Poker Versions

Texas Hold'em

Objective : The best possible five card poker hand, using any combination of hole cards and community cards, wins the pot.

Betting Rounds

All remaining players must use one of the following choices at the showdown:

There are four betting rounds in Texas Hold'em.

Bets and raises on the first two betting rounds are set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. In a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $2 for the first two rounds.

Bets and raises on the last two betting rounds are set at the higher limit of the stakes structure. In a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $4 for the last two rounds.

Four bets per player during any particular round is the maximum. This would consist of (1) a bet, (2) a raise, (3) a re-raise, and (4) a cap. Once the pot is capped, players will have only the option of calling or folding. There is no limit on the amount of raises once the hand becomes heads-up.

Dealer Button

In Texas Hold'em a disk called the dealer-button is used to indicate the dealer of each hand.

The dealer button moves clockwise after a hand has been completed to the next active player and this player will be playing the button for that game. The player to the left of the button is first to receive a card and is required to post a small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower limit bet rounded down to the nearest dollar. The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind. The big blind is equal to the lower limit bet.

The blinds are live bets and have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes back around to their position. After the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act.

Omaha Hold'em

Objective : the best possible five card poker hand, using exactly two hole cards and three community cards, wins the pot.

Betting Rounds

All remaining players must use their two pocket cards and the three boardcards.

Rules for Betting

There are four betting rounds in Omaha Hold'em.

Bets and raises on the first two betting rounds are set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. In a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $2 for the first two rounds.

Bets and raises on the last two betting rounds are set at the higher limit of the stakes structure. In a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $4 for the last two rounds.

Four bets per player during any particular round is the maximum. This would consist of (1) a bet, (2) a raise, (3) a re-raise, and (4) a cap. Once the pot is capped, players will have only the option of calling or folding. There is no limit on the amount of raises once the hand becomes heads-up.

Dealer Button

In Omaha Hold'em a disk called the dealer-button is used to indicate the dealer of each hand.

The dealer button moves clockwise after a hand has been completed to the next active player and this player will be playing the button for that game. The player to the left of the button is first to receive a card and is required to post a small blind. The small blind is equal to half the lower limit bet rounded down to the nearest dollar. The player to the left of the small blind is required to post the big blind. The big blind is equal to the lower limit bet.

The blinds are live bets and have the option of checking, calling, raising or folding when the betting action comes back around to their position. After the flop and after each subsequent betting round, the first active player left of the button is first to act.

Seven-Card Stud

Objective: The best five card poker hand, out of seven cards, wins the pot.

Players may use any 5 of their 7 cards to make their best hand.

Betting Rules

All players must first ante before they receive their initial cards. There are five betting rounds in a complete game of 7-Card Stud, ante not included.

On the first round of betting, the low card by suit is required to initiate action with a bet equal to half the lower limit. Suits are ranked: spades (highest), hearts, diamonds, clubs. On subsequent rounds, the high hand on board initiates betting action. If hands are tied, the player to the left of the dealer acts first. In all cases, the dealer will inform the players as to who acts first.

Each bet and raise during the first two rounds of betting is set at the lower limit of the stakes structure. For example in a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $2 for the first two rounds. The exception to this rule is if any player displays a pair with their 2 face-up cards on 4th Street. In this circumstance, all players have the option to bet either the lower limit or the higher limit. If a player bets the higher limit, then all subsequent raises must be made at the higher limit.

Each bet and raise during the last three rounds of betting is set at the higher limit of the stakes structure. For example in a $2/$4 game, all bets and raises are $4 for the last three rounds.

The maximum allowable number of bets per player during any particular betting round is four. This would consist of (1) a bet, (2) a raise, (3) a re-raise, and (4) a cap. Once the pot is capped, players will have only the option of calling or folding. There is no limit on the amount of raises once the hand becomes heads-up.

Mississippi Seven-Card Stud

Objective : The best five card poker hand, out of seven cards, wins the pot.

Starting and raising requirements in Mississippi are about the same as seven-card stud, with some marginal hands being made playable by the two card flop: high pairs decrease in profitability, while straights and flushes improve. Small pairs with kickers do better against the high pairs, but lose more often to straights and flushes, so they remain about the same. Rolled-up trips occur in 1/424 hands. Mississippi is playable (in the last-card-down limit-betting version) on any seven-card stud simulator by turning off all fourth-street betting.

