Insightful Guide on Video Poker, Its Varieties, and Rules

Simply described as a casino game based on five-card draw poker, VP visually resembles a land-based slot machine, but that’s where all the similarities end. What makes it particularly interesting is the fact that it combines skills, low house edge along with solid winning potential.

Is there any proven successful strategy for video poker?

The only thing that works in VP and any other game is your knowledge, especially if you are skilled at calculating odds. There are many strategies, each variant has its own set of rules, but they have some things in common.

Stay with us to get to know Video poker closer!

Journey through VP History

Thanks to technological advancement, the birth of this type of gaming machine happened in 1979. The introduction of Draw Poker by SIRCOMA (currently known as International Game Technology) made the moment official.

This coincides with the production of first personal computers…

…which occurred in the mid-1970s. Though by today’s standards they could be seen as primitive, these devices made it possible for VP to enrich the entertainment industry and bring players more choice.

Compared to table games, this option was far less intimidating, which is why it rapidly gained plenty of popularity. Another reason for that was the fact that local casinos often offered lower denomination machines or better odds, making it available for a variety of bankrolls.

Continuing to push the limits…

…the development and modernization enhanced the entertainment industry with a digital counterpart of the game, which brought more variations and more possibilities.

Is It Difficult to Play Video Poker?

If you were to end up in a brick and mortar establishment, to start the game you’d need money or a bar-coded paper ticket with credit to insert into the machine. The next step is to place the bet and activate the game by pressing the “deal” button.

The player is then presented with 5 cards…

…exactly the same as in five-card draw, and has the chance to discard one or more of them. In exchange, new ones are drawn from the same virtual deck. After the draw, if the hand or hands played match one of the winning combinations given in the paytable, the machine cashes out.

As for the commands, there’s “Deal” to confirm a bet and five random cards, “Hold” with 5 buttons for each card to select the one to keep or hold zero to all five of them, and “Draw”, to replace those that aren’t held with new random ones from the deck.

One huge difference…

…compared to table variant of the game is that the punter may discard all 5 of the original cards if that’s the move he/she decides to play. When it comes to the online version, there’s a bunch of buttons for commands, and all it takes is to click. Instead of paper money or ticket, you use digital money.

Getting to Know Rich Assortment of Variations

The number of video poker variations is really impressive. If you were to analyze the names, it would appear that all it takes is to combine some of the words in groups of two or three and you get a new game. Some of those are the words bonus, poker, joker, deuces, aces, jacks, etc.

In reality…

…they do have rather similar names, but the rules are different for each specific variation. Each of them comes with its own set of rules, and if you are not following them, the result is losses. Trying to implement those is called a strategy mismatch.

Most VP games are played with a standard 52-card deck, while joker wild games will include one or more jokers in the deck. In Deuces Wild two assumes duties of wild, and there’s also Anything’s Wild, where the player selects any card (by rank) to act as the wild card before the hand is dealt.

The most commonly seen variants include:

• Jacks or Better- Also known as “Draw Poker”, the payoffs start with a pair of jacks. This one is also known as 9/6 Jacks or Better, while extra variants such as 10/6 and 9/7 can be found as promotions.

Additional variants of this one include 9/5 Jacks or Better, 8/6 Jacks or Better, 8/5 Jacks or Better, 7/5 Jacks or Better, 6/5 Jacks or Better, but they all come with reduced max payout percentage.

• All American- Designed by Bally Technologies, this one is based on Jacks or Better with an increased payout for flushes, straights and straight flushes, but reduced payout for full houses and two pairs (8-8-8-3-1 versus 9-6-4-3-2).
• Tens or Better- Being a variation of 6/5 Jacks or Better, it offers the minimum paying hand for a pair of tens, rather than a pair of Jacks.
• Joker’s Wild- With Joker as a wild to make stronger hands, one more winning hand is added to the combination: 5-of-a-kind.
• Deuces Wild- In this one, all twos represent wilds, and the payout for a four of a kind makes up approximately ⅓ of the payback percentage of the game. This combo occurs on average every fifteen hands.
• Bonus Poker- Based on Jacks or Better, it comes with a higher payout percentage for four of a kind, with a return of 99.2% for a full-pay version.
• Double Bonus- One more variation of Jacks or Better, it comes with a bonus payout for four aces. This variation offers up to a theoretical return of 100.2 percent when played with perfect strategy — however, this % is only on a “10/7” version of Double Bonus.
• Double Double Bonus- Also a variant of Jacks or Better, but this one offers bonus payoff for different four of a kind. Full pay Double Double Bonus can be found with pay schedules that offer up to a theoretical return of 100.1 percent when played with perfect strategy.

