Video poker is an automated casino game with some of the most passionate fans in the gambling community. It does not feature the colorful graphics and lively music of slots, and it lacks the glamor of classics such as roulette or craps. Nevertheless, it attracts both novices and experienced players with its relative simplicity and the excitement of poker. The game offers potential returns of more than 99 percent. It is easy to play and, at the same time, challenging and exciting.
How Video Poker Works
Based on a simple form of poker, five-card draw poker to be precise, video poker is played with a single deck of 52 cards. The lowest-paying hand is a pair of Jacks, known as Jacks or Better, which also lends its name to the game’s most basic variation. Instead of having the cards dealt by a croupier, players receive five random cards from a computer. Although the game is indeed easy to play, you can greatly improve your chances of winning by learning the basic rules and understanding the mechanics of this computerized format.
Rules and Basics
Winning Hands
Wild Cards
Random Number Generator
Rules and Basics
Video poker, also called Draw Poker, is a game where the player receives five cards from a 52-card deck (Twos through Aces) that can be held or replaced to create a winning hand. To start a game, you first place a bet. In most versions, you can choose between one and five coins in your preferred denomination, usually from $0.05 to $5. Once you press the Deal/Draw button, you are dealt five cards that you may hold or replace. Select all the cards you want to keep, whether that is one, none, or all of them.
The goal is to build a winning hand, so choose wisely. Press the Deal button again, and the cards you discarded are replaced with new ones. The game immediately shows whether your final hand wins. The payout depends on the strength of the hand and the size of your bet. In video poker, wagering the maximum number of coins is a smart strategy because the payout for a Royal Flush is far greater than it is for a one-coin bet. The Royal Flush is the highest-paying hand in the game, but landing it is not easy. This is why new players should learn the winning hands in video poker and their rankings.
Winning Hands
As video poker is derived from classic poker, its winning hands closely resemble those you may already know from the table game. Each video poker variant modifies the classic rules slightly, but the rules and hand rankings in Jacks or Better are considered fundamental and form the basis for almost all other versions.
In standard Jacks or Better, the strongest hand is the Royal Flush, a combination of a Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit. It brings the highest payout and is the least likely to occur. The next best hand is a Straight Flush, five consecutive cards of the same suit. Put simply, a Royal Flush is the highest possible Straight Flush. This is followed by Four of a Kind, meaning four cards of the same value.
Next in the hierarchy is a Full House, which consists of a pair and a three of a kind, such as a pair of Nines and three Fives. It is followed by a Flush, or any five cards of the same suit, which do not need to be in sequence. The next ranking hand is a Straight, formed by five consecutive cards of any suit. The lowest winning hands are Three of a Kind, Two Pair, and a Pair. In most video poker variations, the weakest winning hand is a pair of Jacks or higher face cards, though some games also accept a pair of Tens. Remember that the lowest qualifying hand, Jacks or Better, pays even money, matching the amount you wagered for that round.
Wild Cards
A wild card is a playing card that can substitute for any other card in the deck and is commonly used in poker games. For example, if you hold two Kings, two Fives, and a Joker, the Joker may count as another King. In that case, you would have a Full House instead of Two Pair, greatly increasing your payout. Wild cards appear in some video poker titles because they make forming winning hands easier and add an element of surprise.
Although Jokers are the most common wilds, other cards can also serve this role in video poker. One popular variation uses all four Twos as wilds; these Twos are called Deuces, which is why the game is named Deuces Wild. Another version is Joker Poker, where one Joker is added to the deck as a wild. In Double Joker Poker, two Jokers are included, providing two wilds.
Video poker games with wild cards usually do not pay for Jacks or Better or Two Pair because wilds make it easier to assemble winning combinations. To compensate, those two lowest-ranking hands are removed from the pay table. Wild variations also feature two types of Royal Flush: a Natural Royal Flush and a Wild Royal Flush. The difference is simple, the Wild Royal Flush uses a wild card. In these games, the Natural Royal Flush is always the strongest and highest-paying hand.
