About Online Poker - This is the place to learn all about the Caribbean Poker game in the how to play section.

How to play the game

The game begins with every player placing an ante (a fixed wager).
Then, the dealer gives out five cards to every player, including himself. One of the dealer's cards is put on the table faced up, and the rest are put faced down.

The players look at their personal cards and try to decide whether they have a chance of beating the dealers hand. If a player thinks his chances are low, he can fold. A fold makes the player lose his ante for good. If a player wants to have a go at winning, he must bet double the amount of the ante.

After all the bets are made, the dealer unfolds his cards. If the dealer's hand is lower than a single Ace and King hand, the players win automatically. They will get back their ante and bet plus a sum equal to the ante.

If the dealer's hand is higher than an Ace/King single, the two hands will be compared. If the dealer has the higher ranking hand, the player loses both his ante and his raise. If, however, the player has the higher ranking hand, he will get back his ante, plus a sum equivalent to the ante, plus a payoff according to the following chart:

Hand	Payoff
Royal flush	100 to 1
Straight flush	50 to 1
Four of a kind	20 to 1
Full house	7 to 1
Flush	5 to 1
Straight	4 to 1
Three of a kind	3 to 1
Two pair	2 to 1
Pair	1 to 1
Ace/King	1 to 1

History
The origin of Caribbean poker is, how surprising, in the Caribbean Islands. It was played both on the Islands and on cruise ships that went to and from the Islands.

When casinos in Las Vegas started playing Caribbean poker, they added the progressive Jackpot bet to attract more players. It has since become part of other gambling scenes, like in Nevada.

Caribbean poker is actually a version of a three card game played in Europe in the 16th century, called "Primera" in Spanish. In Primera players would bet on the rank of their hand, which could have been a pair, three of a kind or three of the same suit (called "flux", or today flush).

In the !8th century, Primera influenced and was influenced by other famous card games: the English Brag. The German Pochen and the French Poque. It is then that those games became five-card games who use bets and bluffing.

The French who came and settled Louisiana brought the game to America sometime in the 18th century, and from Louisiana it spread along the Mississippi and into the West. Later on it became one of the leading games of classical Western movies.

In America the game was played with a full deck, not including jokers. Descriptions of the game can be found in game books starting from the mid 19th century.

Both the number of betting rounds and the ranking system have altered through the years. Straight and Flush hands were incorporated to the ranking system later than the other hand ranks.