Video poker stands out among online casino games. The game of online video poker is as exciting and interesting as slot machines. But unlike slots, video poker allows the player to make decisions during the play process and impact the outcome of the game.
Video poker specifics
On mobile casino websites, you can find a couple of video poker variations. Users can choose from about ten video pokers, although their range may be even bigger. There are several dozens of video pokers that have pretty varying rules.
As you can guess from its name, video poker is somehow related to poker. Novice players may find these two games very similar but in fact they differ significantly.
Although online video poker also uses poker combinations, their rules are not the same. While standard poker need at least two players trying to beat each other with card combinations and bets, video poker features just one participant that plays against no one.
There is no denying that classical online poker is a rather complicated casino game. Due to similarities in the name, beginning players consider video poker machines an intimidating game as well. But the reality is that video poker is not difficult at all!
Video poker machines are a good alternative to classical slots. Although online video poker machines lack an impressive diversity of slots, they have one crucial advantage –a player’s decision-making can affect the outcome (which is pretty rare in online gambling).
Video poker rules
To succeed in video poker, the player needs to get a paid card combination.
As said earlier, video poker uses classical poker card combinations. A pair of Tens is the lowest paid combination. In some video poker variations, the lowest combination is just one King. Furthermore, you may come across tougher rules that require a player to get at least two Jacks.
There is no need to memorize all paid video poker combinations. These are always displayed on the screen. Royal Flush is the highest paid poker combination that features the juiciest payouts. Some other combinations include Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, and more. Payouts depend on how often a combination comes up.
After placing a bet, the player receives a starting hand of five cards. If lucky, you get a paid combination at once. But more frequently, you have just one or two suitable cards in your starting hand. Or you may be receive no good cards at all.
After seeing their starting hand, a player decides which cards they would like to keep. If you’d like to keep a card, click the ‘Hold’ button beneath it. After selecting the cards, hit the ‘Deal’ button. All non-selected cards will be replaced with new ones. Then the player compares their hand with a list of paid video poker combinations. If the player has a paid combination, real money online casino pays out winnings. Otherwise, the player’s bet loses.
Video poker is played with a 52-card deck. Furthermore, you may come across a 54-card deck with two Jokers. This does not change basic video poker rules, though.
Video poker strategy
In video poker, the player can select cards. This means you can use the optimal video poker strategy that increases your winning chances at the best online casinos.
It must be said that not any online casino game has an effective strategy that really works. This is why the optimal video poker strategy is a big advantage of this game. A smart video poker strategy can help you succeed in online gambling. But do not delude yourself into thinking that you can beat online casino over the long term. You can only bring down the number of losses, which is a pretty good result in itself.
Each video poker variation has its own video poker strategy that suits it the best. Based on their starting hand, the player can keep some cards and replace others. Relying on accurate mathematical calculations, video poker strategies are definitely worth your attention.
According to calculations, a clever video poker strategy can take the house edge down to 0.2%. Pretty impressive, don’t you think? You will hardly achieve such a result for other online casino games.