Caribbean stud poker was developed in the 1980s and has since been one of the flagship casino games. Its popularity and familiarity among players are a given. But, the history and who to credit for Caribbean Stud poker is still in the air.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the origins of Caribbean stud poker as we know it. We’ll also attempt to uncover who invented Caribbean stud.
We begin by uncovering its birthplace, where was Caribbean stud first played? Well, the research we’ve done suggests that Aruba is the birthplace of Caribbean stud. The island, located in the southern Caribbean Sea, is tropical and has a lively population. Caribbean Stud created in Aruba, a Caribbean island? Makes sense so far. There is some speculation however that the game wasn’t directly created by people on the island, but on a cruise ship that voyaged around the island instead.
Caribbean Stud Origins
Over the years, three points of speculation have surfaced about the exact origins of the game. We’ve already mentioned the first possibility which states that Caribbean stud was created by travellers on a cruise ship that sailed around the island.
The second assumption is that Caribbean stud was created inside a Caribbean casino resort and became extremely popular there, which led to it eventually spreading throughout the island and across the seas. The owner of King International casino on the island of Aruba had heard about the game and how popular it was among cruisers. He somehow bought the game over and renamed it Caribbean stud poker to be played in casinos on the island.
Others believe that Caribbean stud was created by a poker player and well-known author based in Las Vegas. David Sklansky is a well-known author of several books on casino gaming. He speaks about strategy in particular and how to succeed in games like Caribbean stud poker. The author claims to have created the game himself in the early ’80s although the rules of the game he invented and the Caribbean poker we know today differs slightly. The Caribbean stud poker played in the ’80s was called Casino Poker, a name suggested by Sklansky too. The author had tried to obtain rights to the game but a lawyer at the time informed him that this was not possible. After battling to receive due credit, Sklansky eventually stopped trying. This version of the story is believed by most players.
