INTRODUCTION TO VIDEO POKER

Video poker is a variation of 5 card poker that is played mainly by the player themselves against only themselves. The game is different in that only certain hand qualify to be winning hand and the game is sometimes titled that so that it is easy to understand such as “jacks or better”.

Video Poker Screenshot

HOW TO PLAY VIDEO POKER

While the odds of this game are much so in the favour of the house. The odds of this are still better than you playing slots or roulette. The game has the same winning hands as standard poker making the royal flush the best hand that a player could possibly get.

There are several variations of video poker so the first step will be to determine which game you are going to play. The best way to make that decision is to look at the payouts and play the game that rewards you to the best amount. There is single hand, five hand, ten hand even up to 100 hand video poker.

‘Jacks or Better’ is one of the most common and most popular versions of video poker so this a good game to start with. Payouts are directly linked to your hand so the more you bet the more you can win in this game.

If you have never played the game at all and are unfamiliar with the strategy we recommend that you play with a strategy card at least the first few times that you play. The card will let you know which cards you should keep or discard. Sometimes it is recommended to discard all five cards and start over but we recommend that you try to keep at least one or two cards.

There are also some games that allow you to have a double up option. Remember to read the rules carefully before deciding to do this because there are sometimes that it isn’t worth the risk. Most games allow you to double up, up to five times.

Following are the most common winning combinations:

Name	Description
Jacks or Better	A pair only counts if its Jacks or higher, any lower pair does not pay
Kings or Better	Only pair with a king or high pay
Two Pair	Any 2 sets of pairs will pay
Three of a Kind	Any three cards of the same value will pay
Four of a Kind	Any four cards of the same value will pay
Five of a Kind	Any four cards of the same value plus a wild card will pay
Straight	Any 5 consecutive value cards, not of the same suit
Flush	Any 5 non consecutive cards of the same suit
Straight Flush	5 consecutive cards of the same suit
Royal Flush	5 consecutive cards, starting with 10 of the same suit
Wild Royal Flush	The same as a Royal flush except that it contains a wild card

There are also a number of online casinos who offer progressive jackpots to rare combinations such as royal flushes, so look for these for some extra fun!

Play Video Poker now

There are many variations to Video Poker that are available to play today. We are going to focus on the most popular one: Jacks or Better in regard to Video Poker strategy because this game is actually the basis for quite a few of the other variations. Our Video Poker strategy guide covers the basics of mastering this great game. The tips we list are great for any player to know when playing and winning at video poker!

Before you even sit down or choose a video poker machine have a look at the pay tables. This will not only help you understand video poker better in general but it will also give you an excellent idea of what games have the better (or more liberal) pay tables. Better pay tables mean more possible money in your pocket so check them out before you play!

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking video poker is just like 5-card draw poker because it isn’t! You cannot expect to play out a hand (or that your first set of 5 cards even ranks) the same way as in 5-card. In video poker there are fewer decisions and fewer draws than in other poker games.

As with any poker game it’s most important to know the hand rankings before you start. In Jacks or Better video poker only a pair of jacks or higher will win you any money!

As we noted above, video poker is not to be played like 5-card poker as evidence by the next strategy: it’s always best to keep jacks over other, lower cards because they represent the higher chance of getting a winning hand.

Open-ended straights are always better than inside straights. An open-ended straight is a hand that requires either a card at the beginning or end of the straight (i.e. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9) whereas an inside straight only leaves one card option to complete the straight (i.e. 6, 7, 8, 10, jack). As a rule of thumb, it’s best to never draw on inside straights.

If you find yourself holding a pair and a high card (like an ace), always hold onto the pair. This may seem like a simple rule to follow but when you’re holding ace, king, 10, 3, 3 you may think about holding onto those high cards, but in essence if you do you could be throwing away a possible three-of-a-kind.

And finally, the only time it’s acceptable to throw away paying hands is when you want to try and go for a big hand like a Royal Flush or Straight Flush.