Betting structures: Half-pot, pot-limit and no-limit betting: in big-bet (i.e., non-limit) games, all forms of stud require an ante from each player, with the highest card or hand speaking first in all rounds of play: in the first round the high card must either bet or fold, in later rounds the high hand can either bet or check. The initial bet size is at the discretion of the opener and can usually be as small as one ante, or up to the maximum bet size allowed in the form used: i.e., half the total antes in half-pot, the total antes in full-pot and as much as you wish in no-limit.

Limit betting structures: there is an ante, a compulsory bring-in from the low card and bets typically double for the last two rounds, though this can be varied according to player's tastes. The bets are usually capped at three per round, except in head-to-head pots. (There is a good case for doubling the bet again in the last round of all limit betting games - or even in every round - to increase the effect of bluffing, but that's another story.)

5 Card stud

Start Playing

Each player must ante, before receiving any cards. The amount of the ante depends on the table limits, but is usually a percentage of the lower limit.

Initial Deal

Each player is then dealt one card face down (hole card) and one card face up (up card). The player with the lowest up card brings in the betting. The betting follows the same structure as Seven Card Stud, with 1 bet and 3 raises giving a maximum of four bets.

Third Street

After betting has equalised, i.e. all players have bet the same amount, then each player is dealt another card face up. The player with the two strongest up cards starts the betting at the lower limit. If the strongest hand shows a pair, then the player has the option to start the betting at the higher limit. Betting continues with each player having the option to fold, call, raise or check if no money has been bet.

Fourth Street

This is identical to the third street except that all bets are at the higher limit.

Fifth Street

All players will now have five cards, one face down and four face up. A final round of betting takes place, and after all bets are equalised there is a showdown. The last player to show strength with a bet or raise, is the first person to show their hand. The highest hand wins the pot.

Video Poker Games

Winning Hands

Winning hands for each Video Poker game are outlined as follows:

Jacks Or Better

Deuces Wild

A normal 52-card deck is used, Deuces (cards with a value of two) are used to create winning combinations.

All American

A normal 52-card deck is used

Joker Poker

Casino stud poker / Caribbean stud poker

After you have placed your ante you will be dealt 5 cards. The dealer will then receive four cards face down and one card face up.

At this point, you may either bet if you think you can win or surrender if you feel that your hand is inadequate. If you bet, your bet will equal twice your ante. If you surrender, you will lose your ante to the dealer and the hand will end.

The dealer will then reveal his cards, and one of two things will happen: he will either qualify, or he will fail to qualify. If the dealer does not have an Ace King combination or better in his hand, he will fail to qualify. (In other words, the dealer must have at least a pair if he does not have both an Ace and a King.)

If the dealer does not qualify, your will receive a 1 to 1 payoff on your ante and your bet will be returned to you. If the dealer does qualify, his hand will then be compared to yours.

If the dealer's hand beats yours, you will lose your ante and your bet. If the dealer's hand and your hand are equal, no money will be exchanged. If your hand beats the dealer's hand, you will win even money (1 to 1) on your ante, plus a payoff on your bet based on the quality of your hand (see below).

If the dealer and you both have the same hand (for example you have one pair and the dealer has one pair), then the winner is the one with the high ranking cards. If the dealer has one pair, for example jack, jack, ten, six and five and the player has one pair hand of jack, jack, ten, eight and four, then the player wins.

Your original ante and bet in addition to any winnings will be displayed as separate piles of chips.

Payoffs

The hand rankings in Caribbean poker are the standard poker rankings.

Strategy

Even if you were to play optimum strategy Casino Stud, you would only reduce the casino's edge to just over 5.2%. This doesn't make Casino Stud one of your better longer term bets. And its is not surprising to find that Casino Stud, while popular on cruises, is not a favorite amongst professional gamblers.

If you are hell bent on having a wager on Casino Stud, then you'll be happy to know that the basic strategy for this game is pretty simple, and its this:

- Raise on A-K-J-8-3 or better
- Fold otherwise.

A-K-J-8-3 is called the "beacon hand" and it's the lowest break-even hand in the game. While this won't make you a long-term winner, it will help slow your losses. It's the paying hands, a pair or better, that will net you the good wins. Trouble is that the dealer must qualify (A-K) in order for you to get the real payoffs and this only 54% of the time. This means that 46% of the time you'll only get paid for your Ante bet at 1-1 no matter how good your cards are.

Be Aware - there are many other variations on these rules make sure you read the rules at any new casino before playing