For beginners, slots and blackjack are the best bets. Video poker, however, is easy to learn and does not involve betting against others. Players can gain an advantage over the house by using skill and preparation. In order to play video poker for real money effectively, however, players need to learn the differences in each variation so they can make informed decisions.
Video poker is a game of chance, but it does not require luck. Instead, players rely on their knowledge of the rules and strategy to maximize their chances of winning. Some versions of the classic game offer an advantage to the player, but it can be achieved only by understanding the rules and by employing a perfect strategy.
Most casinos host at least a few video poker games, including classics such as Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild. There are also 9/6 versions and multi-hand variations, which pay out for multiple hands (one hand per round) rather than one hand per bet. You may hear these referred to as 9/6 games or multi-play versions. The rules and payouts remain the same as in single-play video poker, but it’s important to remember that your bet will be multiplied by the number of hands you bet on each round.
Classic Video Poker
Jacks or Better is a classic video poker game. It’s named after the lowest possible hand that wins. It’s played with 52 cards and starts when you place a bet. The computer then deals 5 cards which you can keep or discard in order to achieve the goal – to collect a winning combination. If you have one, the game pays out whatever winnings are associated with that hand.
The game allows you to adjust your bet – you can bet from 1 to 5 coins per hand, pick a denomination from $0.01 through $5, and place your bet within one minute of the start of play. The game is easy to learn, even for those who have never played before. A pair of Jacks or Better pays out evenly; getting Two Pair earns you twice as much money as you bet; Three of a Kind pays out 3 to 1 and Straight pays 4 to 1.
Here are some classic tips for video poker: The payouts increase gradually, while the stronger combinations are associated with much higher payouts. A full house is a combination of a three of kind and a pair; it pays out nine to one. A four of kind pays out 25 times the size of the bet; next up is straight flush (five consecutive cards of the same suit), which pays out 50 times the bet. Royal Flush (highest straight flush or suited cards from ten down) pays out 250 to one.
The Royal Flush is a very rare hand in video poker, because it appears once every 40,000 rounds on average. However, the huge payout it offers makes up for almost any losses.
It’s important to know that classic video poker has an average return of 99.54%. This means that you can expect to get 99.54% of your money back after playing for a long period of time. Of course, this is an average representation of how many hands appear on the screen compared to their payout. And it’s calculated for all players and thousands of rounds. Still, the return percentage or RTP (Return To Player) is indicative of which games are good and which ones are likely to “eat up” your money.
Full-Pay Games
There are hundreds of video poker games in online casinos, but not all of them are equal. The best way to determine which game is best for you is to look at the payouts for Full House and Flush. Full-pay games typically pay 9 times the size of your bet for a Pair or better, while 9/6 Jacks or Better players can expect 99.54% returns from their wager.
Casinos, however, commonly offer lower-paying games with Full House and Flush, meaning they pay out less money than games with Straight or Flush. For example, the 9/5 Jacks or Better pays out on average 98.45% of bets while the 8/5 Jacks or Better pays back 97.30%.
Full-pay versions of Deuces Wild and other popular video poker games are more difficult to find than their low-paying counterparts. The full-pay game pays out 15 times the bet for Five of a Kind; in pFPDW, players receive a payout that is 12 times the size of their bet. The difference between the payouts is almost unnoticeable–the full-pay version has an average return of 100.76%, while pFPDW returns 98.94%. The house still has an advantage in this game; however low it may be (1.06%).
Video poker games with progressive jackpots tend to be less popular than games with fixed jackpots, but if you want to play and win big, these games are for you. In all other cases, players are advised to stick to full-pay variations with high return percentages.
Video Poker Variations
There are many different versions of video poker games, each of which has its own pay table. There are many variations of each game as well, so players can choose from over 50 titles at some casinos. However, these games usually belong to less than ten variations and once you become familiar with the basic games, you shouldn’t have trouble playing any version, single or multi-hand. When you open each game, you will notice slight modifications in the pay tables; this directly influences the average return.
Jacks or Better
Jacks or Better is the classic variant of video poker and it can be found in almost every land-based or online casino. The full-pay version is not always available, but common games are 9/5, 8/6, and 8/5. The expected returns on these versions are lower than what you could expect to get back from a Deuces Wild game but still quite popular because they are simpler and easier to play than Aces and Faces.
