Caribbean Draw Poker Presentation

Introduction

Caribbean Draw Poker is a variation of traditional poker with large payouts for high ranking hands. The game is available with Microgaming and RealTime Gaming softwares. The low house edge per wager makes it a useful alternative, when blackjack and full pay video poker are not available.

Rules and Play

After placing a bet, the player and dealer are dealt a 5-card poker hand. Only 1 of the dealer's 5 cards is visible. The player then must choose to either fold and lose the hand or raise. The raise bet must be 2x the ante bet size, so the total bet following a raise is 3x the initial bet size. If the player raises, then he may discard up to 2 cards from his hand and take replacements from the deck.

The dealer may also discard up to 2 cards from his hand. The dealer's discard selections are done according to a simple preset strategy, which is usually keep 5-card pat hands; discard one with two pair, 4 to a flush, or 4 to a straight; discard two with 3 of a kind; and discard the two lowest remaining cards with one pair or a high card.

After the discards are complete, the hands are compared. There are several possible payouts.

-If the dealer has a pair of eights or better, the dealer "qualifies." If the dealer does not qualify (regardless of whether the player wins or loses the hand), then winnings on the ante bet are paid and the raise bet is returned.

-If the player loses the hand and the dealer qualifies, then the player loses the full bet.

-If the player wins the hand and the dealer qualifies, then the player wins the ante bet, and the raise bet pays according to a listed paytable.

Strategy

The fold/raise portion of strategy for Caribbean Draw is quite simple -- always raise. The EV of poor hands always exceeds the EV of folding (-1) because the dealer fails to qualify on approximately half of hands. The discard strategy is more complicated and summarized in the strategy table below. Select the lowest numbered choice that you can form with your initial hand, then discard the remaining cards when possible. With pairs, you cannot discard all 3 of the remaining cards, so instead discard the two lowest ranked cards. "High card" means ranked 8 or higher, and "4 to an outside straight" means 4 sequential cards without gaps, such as 5/6/7/8. This strategy table is based on the standard paytable.

1. Royal Flush / Straight Flush / 4 of a Kind / Full House / Flush
2. Suited KQJT
3. Straight / 3 of a Kind / Two Pair
4. 4 to Straight Flush
5. Pair QQ-AA
6. 4 to Flush with 2+ high cards
7. Pair JJ
8. 4 to Flush with 0-1 high cards
9. Pair 99-TT
10. 4 to Outside Straight with 2+ high cards
11. 3 to Royal Flush