Casino Stud poker is the British version of what is commonly known as Caribbean stud poker. It was dubbed Caribbean stud poker simply because it is a favorite game of vacation-goers on cruise ships and those holidaying in exotic casinos in the islands. It is similar to blackjack but many consider it to be more exciting than Blackjack because the payouts are more generous.  For instance if you get a straight flush it pays 50 to 1. Even the payout for holding two pairs is quite generous at 2:1.

The casino stud poker table resembles a blackjack table but the markings on the felt are a little different.  There are two circles, one marked raise and the other marked ante. You put your wager in the circle marked ante. The amount you can bet (the minimums and maximums are usually posted at the table.) In uk online casinos the minimum and maximum wagers are usually marked clearly as part of the software.

Play opens with the dealer dealing five cards to each player and five cards to himself. The dealer reveals one of his cards to the players. In a live casino game the players examine their hands and make one of two decisions:

1. If you have a potential winning hand, you signify that you are raising your bet by laying your cards face down in the raise box and place double your initial stake on top of your cards. If your first bet was £10, the raise is £20, making a total of £30 bet.

2. If you feel your hand is likely to be a loser, you signal that you are forfeiting your wager, by pushing your cards towards the dealer.

After all of the players have decided whether to raise or fold, the dealer turns his other four cards over. The rule of Casino Stud is that the dealer must have an ace-king or better for his hand to qualify slight different than casino poker. If the dealer's hand does not qualify, the dealer simply pays out all the players still in the hand their ante stake, at even money, without comparing their actual hands.

If the dealer's hand qualifies, he then turns the players' hands over, one by one. If your hand beats the dealer's hand, you win. If the dealers' hand beats your hand, you lose. Ties are a push. One of the interesting twists to playing Casino Stud poker is that you can still beat the dealer even if you don’t have a weak hand. This is because if the dealer does not have a qualifying hand then he automatically loses and has to pay the ante.

It is a general rule that players should not disclose their hands to each other during the play. It is definitely frowned open in online casinos even though there is no disadvantage to the casino if you do.  The fact that it is so tempting to chat about your hand with another player is why many online casinos do not have a chat attached to an online game of Casino Stud Poker.