Live Dealer Caribbean Stud Collusion: Will You Win Profits?

Live dealer Caribbean stud is a great way to enjoy one of the most-popular table games through your smartphone or laptop. It can make you feel like you’re actually sitting in the casino while playing Caribbean stud.

You can play live Caribbean stud with your friends too. Your group simply needs to join the same table at a live dealer casino.

This setup even provides the opportunity to collude during hands. Everybody can share their hand values and gain more information.

But will doing so make a difference? The following guide discusses more on the basics of live Caribbean stud collusion along with if it will ultimately result in profits.

How Does Caribbean Stud Collusion Work?

When you play Caribbean stud at a live dealer table—or any other table for that matter—you can only see your five-card hand and one of the dealer’s cards.

You’re not supposed to share card values with anybody else at the table. Instead, this game is designed to feature limited information.

Colluders work with other players to overcome this lack of info. You can share card values and better know when to raise or fold.

Of course, you’re not supposed to share hands with tablemates. You’ll quickly be kicked out of a land-based casino for flashing your card values to others.

That said, Caribbean stud colluders normally work out complicated hand signals and gestures. These signals allow everybody to know what the other players are holding.

Here’s a look at what info colluders share based on James Grosjean’s MAK system:

• M (for matches) – Collective cards that match the dealer’s upcard (ranges from 0-3).
• A (for aces) – The team will have between 0 and 4 aces.
• K (for kings) – The team will have between 0 and 4 kings.

Sharing information on these cards only goes so far. Everyone on the team must also know what to do with the info.

Here are the actions you and teammates should take under different circumstances:

• If M = 0, you only raise with a higher pair than the dealer’s upcard (e.g. 9-9 vs. 7).
• If M = 3 and A & K are 7 or 8, you should raise.

With flawless teamwork, a group can gain a 2.38% edge over the casino. This figure is much better than the 5.225% house edge that you’ll be facing without colluding.

The key, though, is that you need to fill all seven seats with teammates. You’ll need seven players sharing hand info to beat the casino.

Assuming you only have six players at the table instead, you’ll face a 0.40% house edge. While this house edge nearly puts you on even footing with the casino, you’re still facing a losing long-term prospect.

Advantages of Colluding With Friends at Live Casinos

Sharing card values with friends is extremely difficult in brick-and-mortar casinos. Again, you can’t just show your card values to each other.

Instead, you’ll need to work out a system where you can share this information without actually showing everybody your cards.

Live dealer casinos make this aspect much easier. They allow you to share card values without compromising your group.

Here are a couple of different ways to collude through live dealer Caribbean stud:

• Sit in the same room together and show hands to each other.
• Play remotely and use a chat service to share hands.

No matter which route you go, you can show card values to each other without the live casino knowing. You’ll also boost your chances of winning in this manner.

Will Caribbean Stud Collusion Actually Work?

As covered before, the goal with Caribbean stud collusion is to gain a 2.38% advantage on the casino. With enough playing volume and large bets, your team can make serious money in this case.

But is it actually possible to pull this feat off in a live dealer casino?

No, you unfortunately can’t enjoy the same advantage at live casinos.

Live dealer gaming sites are fully aware of this practice. They know that, due to their setup, they can’t monitor colluders.

That said, live dealer casinos will never offer seven seats. In fact, many studios only feature one-on-one games—thus negating colluding of any kind.

Live casinos don’t appreciate colluders even if they still have the edge. They can use software to look for irregularities in play involving multi-seat tables.

Going further, a casino could ban a group of gamblers if they suspect collusion. This scenario may be rare, but it’s a possibility.

How to Boost Your Odds of Winning With Live Caribbean Stud

You may not be able to collude your way to online winnings. However, you can improve your Caribbean stud odds through the following simple tips.

Use Proper Strategy

Much like blackjack and video poker, Caribbean stud requires you to use strategy to play optimally. Luckily, you shouldn’t have much trouble figuring out optimal strategy.

Here’s what you need to lower the house edge to 5.225%:

• Always raise with a pair or better.
• Always fold when your hand is worse than the dealer’s qualifying hand (A-K high).

You can actually push the house advantage down to 5.224% With more-complicated strategy. However, you may not care enough about the additional 0.001% to put more effort in.

Take Advantage of Bonuses

Some mobile casinos offer Caribbean stud bonuses. These deals provide an opportunity to earn more money on top of your winnings.

Deposit bonuses are the most-common deals available at online casinos. Here’s an example on how a deposit bonus works:

• A gaming site offers a 100% match bonus worth up to $500.
• You deposit $200.
• You’re now in line for a $200 bonus.

Some bonuses don’t cover table games. Therefore, you’ll want to ensure that Caribbean stud counts towards any respective bonus offer.

Use Proper Bankroll Management

Bankroll management helps you stay within a budget when gambling. That said, you should always have a bankroll plan in mind no matter if you’re playing Caribbean stud or another game.

Luckily, mobile Caribbean stud allows you to play rather cheaply. You can enjoy this game online for just $1 per hand. Of course, you can always up the stakes when you feel like chasing bigger wins.

Here’s an example on setting up a Caribbean stud bankroll management plan:

• You have $300 to play with.
• You plan on betting $1 per hand.
• You’ll place a $1 side wager one out of every three rounds.
• You set a stop loss limit of $60.
• You’ll quit playing any session where you reach $60 in losses.

Don’t Go Overboard With Jackpot Bets

Jackpots are perhaps the most-appealing aspect to this game. Online Caribbean stud jackpots can be worth up to $250,000 or more!

The nice thing about these prizes is that you don’t even need to spend much to play for them. You only have to place a $1 side wager. This dollar wager qualifies you for the jackpots and other payouts.

I certainly suggest that you place jackpot bets if they add more entertainment. However, you should also consider limiting how many side wagers you make.

These are sucker bets—at least in the beginning. When a Caribbean stud jackpot is first seeded, the side wager carries around a 30% house edge or higher.

This house advantage gradually drops as the jackpot grows. You may even gain positive expected value (+EV) when the top prize hits $250k or higher. Of course, you actually need to win the jackpot at some point to realize this +EV.

Conclusion

Although incredibly hard to pull off, Caribbean stud collusion can work in land-based casinos. You need seven players working together and knowing what they’re doing to succeed.

Unfortunately, you can’t work the same magic with live dealer Caribbean stud. Most live casinos feature one-on-one games. Those that don’t will feature less than seven seats at tables.

Even though you can’t collude in live Caribbean stud, you can still boost your chances of winning with simple measures. Using proper strategy, collecting bonuses, and managing your bankroll can all help.