Caribbean Stud Poker Common Mistakes

By
J. Phillip Vogel

Folding on all pairs under 5. Since the call bet is twice the amount of the ante, some players refuse to play low pairs. Too risky, they say. Statistically, however, 44% of all hands will not even contain a qualifying set - no pair, no ace-king, nothing. Another 6.08% of the time, the dealer will be holding an ace-king-x-x-x, (where x represents unpaired, non-suited, non-sequential cards.). The result: even the weakest pair will beat the dealer 50.08% of the time

Calling on an ace-king, but folding on a pair of twos. This method of playing is based on the misguided notion that if they player doesn't have a pair, then neither does the dealer. Flat out, it's a bad move. As I've already shown a pair of twos will beat the dealer 50.08% of the time, while ace-king hands will fall within the range of 44% to 50.08%, depending on the strength of the remaining cards in the hand.

Playing Ace-Queen-X-X-X hands. Inexperienced players call on this hand because under the right circumstances it can look powerful. For example, the hand A-Q-J-10-9, (unsuited) looks strong, but is in reality worthless. Since the only way this hand can win is for the dealer to have nothing, there is no good reason why this play should ever be made.

Betting all hands. Some players routinely "bluff" the dealer, regardless of the strength of their hand. Since the dealer will have a qualifying hand 56% of the time, even a large bankroll cannot withstand the constant draw.

Now that you know what not to do, it's time to see what you can do to reduce the edge to the lowest amount.Making The Call Bet