Online Video Poker

The technology has improved in a staggering amount in the decades since the first video poker machines become available. Improvements in technology led to better graphics and sound effects as well as improved computing speeds that allowed games to evolve. Today there are literally numbers of different variations of this game. Each variation have certain rules and specific strategies, but the general rules, based on the game of poker, will always be the same.
In poker, the winner is decided by the holding cards. There is a hierarchy of hands and whoever is holding the highest hand value wins. Although you are not competing against other players, make the biggest hand possible because the payouts are based on it. The higher the ranking, the bigger amount you'll win.
You will need at least a high pair to win any payout. In the game variant called Jacks or Better, you need a pair of Jacks to enter in the payout table. In a game like Deuces Wild, you must compile three of a kind as minimum hand to receive any payout because the wildcards give you more possibilities to build a winning hand. There are various rules alterations in video poker online, but for whichever variant you fancy playing there will be a payout schedule that states precisely how much each winning hand will pay.

The usual elements of strategy will be understood undoubtedly by anyone who has some understanding of the odds in the game. For players that have some understanding of the game of poker, knowing when to keep some hands and when to draw cards will be simple in most cases.

Following settling the bet, the cards are dealt and you have the option to keep and discard the ones that you do not wish. After you've discarded the cards you would draw new ones and then you would either win or lose the bet.

If you are dealt a remarkably strong hand from the beginning, clearly you'll want to hold these cards so you would not break up a winning hand. A basic example can be when holding full house that consists of three Kings and a pair of 2s. With such hand, it wouldn't make sense to throw away the 2s in hopes of getting that fourth King. The game probabilities are against King coming up and you would be tossing away a strong hand.

Forming the right decision can be tricky sometimes. If hand have four cards of the same suit and one of the suited cards is also part of a pair you may wish to split it in order to try for the flush. For example, if you held the Ace of clubs, King of clubs, Queen of clubs, Jack of clubs, and Jack of hearts, you may wish to discard the Jack of hearts in order to try for the possible royal flush. In a variant like Jacks or Better, a pair of Jacks would cover initial stake so, in this case, it will be smarter to going for the royal flush that pays off at as much as 800 to 1 for a maximum credit bet.

Sometimes the decisions about which cards to get rid of or hold are not challenging and other times the right move is not quite as obvious. Making the rational decisions in this game certainly levels the playing field in players advantage so learning the right moves to make with any possible hand will increase winnings. It is dangerous to not remember that there are variations of the game and even in the same games payouts may not always be identical on all casino sites. You must know payouts table for the game you choose and learn a strategy that is suited to that particular variation.

1. Bankroll

   – The bigger bankroll you manage, the bigger is the game you can play, and the greater your hourly expected win rate if you're pro player. Many players use money from their bankroll to spend on other things. Make sure to establish independent bankroll that's sufficient to sustain throughout the levels of the game.

2. Don't skip practice

   – You can play and practice here or you can buy a strategy tutor, but we suggest to not spend any funds to learn it. The common route to train your skills is with the free games we offer on this page. Sadly, numerous players choose to skip the training and go directly to the real money games.

3. Learn the strategy

   – The biggest slip a player can make is not learning the strategy. After all, the strategic moves exist and you need to play them in every hand combination and every time you make a mistake, your expected profits will go down. So don't be green and learn all you can about the video poker variations that you play.

4. Don't chase small payouts

   – You can't sacrifice chances for bigger wins just to keep a smaller win. For instance, if you've got a straight and four cards to a royal flush, drop the straight and go for the royal flush.

5. Play max coins on progressive games

   – In this variants, the only way to win the progressive jackpot is by playing the max coin amount. Sure this requires more money, but it's the only way to achieve maximum payout percentage. So not playing the max coin amount is definitely a huge mistake.

6. Don't play low-paying variations

   – Pro players are aware that for beating the house, or at least to come close and breaking even, it is required to play the right games. Make sure you are playing the highest payout versions.