Video Poker

Playing Online Video Poker

Video poker is an old favourite at casinos everywhere. Slots players often progress from slots to video poker, as they enjoy the element of skill involved in this electronic variation of draw poker. In bricks and mortar casinos, video poker machines are popular with players who are perhaps timid when it comes to playing directly against a dealer. In online casinos, video poker acts as a perfect transitional stage between slots and poker, and is great for players who wish to try something new.

You can play video poker in a variety of ways. Firstly, you have a choice of which variation to play. There are countless video poker games available, but below are the top three variations, as well as some information on how they differ to each other:

Jacks or Better: Jacks or Better video poker awards players if they uncover a pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces, hence the title “Jacks or Better”.

Tens or Better: Much like Jacks or Better, you can win a prize in Tens or Better video poker by uncovering a pair of tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces.

Deuces Wild: In Deuces Wild, the 2 cards act as wilds, meaning they’ll substitute with any other card to help create a winning hand.

Once you’ve picked which video poker variation you wish to play, you then have a choice of how many hands you wish to use in a game. A one hand game will provide you with just your hand, with which you can hold and draw to hopefully create a winning hand.

Many online casinos offer 100 hand video poker games, where you have 100 extra opportunities to create a wining hand. We recommend that new players start on a mid-range game, such as a 10 hand variation, and then begin to work themselves up to the 100 hand video poker varieties.

When you’ve decided on both your game and how many hands you wish to play, you’ll then be presented with your tailor made video poker game. Next, click on the bet options and deal. Your card hand will then be dealt and you have the option to hold any of the cards.

Once you’ve decided on which to hold, you then have to click “Deal”. The remaining hands will then be dealt and at the end, you’ll find out what poker hands you’ve revealed, as well your prize.

In video poker, you are usually aiming to have one of the following hands, as they can win you prizes:

• Royal Flush (Highest)
• Straight Flush
• Four of a Kind
• Full House
• Flush
• Straight
• Three of a Kind
• Two Pairs
• Jacks or Better (Lowest)

In some variations of video poker, certain hands will be worth more than others, but above is the poker hand hierarchy for Jacks or Better, an incredibly popular video poker game. Instead of having to work out whether you have uncovered any of these hands, most video poker games will let you know when you have uncovered a winning hand.