How to Play Video Poker

Video poker is a casino game made up of the rules of five-card stud poker with an exchange. The game can be played on a computerized console with a screen or over the Internet. The main goal in video poker is to collect a paid combination, without comparing it with the combinations of other players. When you have a combination of cards that is in the pay table, you get a prize. 

Unlike regular poker, there is no need to bluff or try to confuse your opponents. It is better to focus on making a winning hand.

How to Play Video Poker: Explanation

Video poker is currently exploding in popularity among gambling enthusiasts. There are several reasons for this: quite simple rules, high payouts for winning combinations and an exciting game process. To figure out how the game is going, let’s look at the main stages:

1. Understanding the pay table. The payout table is a kind of rating of winning combinations, which is identical to the classic version of Texas Hold’em. It is not necessary to know the table by heart, as winning combinations are marked automatically. But for experienced players who want to collect the rarest and most valuable combination, this knowledge will be handy.
2. Choosing the right video poker game and the optimal bankroll. Choosing a game is one of the key steps in preparing for the game. If you want to win, then take into account the variance parameter in the games: the higher it is, the less often you will win, but the amounts will be significant. And vice versa: low variance gives frequent wins with a smaller prize. Check the payout tables when choosing a game and pay attention to the combinations that pay the highest.
3. Make your first bet. Bets in video poker should not be placed thoughtlessly, it will be better to calculate them. In a land-based casino, you have to deposit funds into a video poker slot or a special receiver, in an online casino – everything happens automatically.  The amount you decide to deposit is converted into credits. The denomination of one credit can vary from 5 cents to 5 dollars, and in some cases you can choose the denomination yourself. If you set the goal to win as much as possible, then it is better to use the “maximum bet” button to put the maximum possible number of credits on the round.

4. Choose the cards you want to play and discard the ones you don’t want. In order to collect a winning combination, not all cards will be useful to you. Therefore, it is better to get rid of extra cards so that they do not interfere with you. But you also need to do it correctly and according to the scheme. Card selection schemes are based on collecting combinations and allow you to do it as quickly as possible. So, choose a scheme to learn and try to follow it while playing online, for example.
5. Should I try to play Double or Nothing?

The “Double or Nothing” mode allows you to try to match the winnings. You are offered to choose one of five cards and if it turns out to be higher than the card chosen by the casino, your winnings are multiplied by two. This is a risky game for those who want to try to win a significant amount in a short period of time, because the rounds in this game are limited. And in order to continue the game in additional rounds, after a successful first doubling, you just need a huge amount of money as a bankroll. Thus, you increase your chances for big winnings, but decrease your chances for winning in general.

High-Paying Video Poker Games

High-paying games are also called games with full payment or with a high percentage of payback. Usually these terms mean the percentage value of the player’s bet in the best case scenario of the game.

• Jacks or Better or Draw Poker is the most played variation of video poker. Payouts start with a pair of jacks, and the combination with the highest payout is the Royal Flush. There are also variations such as Full Pay Jacks or Better or 9/6 Jacks or Better, where the payout for a full house is 9 multiples of the bet, and the payout for a flush is 6 multiples of the bet.
• Bally’s All American. This graph offers an increased payout for flush, straight, and straight flush, but a reduced payout for full houses and two pairs.
• Tens or Better is a variation of the 6/5 Jacks or Better game. The lowest payout hand is a pair of tens, not a pair of jacks. The strategy of these two games is similar, despite the very different payouts of a full house and a flush.
• Joker’s Wild. This variation has the option of an additional joker, with which you can create winning combinations. Most payouts in Joker poker typically start with a pair of Kings. The average payout ratio is commonly around 99%, according to your skill level. 
• Deuces Wild is a type of video poker in which all twos are wild, meaning that they can replace any other card in the deck to improve the poker hand. Here the payout for a wild is about ⅓ of the payout percentage in the game, and a wild occurs on average about every fifteen hands. Deuces Wild can be found with payout charts that offer a theoretical return of up to 100.8% when played with a perfect strategy. 
• Sigma Flush Attack is a combination of video poker and bankroll slot, here what accumulates is a flush. After 3,4 or 5 flushes the machine changes to “flush attack mode,” in which the next flush pays out 100 or 125 credits instead of the more usual 30 credits. The higher win from the flush attack represents one of the higher overlays of video poker.
• Bonus Poker is a video poker game that is inspired by Jacks or Better, but Bonus Poker features a higher payout percentage for four of a kind. The full paid version of this game returns 99.2%. The game has several versions with different bonus payouts based on ranking four of a kind.
• Double Bonus is a type of Jacks or Better game with a bonus payout of four aces. This option offers a theoretical return of 100.2% using a perfect strategy – but that is only in the case of the payout for a full house and a flush.
• Double Double Bonus is a variation of the Jacks or Better game that offers bonus payouts of various four types. The Double Double Full Payout Bonus can be found with payout charts that offer a theoretical profit of 100.1 percent when played with a perfect strategy.

