Video Poker

Introduction

Video poker is a popular casino game based on 5-card poker that is available at nearly all online casinos. Video poker is often the 2nd best choice for completing wagering requirements, after blackjack & blackjack variants.

Rules and Play

The player is dealt 5 cards from a single deck. He selects which cards to hold and discard, then draws again for the final hand. The final hand is paid according to a listed paytable. The higher the poker ranking, the higher the return. Paytables vary according to video poker variation and number of coins bet. You usually need to bet 5 coins to receive the maximum payout for a royal flush. Some of the common variations are Jacks or Better (a pair of jacks or higher pays), Joker Poker (played with 53-card deck, joker is wild), and Deuces Wild (2s are wild). Most casinos also offer multi-hand variations, allowing you to play many hands at once.

After a hand is completed, some casino softwares give you the opportunity to double your win in a war-like game. The dealer and player both draw a card. If the player's card is higher, the win is doubled. If the dealer's card is higher, the player wins nothing. If the player and dealer tie, the original win is returned. You can double sequentially until reaching the maximum win. This is one of the only bets in the casino with no house edge. Doubling can be useful when trying to reach a target gain for a sticky or Clearplay bonus. If doubling counts towards the wagering requirement, it can be used to dramatically reduce the expected loss per unit wagered. Note that video poker doubles may be restricted in the T&C.

Strategy & Paytables

You can use the video poker strategy calculator to check optimal strategy for a particular hand. The calculator returns the EV of the best strategy decision, as well as the 2nd best alternative. The links below list written strategy summaries and paytables for several common video poker variations. The strategy calculator includes a more extensive list of video poker games. A few softwares, such as Microgaming, have video poker strategy programmed into an "auto hold" feature. Unfortunately this useful feature is not available for the game All Aces because of its low house edge.