Caribbean Holdem
Texas Holdem poker exploded in popularity in the late 1990s and early 21st Century, with the emergence of online poker and televised poker tournaments. As a result of this “poker boom”, Caribbean Holdem was born. The game was created in order to provide a table game option with Texas Hold’em poker as the foundation. Caribbean Hold em combines the rules and formats of Caribbean Stud Poker and Texas Hold em to present a table popular with fans of both games, as well as general poker aficionados. It is sometimes referred to as “Casino Hold’em” in bricks and mortar casinos.
In Caribbean Holdem, the player must place an ante bet before the cards are dealt. Each player then receives 2 cards dealt face up. The dealers 2 cards are dealt face down. After this, the first 3 community cards (more commonly referred to as “the flop”), are dealt. The player must then decide whether to call or to fold. If he calls, he must make a wager equal to twice the ante bet. Once the player has made his decision, the remaining two community cards aka the turn and the river are dealt out and the dealer must then reveal his hand. To qualify* he must have a pair of fours or better. If the dealer does not qualify, the players wager is returned. He also receives even money on the ante bet, regardless of whether his hand is better than the dealers. For example, if the player has ace high, but the dealer has a pair of 2s, the player is still paid out on the ante bet as the dealer does not have a qualifying hand.
If the dealers hand qualifies, the player is paid even money on the “call” bet and receives odds on the ante bet according to the following pay table:
| Hand Value | Odds |
| Royal Flush | 200 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 20 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 10 to 1 |
| Full House | 3 to 1 |
| Flush | 2 to 1 |
| Straight (Run) | 1 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 1 to 1 |
| 2 Pair | 1 to 1 |
| 1 Pair (55 or better) | 1 to 1 |
If the dealers hand qualifies, but there is a tie, the hand is deemed a push and all bets are returned to player.
*Note: In Texas Holdem, the 5 community cards are all used in conjunction with the 2 dealt cards in order to make the best 5 card poker hand. If the community cards are 4
4
6
J
A and the dealer has 7 8, he still has a qualifying hand as he will use the pair of fours on the table to make the best possible 5 card hand; in this case AJ844. Listed below are the three best casinos for playing Caribbean Holdem online. Play now and see if Lady Luck is on your side.
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