Video Poker Guide

The popularity of online video poker is on a constant rise. Millions of players around the world have already realized the enormous benefits in playing online video poker. The game is based on the classic card game Poker but does not require any of the special math skills or complex playing strategies that are required when playing poker. Video poker only uses the rankings of winning poker hands but does not require the player understanding the game of poker.

Video poker is an ideal game to play online since it is one of the easiest casino games to learn and it offers some of the best winning odds you will find at any casino. This makes video poker very tempting for players wishing to make a good return on their gambling investment. It is also an ideal game for anyone who likes flashing electronic games but do not enjoy slot machines due to their simplicity and lack of playing strategy. However, in video poker strategy can help you a lot as the game is not based solely on luck.

Online Video Poker History

Considering the fact that video poker is a computerized game, it is of little surprise that the birth of video poker coincides with the birth of the personal computer in the 1970’s. During the mid-1970’s when technological developments started to allow making computers smaller and developing programmers that can be operated on these new machines.

The gaming industry was one of the first industries to realize that technological advancements can benefit the gambling industry because new technologies will enable to develop and offer new gambling products to players.

The invention of video poker machines happened very shortly after video slots were invented. By that point in time mechanical slot machines were the standard but new technology emerging in the 1970’s enabled the invention of video slots and shortly after that the invention of video poker.

Online Video Poker Rules

Online video poker offers players the chance to access and play their favorite video poker game on the internet. The games are the same as the ones offered in land casinos so if you understand how a regular video poker machine works then you will not have any problems playing online. Video poker has very simple rules and as it is an electronic game, you will not be able to make any moves which are against the rules.

When you play video poker you are always playing against the house and not against other casino players. The basic game rules state that you are dealt five cards from a single standard deck of cards. You can select which of the cards to hold and which to discard. Then you draw more cards to replace the ones you’ve discarded and check in the paytable shown if you reached a winning poker hand.

How to Play Online Video Poker

It is very simple to play online video poker. First you need to select which video poker game you wish to play as most online casinos will offer a selection of several video poker versions. Once the game opens you will need to select how much you want to bet. In most games you can select your coin value (your bet amount) and your bet level (how many coins you wish to play).

Once you have made your bet and clicked the “Play” button, 5 cards will be dealt. The cards used are from a standard 52 card deck. The cards will appear on the screen and there will be a “Hold” button under each card. Click the “Hold” button under each card you wish to keep as part of your hand and click the “Deal” or “Play” button again to draw more cards to replace the cards you did not “hold”.

Types of Video poker

Many types of video poker have been invented since the first Jacks or Better video poker game was patented in the 1970’s. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Jacks of Better – the original type of video poker that is sometimes referred to as “Draw Poker”. This game offers a payoff to the player for getting a poker hand of a pair of jack or any poker hand that is higher in value than a pair of jacks.

Deuces Wild – a type of video poker where all the deuces (2’s) are used as wild cards. Wild cards can substitute all other cards and help form winning hands. This means that high ranking hands occur on average more often as there are more cards in the deck that can help make a winning hand.

Bonus Poker – this type of video poker is based on Jacks or Better with an increased payment for hitting a four of a kind hand.

Tens or Better – similar to Jacks or Better, but in this game the lowest ranking hand that warrants a payoff is a pair of 10’s.

All American – based on Jacks or Better with an increased payout for flushes, straights and straight flashes but offers a lower payout than Jacks or Better on for full house or two pairs.

Online Video Poker Strategy & Tips

When you play video poker you are playing an electronic game that is based on chance. However, unlike slot machines, in video poker there is room for applying the correct video poker strategy in order to maximize your chance of winning. Here are a few tips that can help you:

Know your game – take some time to read the rules of the type of video poker you are about to play. Do not play for real money if anything about the game is unclear to you.

Select the best paytable – each video poker game has its own pay table. Try to opt for 9/6 games which offer the maximum payout of 9x your bet unit for having a full house and 6x your bet unit for having a flush.

Learn the strategy – each type of video poker has its optimal playing strategy. Adhering to the strategy will decrease the house edge on the game you play and increase your chances of winning.

Play max coins – once you have found the video poker game for you and learned its ideal playing strategy, we would advise that you play max coins on every hand you play in order to increase your payouts when you do win.

Progressive Video Poker

Video poker games can be tied to a progressive jackpot which grows with every bet made on a video poker game connected to it. The progressive jackpot takes a small percentage from each wager made and collects them to one big jackpot. The progressive jackpot can be won by hitting a poker hand that is pre-defined as the hand that triggers the progressive jackpot.

The best thing about progressive video poker is that when the jackpot is large enough, the game becomes a positive expectation game. This is because video poker offers a very high payout percentage on regular games. For example: a large enough progressive jackpot can turn a regular video poker game with a 98.2% return, into a game that in theory offers more than a 100% return.

Online Video Poker Tournaments

Many online casinos now offer video poker tournaments in which players compete to see which player is the better video poker player. The tournaments usually consist of a qualifying rounds and a final round. Players pay a tournament fee and each player gets the same amount of money and time to play. All players are playing the same type of game and the best scorers advance to the final round. The top finishing players win big cash prizes.