Web poker has become world famous recently, with televised championships and celebrity poker game events. Its popularity, though, stretches back quite a bit further than its television scores. Over the years several variations on the first poker game have been created, including a few games that are not quite poker anymore. Caribbean stud poker is one of the above-mentioned games. Despite the name, Caribbean stud poker is more closely affiliated with chemin de fer than long-standing poker, in that the gamblers bet against the bank instead of each other. The winning hands, are the established poker hands. There is little bluffing or other types of deceptiveness. In Caribbean stud poker, you are required to pay up prior to the dealer announcing "No further bets." At that instance, both you and the casino and of course all of the other players receive five cards each. After you have seen your hand and the dealer’s 1st card, you must either make a call bet or surrender. The call bet’s amount is akin to your beginning bet, meaning that the stakes will have increased two fold. Surrendering means that your bet goes instantly to the dealer. After the bet comes the showdown. If the house doesn’t have ace/king or greater, your wager is given back, with an amount in accordance with the ante. If the casino has a hand with ace/king or greater, you succeed if your hand defeats the dealer’s hand. The dealer pony’s up money equal to your bet and controlled odds on your call bet. These odds are:
- Equal for a pair or high card
- 2-1 for two pairs
- three to one for 3 of a kind
- four to one for a straight
- 5-1 for a flush
- seven to one for a full house
- 20-1 for a four of a kind
- fifty to one for a straight flush
- one hundred to one for a royal flush