Random Number Generator
To play video poker effectively and maximize your odds of winning, you should understand how the game operates. Quite a few myths surround video poker and electronic casino games in general. One common belief is that these machines are programmed to pay jackpots only once every six months or after a set number of rounds, such as 100,000. Another is that the cards in video poker are automatically shuffled in a predictable cycle. These misconceptions not only confuse players, they can also lead to poor decisions at the machine.
The reality is that all virtual casino games are governed by Random Number Generator (RNG) technology. An RNG is a sophisticated microprocessor that, using complex algorithms, continually produces long sequences of random numbers. These numbers determine which card is dealt and where it appears on the screen. RNGs are extremely complex, secure, and virtually impossible to manipulate. As a result, they are used in many fields that require unpredictable outcomes, including computer simulations, statistical sampling, and cryptography, in addition to slot and video poker development.
Because video poker is powered by an RNG, the odds of receiving any specific hand are always the same. The cards in each draw are selected randomly, so you could, in theory, win the jackpot twice in a row, though that is highly unlikely. You might also play Jacks or Better for weeks without ever hitting a Royal Flush. Conversely, you could land a high-paying hand the very first time you play.
Single-Hand and Multi-Hand Video Poker
In classic video poker, players bet on a single hand dealt by the computer, but in recent years, multi-hand variations have become very popular. These versions allow you to play 5, 10, or even up to 100 hands simultaneously, which spices up the game and makes it much more intriguing. When you start the game, you choose the cards you wish to hold and then press the Deal/Draw button (just like in regular video poker). However, instead of receiving a single set of new cards, you are presented with multiple hands in which the cards you hold remain in their original positions.
These multi-hand variations give you the opportunity to win multiple hands at once. However, the bet you place is multiplied by the number of hands you are playing, so each round requires a much larger wager. For instance, if you are playing with 1 coin in a 100-hand game, the bet for a single round is 100 coins. This is why multi-hand video poker is not recommended for novice or budget players, as they can lose large amounts of money within minutes, even when using a perfect strategy.
Popular Video Poker Variations
When video poker first appeared on casino floors in Las Vegas, players could choose from only two or three versions of the game, and those variants were almost identical. Today, both brick-and-mortar and online casinos offer numerous variations that appeal to every type of player. Some include wild cards, while others award extra payouts for specific hands.
Many titles also feature a gamble or Double Up option: after a win, players are presented with a bonus guessing game in which they must predict the color or suit of a card. A correct guess doubles their winnings for that round, but an incorrect one forfeits them. Some of the most popular versions of the game also feature progressive jackpots, which are typically awarded only when the player wagers the maximum number of coins and hits a strong hand, usually a Royal Flush.
Jacks or Better
Deuces Wild
All Aces
Tens or Better
Progressive Video Poker
Jacks or Better
Jacks or Better is arguably the most widespread video poker variation in the world. It is the simplest and most straightforward version, and it is available in several formats. In addition to the 9/6 full-pay Jacks or Better, developers have released many lower-pay games in which the payouts for a Full House and a Flush are 9 to 1 and 5 to 1 or even less. Examples include 8/5, 8/6, 7/5, and even 6/5 Jacks or Better. Because of the reduced payouts, the average return of these variants can drop to about 95%.
Deuces Wild
This is another popular video poker variation and, as the name suggests, it features wild cards. All Twos in the deck, known as Deuces, act as wilds and can substitute for any other card in your hand. The full-pay version of Deuces Wild offers a theoretical return of 100.76%, but it is rarely available in casinos. Players usually encounter low-pay versions with an RTP of around 98%–99%.
The lowest hand that qualifies for a win is Three of a Kind. Additional winning hands are also introduced, including Four Deuces, which pays differently depending on the specific game, and Five of a Kind, which consists of four cards of the same value plus a Deuce.
