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Betting
Last time we spoke about Caribbean Stud Poker, we were just about to get paid. Let’s start out by looking at the payout structure in this game. There’s some great money to be won in this game—and it’s a blast to play.
Here’s a sample payout—I say sample, because some houses have their own payout scale.
One Pair – even money
Two Pair – pays 2 to 1
Three of a Kind – pays 3 to 1
Straight – pays 4 to 1
Flush – pays 5 to 1
Full House – pays 7 to 1
Four of a King – pays 20 to 1
Straight Flush – pays 50 to 1
Royal Flush – pays 100 to 1 and I’ve seen 200 to 1.
But it gets much, much better. These are just general payouts—remember, the dealer must qualify or you get nothing. If you’re playing the progressive jackpot in Caribbean Stud Poker and get one of these, you get paid no matter what.
Each house has their own payout structure (usually) for the Caribbean Stud Poker progressive, but here’s a general idea of what you’ll be paid:
Flush – expect $50 – $100
Full House – expect $75 – $250
Four of a Kind – expect $100 – $500
Straight Flush – usually pays 10% of the progressive.
Royal Flush – always pays 100% of the progressive.
It definitely pays, as you can see, to shop around. If you’re a Caribbean Stud Poker progressive player, check the jackpot. I’ve seen them as low as $7,000 and on up past $100,000. If you’re going to play the progressive in Caribbean Stud Poker, you might as well get paid really, really well when you hit.
Some books say that betting the progressive is a bad bet, because of the house advantage. I saw screw them. Get your head out of the stats book for two seconds and think about actually playing. Picture this poor scenario. You’ve laid out $25 as your ante. The five cards fly across to you. Wow, it’s a four of a kind! You happily put $50 out there as your raise. Remember, we’re talking 20-1 ($500) or better for this hand. But, oh no! The dealer has failed to qualify (up to 50% of the time) and now you’re handed $25 and a “oh, so sorry” comment. I don’t think so.
And since you did play the progressive, you not only get that $500+, you also get another $100+ from the Caribbean Stud Poker progressive payout. Double shot! That’s why I’d always play the progressive when I play.
That’s all for this installment of our Caribbean Stud Poker overview. When we meet next, I’m going to go over the ranking of hands.
Tags: Bet, Betting, Cards, Caribbean Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Full House, Game, Jackpot Poker, Money, Progressive Jackpot, Royal Flush, Straight Flush
Categories: Card Games, Poker, Strategies, Systems
Forged many years ago in the Caribbean and spread throughout the world via cruise ships, Caribbean Stud Poker is now a staple in any good casino. Games have come and gone in places, such as Vegas, but Caribbean Stud Poker locked on and never let go. It’s fun to play—even if the house advantage is a bit high. You can have fun playing this game online or in a regular casino.
Played with a single 52-card deck, each game of Caribbean Stud Poker accommodates up to seven players at a time. This is a game that is just fine when flying solo, but I like playing with many people. Online play is very fun and many online casinos offer solo play.
Let’s talk about the table for Caribbean Stud Poker. You’ll notice that there are four spots on the table. You’ll need to know these four spots to play. First, there’s the card area, which is where your cards will be placed each hand. Next is the Ante area, which is where your ante bet goes at the start of each hand. If you’re going to stay in a hand, you’ll be putting money in the Raise area. Sometimes this is called “Bet” on certain layouts, but it’s all the same. Finally, there’s the famous progressive slot. This is where your $1 goes if you want to be entered into the progressive jackpot.
So now that you know about the betting areas, let’s take a look at the action. As I kind of alluded to earlier, your first “action” will be to put some money in the Ante area. Each table has it’s own minimum wager—$5 and $10 minimums are most common. Once you put your ante bet down, you now need to decide if you want to be entered into the progressive jackpot. We’ll talk about this later in more detail. You can’t enter the progressive after the hand starts, so now is the time to do it.
Once you’ve anted up and played or passed on the progressive, it’s time to start the hand of Caribbean Stud Poker. The dealer will give you five cards—hopefully really good ones. The dealer will also get five cards and you’ll be shown one of those. We call this card the “upcard.”
Okay, you’ve got your hand. It’s now time to evaluate it and see how good or bad it is. If you’ve looked at your hand and found it to be poor, you can just fold and quit. You’ll lose your ante bet of course.
In the next part of our Caribbean Stud Poker overview, we’ll pick it up from here. We’ll start with your decision to stay in the hand.
Tags: Bet, Betting, Card Deck, Cards, Caribbean Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Casino Games, Game Poker, Minimum Wager, Money, Online Casinos, Progressive Jackpot, Progressive Slot
Categories: Card Games, Poker, Strategies, Systems
When we last left off, I had just started talking about the Banker in Pai Gow, which you can opt to play if you desire. Today, I’ll go more in detail about this fascinating part of the game.
All players in Pai Gow are betting against the bank. This isn’t to be confused with the dealer, because in Pai Gow, the bank could be a player. When it’s a player’s turn to be the bank, that player can accept or decline. Should the player decline, the house will always accept in place of the player.
To beat the Banker, both of your hands must beat the Banker’s hands. Any “copies,” which is a fancy name for hand ties, goes to the Banker. Some players work to just win one of the two hands, because that’s a push and no money exchanges hands.
An example of a “copy” would be your 2nd highest hand and the bank’s 2nd highest hand consisting of a Jack-Queen. The bank wins all copies.
Depending on the casino, the option to be the banker could rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise. If the table is full, you’ll get the opportunity to be the banker once per seven hands, because the dealer is included in that rotation. The casino earns a 5% commission from all winning hands.
