Caribbean Stud is one of the most recent casino games

The increasing availability of online casinos to the Irish gambling public has had two significant consequences. First there is the introduction of an enormous range of new casino games for us to play, and then there is the increasing number of new casino gamblers who may have no previous casino experience at all. It has to be said that most of the new casino games are in the form of new slots, but there is one new online casino card game which appeals to both experienced casino gamblers and new casino games players lacking experience. Caribbean Stud is one of the few very recent casino card games, having been introduced in the 1980’s, and provides a very simple introduction to both poker and blackjack amongst the more established casino games. The similarity with poker is that each hand comprises five cards, with the ranking of each hand in line with the standard poker rules. Unlike most forms of poker however, Caribbean Stud is only played at an online casino against the dealer as in blackjack, with an initial ‘ante bet’ placed before the hands are dealt, and just one more betting round before the cards are shown. This means that inexperienced players will not be dragged into an ever increasing pot which may endanger their budget. The player and the dealer are both dealt five cards, with the dealer having four cards face down. The player must then decide whether they have a winning hand and either place a bet at least equal to the ante, or surrender. It should be noted that the minimum size of the ante bet is defined by the minimum table stake. The only other slight complication in the rules of this very simple casino game is that the dealer must have what is called a qualifying hand, ie at least Ace, King high. If the dealer does not have a qualifying hand, the second bet is returned to the player and the ante paid out at even money. Caribbean Stud is good fun and an excellent introduction to other casino card games.