Video Poker Overview
Video Poker is a relatively modern game in the gambling world, and as an arcade-style ‘machine’ game one that’s particularly well-suited to online casino gaming. In essence it’s a hybrid of the modern mechanisms of slot machines with the traditional card game of Poker. Typically, multiple hands of up to five cards each are dealt to the player, following which they must try and make the best hand possible by a process of discarding or keeping cards. The payout at the end of the game is determined by the value of the hand you are holding. You will also commonly find that a winning hand will also give rise to a further opportunity to play again for ‘double or nothing’ in a bonus round.
Additional Information
Although to play Video Poker only requires a very basic understanding of the value of traditional Poker hands, if those are a mystery to you, we’d always recommend getting familiar with those first to get the most out of playing this game. Once you’re au fait with the first principles of classic five card Poker then Video Poker itself is extremely simple.
Ahead of play you choose the amount of money you want to bet by putting coins to that value into the machine (playing online you click on a ‘coin menu’ to replicate this action), then hit the ‘Deal’ button to start the game.
The first hand of cards appear on the screen after which you should refer to the onscreen payout schedule to see what are, or could potentially develop into, winning hands. Similar to playing slots, you can then choose to ‘hold’ certain cards and then replace the rest by hitting the ‘Draw’ button for new cards. If you then hold a winning hand you can either collect your winnings, or attempt to double your money with a further bonus game.
One you have collected any winnings from a game, you can play a new hand by hitting the ‘Deal’ button again.
The Online Game
Like slots there are lots of customisations of the basic Video Poker game online, so we’d always recommend reading the game guides at the specific online casino you’ve chosen to familiarise yourself with its software’s controls and player options. All Video Poker machines essentially play the same way, but you’ll find plenty of variations in the number of hands you can play, sizes of bets you can make, and the payout schedules (including machines that play for progressive jackpots) to explore, if you enjoy the basic game.