═══ 1. How to play Caribbean Stud Poker ═══ IglooSoft Presents The Compulsive Gambler's Toolkit Caribbean Stud Poker Caribbean Stud Poker is a popular game at lose cruises and other casinos all over the world. Its fast paced, allows the player some control over the outcome, and caters to the most reckless wagers imaginable. For more information, select from one of the following topics:  How to begin  Rules of the game  Progressive  Statistics  Payout table  Strategy  Hotkey assignments ═══ 2. How to begin ═══ Just like the real thing, you need money to play. Unless there is money left over from a previous game session, you'll need to add money. Press Add $100 to add money to the bank. Similarly, when finished, you may cash out by pressing Cash Out after play. Add $100 and Cash Out simulate the process of buying and cashing in chips. All monetary activity is recorded in the statistics screen. This allows the player to track how much has been lost. Once the bank has enough money (three times the current ante setting), the player may ante. Press the Ante button to begin play. If the player wishes to play the progressive jackpot, $1 may be wagered by pressing the Progressive button. Clicking the Auto button on allows the progressive to be played automatically during every hand, for the hard core gambler. Once a hand is dealt, the player may decide to bet or fold. If the player is unsure, strategy assistance is available via the Advice button. See also:  Rules of the game  Strategy ═══ 3. Rules of the game ═══ In this game, you are the lone player against Sarah the dealer. Play begins when the player antes a wager by placing it into the ante field of the table. At this point, the player may also optionally wager for the progressive jackpot by placing $1 into the progressive slot above the ante field. Sarah then deals five cards to the player, and five to herself, one of which is dealt face up. At this point, the player may opt to fold, resulting in an unconditional forfeit of the ante, or the player may bet. If the player chooses to bet, a bet amount equal to twice the original ante is placed in the bet field, just below the ante field. Sarah then reveals the remaining four dealer cards. The dealer must have at least an ace/king hand or better to play. This is known as a qualifying hand. If the dealer does not have ace/king or better, the player (assuming the player bet) recovers both ante and bet, plus an additional ante. If the dealer holds a qualifying hand, it is compared to the player's hand. If the player's hand is higher, the player receives, in addition to the original ante and bet, another ante, plus a multiple of the bet based on the value of the player's hand (See Payout Table) If Sarah's hand is better than the player's hand, she takes both the ante and the bet, leaving the player with nothing. In the unlikely event of a push (tie), the ante and bet are returned to the player. At this time, if the player put $1 in for the progressive jackpot and the hand was good enough, money is paid from the jackpot to the player according to the payout table (provided the player did not fold). ═══ 4. Progressive Jackpot ═══ On any given hand, the player may opt to wager $1 on the progressive jackpot. All hands above a straight pay from the jackpot, either a fixed sum or a percentage of the total jackpot. In a real casino, the jackpot usually increases at a rate determined by the number of players playing the progressive jackpot. For this single player game, the jackpot grows continuously. See also: Payout Table ═══ 5. Statistics ═══ To assist in determining strategy, certain game statistics are recorded and stored in the game's profile. They are shown from the statistics screen, available by pressing the Stats button. See also: Strategy ═══ 6. Payout table ═══ If the player bets and wins the hand, the original ante and bet are returned to the player along with an additional ante and a multiple of the bet as defined below. If the player plays the optional Progressive Jackpot and bets on the hand, the player is also paid according to the Jackpot column. The progressive jackpot is paid regardless of whether the player actually won the hand. ┌────────────────────┬────────┬────────────┐ │Hand │ Payout │Progressive │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Royal Flush │ 100:1 │ 100% │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Straight Flush │ 50:1 │ 10% │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Four of a Kind │ 20:1 │ $500 │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Full House │ 7:1 │ $100 │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Flush │ 5:1 │ $50 │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Straight │ 4:1 │ │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Three of a Kind │ 3:1 │ │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Two Pair │ 2:1 │ │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Pair │ 1:1 │ │ ├────────────────────┼────────┼────────────┤ │Ace/King │ 1:1 │ │ └────────────────────┴────────┴────────────┘ ═══ 7. Strategy ═══ With a house advantage of almost 4%, the best strategy is not to play. But if you must play, consider the following:  If you have nothing, fold. Since the dealer is more likely to qualify than not, betting causes you to lose three times your ante more often than you might win your ante by betting.  If you have an Ace/King: - Bet if the dealer shows two through queen, and you have the dealer's show card. - Bet if the dealer shows an ace or king, and you have at least a jack. - Fold otherwise.  If you have a pair of twos, threes, or fours: - Bet if your pair is higher than the dealer's show card. - Bet if the dealer's show card is an ace or a king. - Bet if you hold one of the dealer's show cards. - Fold otherwise.  Bet anytime you have a pair of fives or better. ═══ 8. Hotkey assignments ═══ The following functions have assgined hotkeys:  Ante - A  Bet - B  Fold - F  Advice - V  Statistics - S  Help - F1  Exit - ESC or X