What is Video Poker?
Video poker is a game that combines slot machines and 5-card draw poker into one game. The game is not one simply of luck, but also a game of skill. The house edge is low, so it is certainly worthwhile to work with a strategy to play and try to win the game. The rules are fairly simple, especially for those who already have a basic understanding of the rules of poker.
Video Poker Game Play
The player first places a minimum bet before the cards are dealt. After this, five cards from a virtual card deck will show on the screen. The player decides which cards to keep, and which cards to discard. New cards replace any cards that were discarded. The hand that is now shown on the screen is the one that payouts are based on.
Understanding Video Poker Terms
- Hand: These are the five cards that are used to play the game.
- Draw: When a player discards some of the cards from their initial hand, they draw replacement cards from the virtual deck of cards.
- Complete Hand: The cards in a complete hand will form a single strong combination, such as a full house, a flush, a straight, a straight flush, or a four a of a kind.
- Double Up: Players are often given the choice to double up their bet when they feel they have a winning hand. Not all video poker games will offer this option.
- Multi-Play: Some video poker machines allow players to play as many as ten hands at a time. These multiple games are referred to as multi-play.
- Deuces: These are the wild cards in video poker.
Progressive Video Poker
In order to add more excitement to the game, some casinos will offer progressive video poker games. These usually offer progressive jackpots which are hit only when players achieve certain rare hands, such as a royal flush.
Variations on the Basic Game of Video Poker
As with other online casino games, video poker will often have new variations of the game which will be offered to players. Players should consult the payout tables and choose the one that offers the most generous payoff. Other variations include wild cards, playing with multiple decks of cards, specific bonuses based on card combinations and more. A well-known variation to the basic game of video poker is Deuces Wild, which is as the name implies, a game where the twos, or deuces, are used as wild cards and can replace any other cards in the hand. Players will also find Jacks or Better, the most common video poker variation found, which begins payouts at a pair of jacks and any card combination higher than that. Tens or Better is the same as Jacks or Better, but begins with a pair of tens. Double Bonus games are a version of Jacks or Better, but offer a bonus for a hand of four Aces. Double Double Bonus games simply offer more bonuses on specific hands combinations. Bonus Poker offers better payouts when a player gets four of a kind, which is a fairly rare combination of cards.
