Tropical Stud
Tropical Stud or Tropical Stud Poker , also known as Caribbean Stud or Oasis Stud , is a variant of poker that is offered in casinos . In this type of game, the participants do not play against each other, but each participant plays against the casino for himself - in principle, it is therefore a two-person game .
The game
The following description follows the regulations of Casinos Austria .
The rules
Tropical Stud is played with a pack of 52-hand French playing cards at an approximately semicircular table, similar to Black Jack . The croupier ( dealer , banker ) sits on the straight side, opposite him there are seats for up to six players ( punchers ).
Before starting a game, each player places his stake - at least the minimum set by the casino , usually € 5, at most the so-called maximum , usually € 200 - on the field labeled ante . Then the croupier shuffles the cards, lets draw and gives each player five cards face down, he also gives himself five cards, four of them face down, the fifth face up.
Now each player checks his hand - the players are not allowed to show their cards to each other - and decides whether he should
- bet ( bet ) wants - in this case, he puts twice his ante on the field bet - or whether he
- get out ( fold ) wants - in this case, the player gives his cards face down to the dealer back and bet on the Ante field is drawn.
In addition, a player can exchange a card for an amount equal to the ante ( switch ).
When all players have made their decision, they put their cards back face down on the table and the croupier now reveals his hand. To stay in the game, the croupier must qualify , ie he must have a poker combination that has at least the rank of Ace-King (“ Dealer only plays with ace / king or higher ”).
If the croupier cannot qualify, the game is over, ie the casino folds . All punchers still in play receive a profit equal to their stake on the ante field.
If the croupier can qualify, the casino goes with ( call ) and each hand is compared separately with that of the croupier.
- If the croupier's hand is higher than that of the player, the player loses the stakes on the ante and bet fields.
- If the player's hand is higher, the stake on the ante field is paid out in a ratio of 1: 1 ( even money ) and the stake on the bet field is paid out according to the following payout table.
| combination | Payout |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 100: 1 |
| Straight flush | 50: 1 |
| Four of a kind | 20: 1 |
| Full house | 7: 1 |
| Flush | 5: 1 |
| Straight | 4: 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3: 1 |
| Two pairs | 2: 1 |
| One Pair or Ace – King | 1: 1 |
Example : A player bets € 5 as an ante and receives three of a kind, then bets € 10 as a bet .
- If the croupier cannot qualify, the player gets his bets back and a 1: 1 win on his ante is paid out, so he wins € 5.
- If the croupier qualifies but cannot beat the player's hand, the player gets his bets back, a 1: 1 win on the ante and a 3: 1 win on the bet (ie € 30) for the three of a kind paid out, so he wins a total of € 35.
- If the croupier can beat the player's hand, he loses his bets (€ 15).
If the croupier and the player have the same winning combination, the usual order applies. For example, a hand of "Two queens, two tens and an ace" a hand of "Two queens, two tens and a king". The colors do not play a role in the winning decision, the player and the croupier have two equivalent combinations, e.g. B. Both a straight with a queen as the highest card, the game is a draw ( stand off ).
analysis
If you look at the rules of Tropical Stud , at first glance you will notice a number of asymmetries that the player prefers.
The player's advantages
- The player can only lose at most his stake, but win a multiple of his stake (see above payout scheme).
- The player can exchange a card for an amount equal to the ante - of course, such an exchange only makes sense if there is a chance of a correspondingly high prize.
- The player knows his opponent's strategy: he only plays if he has at least ace-king.
- The player knows a card from his opponent.
The advantage of the casino
Of course, these advantages are offset by a - hidden - advantage of the casino. Leaving aside the asymmetries that favor the player, the result is a very simple "normal" poker game for two people - and this is not symmetrical, because:
- The player must speak first, the casino speaks second.
This asymmetry results in the bank advantage ( expected value of the casino per euro wagered) in Tropical Stud , which is around 1.95% if the player plays optimally.
If the casino does not allow switching, the bank advantage is around 2.55%
strategy
If you play as a pointeur according to the following strategy, you minimize the advantage of the casino.
Bet or fold
With regard to the question of dropping out or continuing to play, the following rules should be observed.
- If you have a pair or a higher value hand, you should always bet.
- If you don't have a pair, but have an ace and a king, you should decide according to the following rule:
- If the croupier's open card has a value between two and queen, you should bet if you hold a card of the same rank as the croupier's open card.
- If the croupier's open card is a king or an ace, you should bet if you have a jack or a queen, ie the hand must be A – K – J – 3–2 or better.
- If the rank of the croupier's open card does not match any of his own cards, then you should bet if you are holding a queen and the croupier's open card is lower than the player's fourth highest card.
- In all other cases, one should fold with one hand from Ace-King.
- If you have a hand worse than A – K – 4–3–2, ie ace-queen or weaker, you should always fold.
This strategy is almost optimal. However, since the colors of your own cards and the color of the croupier's open card are not taken into account, which influence the probability of a flush of the croupier, there is theoretically a possibility to improve this strategy, but this is practically meaningless, since you get the bank advantage could only decrease by 0.001% compared to the above strategy - and the game instructions would become much more complicated.
Switch
However, the previous instructions do not yet take into account the possibility of exchanging a card, the following rules apply:
- If you have four cards to a straight flush or royal flush, you should stay in the game and swap the fifth card, even if you tear a pair.
- If you have four cards to a flush but no pair, you should stay in the game and swap the fifth card.
- If you have four consecutive cards (an outside straight ) but no pair, you should stay in the game and swap the fifth card.
- If you hold two pairs or three of a kind, you should of course stay in the game but not swap cards.
Bonus Bet
As a side bet , many casinos offered a progressive jackpot , this additional game was replaced by a game with fixed payout percentages. In order to take part in this game, a player must place an additional bet of € 1.- or € 2.- on the Bonus Bet field . If a player is assigned one of the highest poker combinations ( premium hands ), the bonus bet is paid out as follows:
| Royal flush | 5000: 1 |
| Straight flush | 1000: 1 |
| Four of a kind | 500: 1 |
| Full house | 100: 1 |
| Flush | 75: 1 |
| Straight | 30: 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 7: 1 |
If a player swaps a card, he can no longer win the bonus bet.
The bonus bet is very disadvantageous for the player, the bank advantage is around 27%.