The option to be the banker goes position to position. If the current offering position is vacant, the house gets to be the bank.
In order for you to be the bank, you’ll need enough money to cover all the bets on the table. If you really want to bank, but can’t afford it, the casino may offer to co-bank with you. Ask your dealer if this is an option. However, be advised that when you co-bank, you must set your hand in accordance with house rules.
Also, when you bank, the dealer will bet too. Don’t worry; the dealer isn’t going to dump all the chips of the casino on the table. The dealer’s bet will be equal to your last wager. If the amount is more than you’d like to bank against, see if the house will reduce it to the table minimum. It is possible.
Keep in mind that depending on the software, these little nuances can be lost when playing Pai Gow online. Also, banking may have less significance, because you don’t have any other players at the table.
Once the hand-when you are the banker-is over, the losers are taken and the winners paid. The house takes a 5% vig out of your net winnings. For instance, let’s say you paid out $200, but took in $500; your net winnings would be $300. The 5% vig that you’ll pay would be $15.
Being the banker is something you want to do as often as possible. In the long run, it’s the moneymaker. Again, another reason why you want other people at the table if you’re going to play Pai Gow online.
In the next part of our series, we’ll talk about setting your hand in Pai Gow.
Tags: Bet, Bets, Betting, Chips, Game, Hand Ties, Pai Gow, Two Hands, Wager
Categories: Card Games, Poker
In my last roulette vocabulary overview I covered the types and names of the bets; in this my second and final one I want to go over some of the most commonly used and heard terms that aren’t specifically bet names. Hope it helps!
A Cheva: This comes from the French, reflecting the origins of the game, and means a ’split bet’.
Action: This refers to the specific amount of money bet during a particular time period.
American Wheel: The reason that there is a differentiation between an American Wheel and a European Wheel is that the American wheel features the 00 position, whereas the European wheel does not.
Backtrack: The outer part of the wheel which the ball spins around that doesn’t move.
Bankroll: This is the whole amount of money that a player has to play with.
Bet on the Layout: This refers to a bet laid on the numbered part of the table; this is the same as an ‘inside bet’.
Carr’: Again, this comes from the French and means a corner bet.
Cheval: a split bet
Colonne: More French, this time referring to the betting on a column.
Croupier: The guy who runs the table.
En Prison: This is a rule that is only implemented in some casinos. It relates to even money bets, e.g. red/black, odd/even; if you make an even money bet and the wheel comes down on 0 or 00, if the En Prison rule is being implemented you may either retrieve half of your bet or you may leave it for the next spin. Should you leave it and the following spin falls on 0 or 00 it is lost. If the En Prison rule is not being used, the original bet is simply lost.
French Wheel: Same as a European wheel; differs from the American wheel because it doesn’t feature the 00 pocket.
Even Money: This is a way of referring to a 1:1 bet.
Inside Bet: This refers to any bet made on the ‘inside’ part of the table, in other words, single number bets, split bets, street bets, and corner bets.
La Partage: Exactly like the En Prison rule except that the option is only to retrieve half of the value for the bet; you may not leave it for the next spin.
Outside Bet: This refers to any bet made on the ‘outside’ part of the table, e.g. red or black, odd or even, high or low; it also includes dozen bets and column bets.
These are really just the basics of Roulette vocabulary, I hope that they provide a useful starting point, and once these have become familiar to you, you will be able to learn the more complicated concepts of roulette. Good Luck.
Tags: Amount Of Money, Backtrack, Bet, Betting, Casinos, Croupier, European Wheel, Game, Money Bets, Roulette, Wheel
Categories: Roulette
All casino games need a strategy which will shave the house edge and give the players a better chance of winning. However, not just any old strategy will do. Firstly, it needs to make sense for it to work. Secondly, it needs to suit the playing style of the user. And thirdly, it needs to reap financial returns. With this in mind, just how successful is the Martingale system?
For Martingale newbies this system is well known system both online and offline. It’s been gracing the felts at major casinos worldwide, and some players swear by it where as others chastise its unreliability. The system is based on the money that is bet and the possibility of winning back losses by upping stakes.
How it works is as follows: you select a table with the minimum stake that suits your pocket. You play your hand, betting the minimum stake only. If your hand wins then you bet the same amount again. If you lose you double the stake. This continues until you hit a win. Simple hey?
Now let’s look at the realities. The law of averages says that there in any gambling scenario involving two people (the player and the dealer), there is a 50/50 chance of winning. But the law of the casino knows better; the house always has the advantage. Therefore the house will win more hands than the player in an average scenario. This suggests the player will inevitably lose in the end.
Yet the doubling of the stake each time means that the returns are doubled also. The entire strategy is based upon this fact. Therefore, the doubling continues until a win is hit. When this happens, all the previous losses will be recuperated. The stake then returns to the original low amount and the player has a bigger bankroll. The player is ahead. Sounds like genius, correct?
Well, almost; spot the deliberate mistake yet? What the Martingale system does not account for is a complete loss of funds. The system requires a player to have a sturdy bankroll for it to work. Doubling after losses may make sense, but it is not necessarily as viable an option as you would expect. What happens if the player runs out of money before a win is hit? There will have been minimal time at the tables and you are out of the game.
The Martingale system has proved successful for many a player, but these players have a big balance initially to be able to make it work. The alternative for players with a shorter stack is to play at micro tables online. The downfall of this is that it is not going to win you big bucks…and assuming you’re in it for the money.
Tags: Bet, Betting, Casino Games, Casinos, Law Of Averages, Martingale System, Minimum Stake, Money
Categories: Roulette, Systems
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