Casino Hold’em

The renewed surge of popularity of Poker has given rise to many versions of the game.  The different poker games available today each have slightly different rules and although there is almost always the same objective of holding a winning poker hand, the differences are significant enough that a player must first familiarize himself with the details specific to his chosen game.  2 of the newer and increasingly popular versions are Casino Hold’em and Caribbean Stud Poker.

Casino Hold’em

Casino Hold’em is a relatively new take on the most commonly played form of Poker today – Texas Hold’em.  Texas Hold’em, as played in popular tournaments like the WSOP is essentially a poker game whereby the players are dealt 2 cards face down.  Three cards are dealt face up on the table (the ‘board’) – these are community cards because all players can use them.  After further rounds of betting, a fourth and then a fifth card are dealt to the board.  The objective is to obtain a winning hand from a combination of the cards on the table and the two cards dealt to the player. 

Casino Hold’em rules deviate from Texas Hold’em in that it is only the player against the dealer, regardless of how many players are at the table.  This does mean that bluffing and many of the strategies employed in other types of poker are redundant, however it also means that the game is faster moving, exciting and easy to play. 

Players must place an ante bet before being dealt their 2 hole cards.  The dealer is also dealt 2 cards face down and 3 cards are dealt to the board.  After examining their cards the players must decide whether to fold or call.  In Casino Hold’em, the call must be twice the ante bet.  2 more cards are then dealt to the board and players and the dealer must make the best combination out of their own 2 cards and the 5 cards on the table.  The player wins if he has a higher valued poker hand than the dealer. 

The dealer must have a pair of 4’s or better to qualify.  If he doesn’t, then the ante bet will pay as per the ante pay table, and the call bet will push.

When the dealer qualifies and wins the hand, then the player loses both his ante and call bet.  If the dealer loses the hand, then the player will be paid on the ante according to the ante pay table, and the call bet pays 1 to 1.

Caribbean Stud Poker

Caribbean Stud Poker is another variant of the game that has become very popular in recent years.  As the name suggests, it originates from the Caribbean, where it was carried on cruise shops around the world. 

Similar to Casino Hold’em, Caribbean Poker is also a game against the dealer, rather than other players.   Once again, while this prevents opportunities for bluffing that is such a key element in other types of Poker, it does increase the pace of the game.   

Caribbean Stud Poker rules dictate that the game starts with the player placing an ante bet.  Players are then dealt 5 cards face down, and the dealer is dealt 4 cards face down, and 1 face up.  After inspecting their own cards and the dealers up card, players choose whether to fold (and loose the ante bet) or to raise by placing a bet worth double the ante bet.  The dealer must hold an ace and a king in order to qualify.  If he doesn’t, the player can only win even money on his ante bet, and the raise bet is a push.  If the dealer qualifies, then the objective is simply to beat the dealer’s hand.  Players should check the pay table of their chosen game to see the exact payout ratios for the various winning hands, this may vary in different online casino sites.

What gives Caribbean Stud Poker a unique sense of excitement is the progressive jackpot.  Regardless of whether the dealer has qualified, if the player holds one of several winning hands, and has placed a side bet on the progressive jackpot, he will collect a big win from the jackpot.  The jackpot is amounted from a small proportion of all bets on the game.  If a player holds a royal flush, he will win the entire jackpot, which can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Again, players should check the jackpot pay table specific to their chosen game to know exactly how much they are in with a chance of winning.