players hand, they make the decision over whether to stay in the game or ¨fold¨ – leave the game. Suppose they had a pair (more on hand payouts later) in their hand already – here, folding wouldn´t be a good idea, as they have a chance to win the game. Folding the game automatically eliminates the initial wag er placed, so there is no harm done to the players money. If the player stays in the game, he must double up (or double the initial bet.)
In order to win some delicious payouts, it all depends on the dealers hand. If the dealer has the higher valued hand, the dealers wins your money. If the player has the higher valued hand, the amount of money they win depends on the hand they are dealt. Hand payouts usually operate as follows:
- Royal Flush 100:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $200 gain)
- Straight Flush 50:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $100 gain)
- Four of a Kind 20:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $40 gain)
- Full House 7:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $14 gain)
- Flush 5:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $10 gain)
- Straight 4:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you an $8 gain)
- Three of a Kind 3:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $6 gain)
- Two Pair 2:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $4 gain)
- Pair 1:1 (a $2 dollar bet will net you a $2 gain)
Poker is flush with strategy opportunities. Professional poker players study behaviors and probabilities that certain cards and hands will appear based on the cards already dealt. It does really involve more than luck and winning can be hard to pull off. Poker players literally have the entire deck memorized so all moves must be exercised with caution.