All Aces
All Aces is a popular video poker variation that appears in many leading online casinos. With a potential return of 99.92%, it is generous and a favorite among players. The game uses a 7/5 pay table, but its standout feature is the boosted payout for Four of a Kind, especially Four Aces, which pays 400 times your bet. If the Four of a Kind consists of Twos, Threes, or Fours, the payout is 100 times the wager, and if it is formed by cards from Fives through Kings, it pays 50 times. The payout for Two Pair matches that in Jacks or Better, returning an amount equal to the original bet.
Tens or Better
Tens or Better does not offer huge payouts, but it is ideal for novices because wins are smaller yet more frequent. This is due to the fact that the lowest winning hand in this variation is a pair of Tens or better. As a result, you can score wins more often, even if some merely return the amount you wagered. Several versions of Tens or Better exist with slightly different pay tables, but a Full House and a Flush usually pay six and five times your bet, respectively.
The game includes a gamble feature that is triggered after a win. You can press Double to enter the gamble game or Collect to return to your session. If you choose to gamble, you will receive five cards, one of which is face up. You must select one of the remaining four cards that has a higher value than the face-up card. If you guess correctly, your winnings are doubled; if not, you lose the amount you just won.
Progressive Video Poker
Some video poker games award progressive jackpots for hitting a Royal Flush while wagering the maximum number of coins. These games are linked, and a percentage of every bet placed on them contributes to a shared jackpot. You can win the jackpot from any of the networked machines. Because part of each wager feeds the prize pool, these games often have lower average returns, but once the jackpot grows, the potential return can climb well above 100%.
Although most progressive video poker variations pay the jackpot only for a Royal Flush, some award it for lower-ranking hands such as a Straight Flush or Four of a Kind.
Software Providers
Video poker is not as popular as slots, yet virtually every major casino software developer has produced its own versions of the game. Some studios focus on offering variety, while others aim to deliver fewer but higher-quality titles with impressive graphics and generous bonuses. Several decades ago there was only one type of video poker, but today there are hundreds. Each version has its own pay table, although some software developers allow casinos and gambling operators to adjust the payouts individually.
IGT
Playtech
Microgaming
Net Entertainment
IGT
International Game Technology is the pioneering company behind video poker, having secured the first patent for a video poker machine in the 1970s and introducing the game to casinos across the United States and later around the world.
Today, IGT is also the largest manufacturer and supplier of slot machines, and its virtual games remain among the best on the market. Although IGT’s video poker library is not as extensive as you might expect, it covers all major variations, including Jacks or Better, Joker Poker, and Bonus Poker. The content is available in 20 languages, and the software supports more than 30 currencies. Multi-hand versions are offered as well.
Playtech
Playtech was founded in 1999 in Estonia, and few could have predicted how successful the company would become. Today, the gaming software provider is based in the Isle of Man and offers hundreds of top-quality casino games.
Video poker is not usually praised for its visuals, but Playtech’s titles are expertly designed and almost as interactive as modern video slots. The lineup includes fresh takes on classics such as Jacks or Better, Tens or Better, and Deuces Wild, along with All American, Joker Poker, and many others.
Microgaming
Microgaming is undoubtedly a leader in casino software design, not only because the company boasts the largest library of games but also thanks to more than 20 years of industry experience. It continues to release new and exciting titles, including video poker.
Microgaming video poker games can be found at almost all major online casinos. They are available both as downloadable software and as instant-play Flash games. In addition to standard variations, Microgaming offers several releases with progressive jackpots. The studio’s catalog also includes the Power Video Poker series, which presents multi-hand versions of Tens or Better, Bonus Deuces Wild, and more.
Net Entertainment
NetEnt’s outstanding software solutions are employed by many of the world’s most successful gambling operators. The company is another veteran in casino game development, and it delivers some of the most advanced slots, as well as virtual and live table games.
Although online slots make up NetEnt’s largest product segment, the studio has also released a diverse range of video poker variations. These include classic Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, and Joker Wild, along with several multi-hand versions that offer RTP percentages above 97.95%.