Along with Jacks or Better, you can also play various multi-play versions of the game. For example, you might find Triple-Play, Five-Play, or Ten-Play games. In them, you bet on many hands all at once. The game play is quite simple: You place a bet and see what cards are dealt; then decide which ones to hold and discard. After pushing the Deal/Draw button again, the game shows how multiple hands are being dealt–three, five, or more.
Tens or Better
Tens or Better is an improved version of Jacks or Better. The two main differences are that players must get a pair of Tens to win, and that the payouts are lower than in a typical Jacks or Better game. A Full House pays 4 times your bet, while a flush pays 5-to-1; these differences make Tens or Better more popular among casual video poker players who like to play for fun rather than for serious money.
The 6/5 Tens or Better video poker variation offers more regular wins, but its payouts are not very appealing. In some games, even the payouts for the higher hands are lower than they were when this game was first introduced. As a result of pay tables and variations to video poker, the average return is cut down to less than 99% and it can reach as low as 98%. Of course, compared to many other casino games online slots have RTP percentages ranging from 90% to 97%, while in American Roulette the house edge is 5.26%. This means that their RTP is 94.74%.
Aces and Faces
Aces and Faces is a video poker variation that’s also known as Jacks or Better. It uses a standard 52-card deck and pays off hands based on four different hands: Aces (Kings, Queens, and Jacks), face cards (Kings and Aces), pairs (two cards with the same rank) and full house (three of a kind). In this game, the lowest winning hand is a pair of Jacks.
Aces and Faces is an 8/5 game, meaning that if you get a Full House or a Flush, you win eight times the bet. A Four of a Kind hand pays off 25 times the bet. If you hit four Kings, Queens, or Jacks and get an Ace, you win 40 to 1; however, if you have four Aces it’s 80 times your bet. With 5 coins playing against 500:1 odds, hitting a Royal Flush gives 800 times your bet back to you instead of 250 times what is typical in Jacks or Better games.
The average return on this game is very high. For this pay table, it’s 99.2555%.
Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild is one of the most popular variations of video poker. Players who have some prior experience with simpler games can learn to play it well because it is a bit complex when compared to Jacks or Better. Deuces Wild is played with 52 cards, but all Twos in the deck are wild cards and act as replacements for any other card and form winning combinations much more easily. Indeed, winning hands appear more often in Deuces Wild than in Jacks or Better, so that it balances out by eliminating Jacks or Better as a winnable hand.
In Deuces Wild, you can’t win unless you hit three of a kind, which pays off evenly. The payouts for most of the other hands are lower than in classic video poker–they’re 3 to 1 and 2 to 1 for full house and flush, for instance. But wild cards make possible five of a kind, four deuces and royal flush hands. Good luck!
Joker Poker
Joker Poker is a variation of the game of video poker that significantly increases players’ chances of winning. In this variation of the game, there are 53 cards in play and the Joker is wild. The Joker can be played as either an ace or as a 10/10 card (the 10/10 card does not count as a wild card). A pair of Kings or Better is required for a payout on this game. As with most video poker games with wild cards, payouts for natural hands are higher than those for hands formed using Jokers.
Joker Poker games offer a chance for players to win big by matching cards, but the payouts are worth more than their bet. The return percentage is mostly based on the casino’s rules and game developer’s creation, but in a friendly tone, this means that players can expect a good deal at most casinos. The lowest possible return percentage you can find is 91.12%. It is given in a 7/5 Joker Poker game that offers reduced payouts for Four of a Kind.
Bonus Poker
Full-pay versions of Bonus Poker are one of the most common and profitable video poker options offered by online casinos. The game comes in a 9/6 form, as well as versions offering double payouts for aces through fours. The standard version is played much like Jacks or Better – players use a standard deck and the lowest-paying hand is Jacks or Better. However, Two Pair pays just as much as Jacks or Better.
In addition to the usual Jacks or Better payouts, Bonus Poker offers a 9/6 variation which pays 100 times your bet rather than 25 times as it does in classic Jacks or Better. The 8/6 Bonus Poker variation offers an RTP of 98.49%, while other similar variants exist as well.