Low-Paying Video Poker Games

Some types of games offer a lower payout percentage than others and a greater casino advantage, which is quite disadvantageous for players. The list of games with small payouts is presented below:

• 9/5 Jacks or Better is the low payout model of the game. The flush payout is reduced from 6x your bet to 5x your bet, but all other payouts remain the same. This lowers the maximum payout percentage to 98.45% for players betting five coins per hand to get the Royal Flush bonus.
• 8/6 Jacks or Better. Here the payout for a full house is reduced from 9 times your bet to 8 times your bet, while all other payouts remain the same as in a full house game. This lowers the maximum payout percentage to 98.39% for players.
• 8/5 Jacks or Better reduces the full house payout from 9x your bet to 8x your bet, and also decreases the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts remain the same as in the full-payout game. This lowers the maximum payout percentage to 97.30% for players betting five coins per hand.
• 7/5 Jacks or Better cuts the full house payout from 9x your bet to 7x your bet, and lowers the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. All other payouts are still the same as in the full-payout game. As a result, this lowers the maximum payout percentage to 96.15% for players betting five coins per hand to get the Royal Flush bonus. 
• 6/5 Jacks or Better shortens the full house payout from 9x your bet to 6x your bet, and reduces the Flush payout from 6x your bet to 5x your bet. This leads to the maximum payout percentage to 95.00% for players.
• Progressive Jackpot Games. You should be careful with this kind of games as they only offer high returns when the progressive jackpot is high. Otherwise, the game will be unprofitable for you.

Card Combinations

Card combinations are the base from which you start to delve into poker and video poker. Knowing these combinations opens up endless possibilities for how to stack cards and what results it can bring you. So, get acquainted with them and their elements. 

Royal Flush – 2000 credits

A Royal Flush is an Ace, King, Queen, Queen, Jack-10 of the same suit and is the rarest of all Poker combinations.

Straight Flush (250 Credits)

A straight flush is any five cards of the same suit. For example, a straight flush is 10-9-8-7-6 diamonds.

Four of a Kind (Four of a Kind) – 125 credits

A four of a kind is simply any four cards of the same rank. For example, four kings are four of a kind.

Full House – 40 credits

A Full House is three cards of equal rank (a set) and a pair of two other cards, such as 9-9-9-8-8.

A Flush has 25 credits

A Flush is any five cards of the same suit, i.e. if you hold all cards of the same suit, it is a Flush.

Straight – 20 credits

A straight is any five consecutive cards of the same rank, not necessarily the same suit. For example, 10-9-8-7-6.

A Three of a Kind – 15 credits

A Three of a Kind is any three cards of the same rank, for example King-Queen-Queen-Dame-5.

Two Pair – 10 credits

Two Pairs means you hold two pairs of cards of any rank, such as 9-9-8-8-3.

Pair – 5 credits

A Pair is simply any pair of cards, such as 9-9-5-3-2.

Nothing – 0 credits

If you do not get at least a pair, you lose your credits.

The Conclusion 

After comparing all aspects and types of video poker, we can confidently say that it is quite possible to win here if you are as focused and knowledgeable about combinations and payouts as possible. It is more profitable for the player to choose those game variants that offer higher payouts. It is also a good idea to familiarize yourself with strategies and schemes of accumulating and folding cards, which will help to collect the necessary winning combination as quickly as possible. After these simple steps, you are ready to start playing and winning, gaining experience and skills.

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