Caribbean Stud Strategy
In Caribbean Stud, just like in any other casino game, you play against the house. And the house is a tough opponent if there is one, always laying you odds that are slightly in its own favor.
So, as usual, your best strategy is to reduce the house edge to a minimum and enjoy yourself enormously while playing.
When the dealer does not qualify
The dealer will make a qualifying hand more than half the time, so if your hand is worse than A-K high, you must fold. If you bet, you win one bet when the dealer doesn't qualify, but you lose three bets each time he does qualify. It could be argued that the dealer's up card gives away some information about his chances of making a qualifying hand. If the up card is an A or a K, the dealer is a little bit more likely to qualify. So how about folding when the up card is A or K, and betting when it is not? Well, unfortunately, the odds do not change enough to make this a winning play. Remember that the dealer doesn't need an A or a K to qualify; any pair will do the trick.
The more you fold...
When you hold an A-K high, your winning chances increase a little bit. Almost half the time, the dealer doesn't qualify, and some of the times when he does qualify, he will have A-K high as well, and there is a push. You neither win nor lose. You have even slightly better chances when the deal's up card is neither an A nor a K. Still, most Caribbean Stud players fold A-K high regardless of the dealer's up card.
The better it feels when you don't
If you have a pair or better, you should probably always play. Pairs win more than half the time, even if you include low pairs. Of course, higher pairs are better, and if you like to experiment you could try a strategy of folding low pairs if the dealer's up card is higher than your pair and doesn't match one of the cards in your hand.
The thing with jackpots
Caribbean Stud games often offer a progressive jackpot that you can bet on in addition to the hand being played. To win the jackpot, you must put this side bet in before the hand starts. However, the jackpot only pays off very strong hands that are hard to hit. If you don't hit one of those huge hands, your side bet is collected, regardless of whether or not you won the hand. Since the house edge is very high for the Jackpot side bet, you should avoid it if you're looking for a long and entertaining session of Caribbean Stud.