Where To Play Video Poker
Video poker is a fun take on the game of poker that mixes the speed and appeal of slots with the strategy of poker. This article is going to cover the best places online to play video poker.
Nearly every casino online offers video poker so it can be a bit overwhelming trying to decide the best place to play. I have searched the best and the best to figure out where the best places to play video poker are. Not only are we looking at the quality of the games, but also the security, customer experience, and deposit bonuses.
There are a lot of great video poker games out there as well and I’ll explain the difference between the main games.
Below you will find the best online casinos to play video poker.
Where To Play Video Poker Online:
(Feel free to mention multiple casinos. Roaring 21 & Casino Max for USA are two that I like to mention primary due to state acceptance. However they don’t have live dealers while Ignition do hence why for Blackjack I mentioned that. Canada should almost always be Sports Interaction)
America: One of the best places to play video poker online is Roaring Casino. They offer 15 varieties of video poker including Double Double Jackpot Poker.
Roaring Casino also offers a great sign-up bonus as they will double your deposit bonus up to $1000. That means if you deposit $1000, they match you with another $1000 to play with. If you deposit $100, they match $100. It’s a pretty good deal and an extremely easy site to use.
Canada: SIA Casino is a great place to play video poker. They offer multi-hand video poker, Jacks or Better, and Joker Poker. Sports fans may be familiar with the sportsbooks here, but they have a great casino as well.
They have great customer service at SIA Casino and a deposit bonus that will match your first deposit up to $100.
United Kingdom: There is a great selection of video poker variants at 888 Sports. They have Deuces Wild, Jokers Wild, Bonus Poker, Aces and Faces, Draw Poker and more. Many of the games allow you to play up to 25 hands at once.
Everywhere Else: CasinoMax has everything from Sevens Wild to Loose Deuces, Jacks or Better, and Doubel Double Bonus Poker. They offer one of the better bonuses out there with a 150% match up to $1500. A $1000 deposit would net you another $1500 in money to play.
What Video Poker Games / Variations Are There?
Jacks or Better: This is the standard game of video poker, sometimes called Draw Poker. The name is based off of pay-offs started at a pair of Jacks. A pair of tens or anything lower would not earn you a payoff. Some casinos will offer Tens or Better, but the odds are even worse on the payoff for a pair of tens.
Joker’s Wild: One of the most popular video poker games. This game adds four jokers into the deck which serve as wild cards. The wilds are adding to make bigger and bigger hands. However, the “lowest” hand to win is typically two pair.
Deuces Wild: Similar to the above game, but without the extra four cards added to the deck. The lowest paying hand in this game is three of a kind.
Aces and Eights: Hands with four aces or four eights are extremely high paying in this game.
Bonus Poker/Double Bonus Poker: This is the same as Jacks or Better or Draw Poker, but with bigger bonuses for the bigger hands.
Progressive Jackpot: This is when all of the games in a casino add together for a giant jackpot for the best hand. So instead of the machine’s high payout, you would receive what the group’s payout would be. The hand you need to win this would be a royal flush, the best hand in all of poker.
How to Play Video Poker Online:
It is pretty easy to get started playing video poker at an online casino.
- Pick the game you want to play from the video poker section of the casino.
- The first thing you do is set the amount of money that you want to bet. Casinos will let you start as low as $0.05.
- Click deal to see your hand.
- Once the hand is dealt, you can then choose what cards you want to keep by click on them. When you have decided, click “Draw”.
- This will deal the cards for your final hand. If you won, the payout will be displayed on screen.
- You can then click “Deal” again to do a new hand at the same wager. Or else you can raise or lower your wager before click “Deal” again to start a new hand.
Common Video Poker Questions:
Which video poker game has the best odds?:
If you are looking strictly at the pay table then you have to go with Double Bonus Poker. This game takes Jacks or Better hands and two pair hands and pays them off at 1/1. This is lower than most games, but they make up for it in providing higher payoffs for better hands.
Should I switch video poker games if it is not paying out?:
No. Every hand in video game is random so there is no such thing as “hot” or “cold” machine. Each hand is its own randomized entry in the machine so a losing hand doesn’t mean that another losing hand is coming. It doesn’t mean a winning hand is coming either.
How many credits should I bet?:
In video poker, you should always bet the max credits. The jackpots pay much higher on max credits, often more than triple the one-credit jackpot amount. Additionally, the odds of hitting a big hand don’t get any better or worse depending on your bet.
What is a “kicker” in Video Poker?
A kicker is just a term for a card that does not make up your actual hand. Say on your first draw, you receive the Jack of Hearts, Clubs and Spades. Then an 8 of Diamonds and a 2 of Spades. The 8 and 2 are both “kickers” as they don’t make up part of your current scoring hand of three of a kind.
If you have two kickers in Video Poker should you discard them both?
Using the example above – yes. You would be increasing your chances of Four of a Kind, which at most video poker machines is much more valuable than a full house.
Is there Strip Video Poker?
Amazingly, yes. Not in a traditional online casino setting but there are different games you can find online. One of them has you playing against the AI and you win a certain amount and they take off more clothes. Then there are sites where you pay money – sort of like a cam site – and can play strip poker live with women.
Feel free to google those! I only link and recommend online casinos that I’ve played at and I’m not going to pay $6.99 a hand with a cam girl just to see if they are reputable haha.
What is the Video Poker House Edge / Advantage?
It varies based on the game. It will generally be from 0.5% to 5% but each game has a different house edge. Casinos are required to list this on their website. They normally list it in the form of payback. So if a video poker game says it has 97% payback, that means the house edge for that particular game is 3%. Meaning in the long run if you bet $100, you would get $97 back.
Video Poker Betting Strategy:
On the initial deal, it is important to know your pay table and the amount of outs you have.
For example, let’s say you hit a pair of sevens. The game only pays out with Jacks or Better though so what should you do? Discard.
The reason for this that you only have two outs and that would be the other two sevens in the deck. You don’t have a great chance of hitting the third and even if you do, it is likely to be a break even payoff. That’s not worth the risk for the payoff.
If the game wants to pay out Jacks or Better, only keep Jacks or Better in a pair situation.