Video Poker Rules and Strategies
Is there anything better for a gambler than a good poker game in a nice online casino? Only the real-life poker game with the friends around the poker table, but at least you don’t need to dress up to play online. Video poker has become very popular in the last few years and today there is hardly a single online casino without several kinds of video poker.
Unlike the random games like slots or roulette, video poker is the game of skill. To play online video poker and win you need to know the rules perfectly and, moreover, learn the winning strategies so that you don’t feel helpless whatever happens during the round. On this page, we will describe the most popular strategies for each type of poker game. They are easy to understand even for the newbies and can quickly turn you into the poker expert if you make some efforts.
Best Video Poker Strategies
- Jacks or Better. Jacks or Better is the most frequently played type of video poker that can be found in the game collections by the top-rated online casino games providers. If you play it right, the house edge is about 1% meaning you can win a lot when you follow the strategy. When the cards are dealt, look at them carefully and find the highest ranking. Keep playing if you have a full house or flush as they can give the payout of 6 to 9 times of your bet.
- Deuces Wild. In this type of video poker, that is also quite popular among the gamblers, the deuce card can substitute for any other card to make a winning combination. The best choice here is to stick for the video poker games where you can get 5 coins when you get the four of a kind combination and nine coins when you get the straight flush combination. Thus, the house edge will not exceed 1% so you can hope for some large payouts. Another option is to play with the video poker machines that award 4 coins for the full house combination and 11 coins when you get the straight flush combination.
- Bonus Poker. According to the bonus video poker strategy, you need to remember the most lucrative combinations and stick to them to win. These are, in descending order of priority: royal flush, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, one card missing to get the straight flush, two pair, high pair, two cards missing to get the royal flush, low pair and so on. The lowest winning combination is just one king, ace or jack. If you don’t have even the lowest combination, skip the round and get new cards. The rankings can be hard to remember for the newbies so you can write them down and check with them during your gaming process.
Video Poker Strategies and Tips
Besides the basic strategies, there are some video poker tips that can be quite useful, especially for those not too experienced in this type of games.
- First of all, learn the rules carefully and pay attention to which kind of game you are about to play. There are several versions of video poker, each of them having its own betting and payout rules so you’d better know them before you make a bet in the online casino.
- Secondly, we recommend setting the time and money limits before you start playing and following these limits even if you are on your winning streak. Discipline is very important for the passionate gamblers and we don’t want you to spend the whole weekend trying these strategies.
- Third, stay focused and don’t try to play as fast as possible. It’s better to be slow and win than to be fast and get nothing.
- And, finally, look at the paytables of each poker table in the online casino as some of them can be more favorable than the others.
Don’t miss a chance to get more. Video poker can seem too hard to get but it’s a perfect example of the real gambling game that requires focus, skills and a bit of luck.
Adam is an editor at CasinoHEX Canada. He checks dozens of online casinos daily. Adam’s career as a professional gambler started almost 10 years ago.