There’s no denying that the online poker craze is here to stay. The WSOP Main Event sees well over 6,000 entries. Millions of people around the world play online poker. And it seems like there’s a major million-dollar tournament happening somewhere in the Caribbean every day. But you don’t need mad bluffing skills to win at poker, especially if you play against the dealer.

Real money Caribbean Stud Poker combines the excitement of your favorite communal poker game with the thrill of busting the house. And you don’t have to head to a live casino to play it. When you choose to play Caribbean Stud Poker online for real cash, you’ll be able to enjoy all these benefits:

• Play for as little as $1 per hand—that’s way less than the typical $10 a land-based casino demands
• Don’t worry about being bluffed out of a hand—it’s just you and the dealer, best hand wins
• You can fold if you don’t like your hand

Intrigued by real money Caribbean Stud Poker? There’s way more to enjoy, so read on for all the important details and then hop online and try and bust the house.

Who has the better hand? You with a King high and a 10 kicker? Or the other guy with a King high and a Jack kicker? If you said the other guy, you’re right—but only if you’re playing poker against other players.

But if you’re playing Caribbean Stud Poker for real money, you’re actually way ahead. That’s because in order for the dealer to have a valid hand, he needs at least an Ace/King. Anything less means you automatically win, even if you’re holding a worse hand.

That’s what makes real cash Caribbean Stud Poker so fun and rewarding. If you’re new to the game, it’s fairly easy to understand. Caribbean Stud Poker online uses the stud card ranking system. Need a quick refresher? This is how cards rank from lowest to highest:

• High Card
• One Pair
• Two Pairs
• Three of a Kind
• Straight
• Flush
• Full House
• Four of a Kind
• Straight Flush
• Royal Flush

Your goal is to have the better hand, but you’ll also have the chance to walk away if you don’t like what you see. Playing Caribbean Stud Poker for real money features two bets—an initial Ante bet and a Call bet. The Ante bet is mandatory, but the Call bet is only required if you’re confident in your hand. The Call bet is often called a Raise bet, but it varies from site to site.

Start by placing your Ante bet. When you’re ready, click the Deal button. The system will deal you out five cards, all face up. The dealer will receive five cards, but only one is exposed. The other four are face down.

Using the one known card as your guide, your job is to decide whether you think you have the better hand. Unlike video poker where you get to swap cards, you need to work with the cards you’re dealt. If you like your hand, you may call by clicking the Call button. An extra bet of double your Ante is placed in the Call area of the table. You essentially have triple your original bet on the table. So, if you had placed a $1 bet in the ante, you’d have $3 total (a $1 ante and a $2 call).

At this point, the dealer’s hand is revealed. If your hand is greater than the dealer’s, you’ll get paid out 1:1 on your ante bet and you’ll get paid out according to the pay schedule for your Call bet. The higher your hand, the more real money you’ll earn.

If the dealer does not have at least an Ace/King, you’ll automatically win. However, you’ll only get paid out for your ante.

Caribbean Stud is a high stakes game, and regular gamblers like to know they are playing quality games at quality sites. This is why it's advisable to have a set of features or requirements you know you prefer to have in your online casino experience before you pick your site. Below are some features that expert gamers like to see, with explanations of how they will help your game:

Find a casino with the highest payout percentage around

The payout percentage is the ratio a casino will pay out in winnings on the amount of money wagered. Say a payout rate is 98%, that means the casino pays $98 in winnings for every $100 wagered. What's left makes up the casino's profit.

Remember that 98% will not be the rate you will get on any individual bet you make. This is because the figure is an average for the whole casino, worked out over several months and over thousands of players. It's always best to pick the casinos with the highest percentage as this will boost your chances of higher wins.

Casinos are competing for your business, and will likely offer a sign up bonus when you join. These tend to come in the form of a percentage based on your first deposit with the casino.

Receiving a bonus before you start playing is great for your casino bankroll, and is a real boost to your winning chances as you start your real money gaming.

It's important to remember that bonuses almost always come with playthrough or wagering requirements. These will affect the amount of time or the kind of games you can use your bonus money on. It's always better to check the requirements first so that you can sign up for a bonus you will be able to make the most of at the gaming tables.

We’re big poker fans, so when we saw that a lot of online casinos were offering real money Caribbean Stud Poker, we got excited. But not every casino offers such a great experience.

A lot of Internet casinos are slots casinos first and foremost. That means that while their slot machine offerings are phenomenal, their table games are a bit lacking. If you’re a table game fan, you want to play somewhere that offers a realistic experience.

As huge table games fans, we’ve rated and reviewed virtually every online casino on the planet. We’ve put each site through the ringer, rating customer service, game selection, quality of software, graphics, speed, gameplay, deposit options, withdraw times, and more.

In order to rate each real money Caribbean Stud Poker website, we follow very strict criteria. We use a 25-step review process every single time. This helps us put together a rating that accurately reflects what players should expect.

Only gambling site that scored top marks have made our list, so when you choose to play with one of our picks, you know you’re choosing a place you can truly trust.

What to hold and what to drop

A game with two bets might seem a little complex, especially when you’re facing off against a dealer’s hand where just one card is exposed. But if you want to increase your chances of winning real cash at Caribbean Stud Poker, you can follow basic strategy.

Never fold a pair and always fold anything less than AK is great advice to follow, especially if you’re a beginner Caribbean Stud Poker player.

Playing multiple betting types

Did you know you can reduce the house edge by up to 2.3% just by following a specific strategy when you’re holding Ace, King? Here’s what you should always keep in mind in these situations:

If the dealer is showing an Ace or a King and you’re holding A,K,Q or A,K,J, go ahead and call. There’s a good chance that even if the dealer is holding A,K, your hand will beat it. You should also consider calling if you’ve got A,K and the dealer is showing a 2 through a Queen, and assuming that you’re holding one of those cards, too. What’s more, if the dealer is showing 2 through 5 and you’ve got A,K,Q, or A,K,J, go ahead and call.

While the game might be a fairly recent addition to the casino and gambling world, there are a lot of stories to tell about the development of Caribbean Stud. We offer you a brief guide here.

• Caribbean Stud Poker was introduced by casinos in an effort to lure more players to the tables - players who were more interested in poker rooms and home games over table games.
• The origins of the game are up for debate.
• Officially, James Suttle gets credit for creating the game. It’s said that he acquired the game rules from a fellow poker player in Vegas back in the ‘80s, and then sold the concept to Danny Jones, who owned a casino in Aruba.
• The rights to the game were eventually bought by a Nevada distribution company known as Mikhon Gaming.
• Other casino players claim they played Caribbean Stud Poker on a cruise ship in Aruba prior to Suttle’s invention of the game.