There are two versions of the game, an 8/6 and a 7/5 variant. In the former, Four of a Kind hands pay off 80 times the bet if you have four Aces; otherwise, they pay off 40 to 1. All other Four of a Kind hands (from Fives to Kings) pay 25 times the bet. The higher paying variation returns on average 99.17% while the other one – 98.01%.
Pick’em Poker
Pick’em Poker is a simplified variation of video poker that can be enjoyed by novice players. The strategy is quite easy to learn, and once you place your bet, two cards face up on the left side of the screen are dealt. On the right side of the screen, three stacks of 3 cards each are dealt but only the top cards in these two groups are visible. The player chooses which stack to hold and then forms a hand of 5 cards by combining the two groups.
Pick’em Poker is a fun game for people who like video poker, as it has higher payouts than most standard video poker games. The lowest hand that pays off is a Pair of Nines, which gives winnings twice the size of the bet. The other hands in Pick’em Poker are higher than in classic video poker, but it is slightly harder to get strong hands such as Royal Flush, Straight Flush or Four of a Kind. If played perfectly, the game returns 99.95%, which is very attractive payback percentage for a relatively simple and easy to play game. Betting 5 coins is recommended because the payout for Royal Flush is 6,000 coins or 1,200 coins to 1; this coin value can’t be found anywhere else but in Pick’em Poker!
Choosing a Video Poker Variation
When choosing a video poker game, there are several principles that players should follow in order to make decent profits. First, they should choose a game with a specific set of rules and slightly modified pay tables. Second, they should play every day for hours on end so that their experience improves and they can learn more about the game. Once this happens, they will be able to play better than others who have been playing for shorter periods of time.
To begin, it is best to start with a game that offers more regular winnings over a version with higher payouts. For example, if you’re new to video poker and want to play for fun rather than for serious money, try playing Jacks or Better and Pick’em Poker. These are easy games, and you can learn the basics by playing several hands for free. Strategy charts can be found in numerous video poker guides or even online, so using them is also recommended. It is also wise to pick a game which offers more regular winnings over one with higher payouts; this way, you won’t lose as much money if you make mistakes when playing strategies and strategies which rely on certain cards coming up more often than others do not work as well when there are fewer times where these cards hit often enough to make them worthwhile choices.
Choosing a video poker variation isn’t always easy. The best way to choose a good game is to look for one with a high payout for certain hands or wild cards, as well as features that change the paytable. However, there are also good value versions which are not complex; these are full-pay games.
One of the best poker games out there is Jacks or Better. The game has 9 to 1 payouts and 6 to 1 payouts for Full House and Flush, which gives it an expected return of 100.76%. Some other games such as Deuces Wild have lower payouts for these two hands (3/2) but still have great RTP percentages. You should remember that although a high-return game does not guarantee winnings, the higher RTP percentage is an indication that you are more likely to collect winnings while playing.
One of the first rules everyone should learn before playing for real money is that gambling should be entertaining. If your game doesn’t bring you excitement, then you’re more likely to make mistakes and lose money.
There are two types of video poker games: one-hand and multi-hand. The one-hand version is better for beginners and people with tight budgets. Multi-hand games, however, offer more excitement because if you win a Royal Flush, you can win much more than you could in a regular video poker game. Progressive jackpot versions are somewhat similar in this regard; they typically offer lower expected returns but once you hit the Royal Flush, you receive a much greater winning than you could get while playing a regular video poker game. These are also harder to find and one important note for all video poker fans – if you play a video poker version with a progressive jackpot feature, always bet maximum coins so that you will qualify for the prize payoff. Otherwise, you won’t be able to claim your winnings!
Ask a question, and get an answer.
Is there a big difference in the rules of different variations of video poker?
The rules and hand ranks of a video poker variant can vary slightly from one game to another. For instance, if you compare Jacks or Better and Tens or Better, you will only get a different least-paying hand with the first variation typically paying even money for a pair of Jacks or higher while the latter offers the same payout for a pair of 10s or higher. That said, due to reduced payouts for Full House and Flush in Tens or Better, you will get an RTP of 99.1% compared to an average return of 99.54% if you play with full pay versions of Jacks or Better.