The list is even longer than that…

…but one more worth mentioning is Not So Ugly Ducks (NSUD), which apart from the silly name is well-known for paying 16 for a 5 of a kind and 10 for a straight flush.

Also, you will find some Multi-play or Multi-hand variants, where punters don’t play one hand at a time, but many. Each starts with the same cards on the deal, but are dealt with independent cards to each hand on the draw.

How do Paytables Look Like?

It’s the combination of cards that determines the payouts for hands- that’s a rule which goes for all machines. What differs the amount which will be paid out to a player is how often or rare those combinations are, a particular variation of the game and the house edge, of course.

Here’s the list of the hands:

• A pair of jacks
• Two pairs
• Three of a kind
• Straight (a sequence of 5 cards of consecutive value)
• Flush (any 5 cards of the same suit)
• Full house (a pair and a three of a kind)
• Four of a kind (four cards of the same value)
• Straight flush (5 consecutive cards of the same suit)
• Royal flush (a Ten, a Jack, a Queen, a King and an Ace of the same suit)

Unlike slot machines, VP doesn’t offer as many features and options, but some VPs offer progressive JPs or other unique bonuses.

How to Choose the Best and Most Rewarding Game?

The saying that “House ALWAYS has the advantage” is probably a familiar one to you, but video poker is an exception to it. Yours is to equip yourself with useful knowledge and know what, when, and where to look for.

Read carefully the following steps, as they should be part of your quest to good VP!

• Mind the paytable and house edge– This is the first destination to check out when presented to a machine (land-based or online, doesn’t matter), as differs from one game to another. For example, when playing Jacks or Better, always opt for 9/6 because it offers a fair return that offers full house pay on nine coins and flush pay on six coins. Any less than that represents a risk for the player, as the house edge is bigger.
• Look for reputable providers– With online entertainment, players are given a wider assortment of providers than in land-based hubs. Microgaming, Playtech, Rival, IGT, NetEnt, Realtime Gaming, are just some of the producers who have this game in the catalog.
• Take other incentives into account- Although VPs don’t have as many extras like slots, they may contribute to obtaining some other benefits, such as comp points, credits for play, rebate and so on.
• Choose a trustworthy casino– This rule goes for any game, including video poker. Take time to read Terms and Conditions, see if it has a license, check out the community feedback, and then evaluate whether it caters to your needs.
• Create your strategy- No, we don’t aim at you start inventing some new rules (unless you are an adventurous mathematician), but the amount of money and time you want to spend per playing session. In case you cannot manage those yourself, the majority of venues offers a whole spectrum of useful tools for support, assistance and setting limits.

As you can see…

…this is more or less the formula that can be applied to any game. No one can ever guarantee that you will end up collecting tons of cash, but it’s the knowledge that opens interesting possibilities.

“Full Pay”- The Sweetest and Shortest Definition of a Perfect Machine

The term describes the best version of a video poker machine. Although many of these releases encompass six or eight various pay tables, each comes with a different payout structure and house edge, meaning the player should check it out for every selected machine individually.

Indicated as 9/6, it’s the version that offers a 9:1 payout on the full house and a 6:1 payout on the flush. Some of the common options are 8/5 or 7/5 but don’t give up until you find the best one.

There’s one common trick…

…you should pay attention to it as well. You will find a higher payout on one of the top hands (four of a kind is common) for the less-than-full pay games, which might make you think this is it.

Don’t just look at the higher 4 of a kind and assume that’s the best-expected return because it often isn’t. This is the VP equivalent to setting up a single-hand blackjack table with a 1:1 payout on the blackjacks.

Becoming a Smarter Player

It’s not just a matter of “what beats what”, but also about knowing which cards to hold, which ones to throw away, and what’s even more important- which ones NOT to throw away.

For example…

…when one has Inside Straight (to illustrate: J, J, 10, 8, 7 of a different suit) a hand that has four cards for a straight but is missing the inside card, the best option would be to hold the pair of Jacks.

A hand that has four cards to a straight with each end open for a possible straight is called Open Ended Straight. Let’s say 7, 8, 9, 10, 10 of a different suit. The smartest move here? Hold the pair of 10s.

Four to a Flush is a hand that has four cards of the same suit. Something like 2, 5, 6, K, in hearts with a K of spades. What to do? Hold the pair Ks.

Then, there’s a Straight Flush…

…with four cards of the same suit in order (Q, J, 10, 9 of clubs with a Q of diamonds). Here, the smartest option is to hold suited cards and discard Q of diamonds.

One Card Jacks or Better is the situation where a player has one A, K, Q, or J with mismatched cards (something like 2, 4, 9, 10, K). Though it seems that nothing can be done, there’s one good solution- hold the K discard the rest.

When you have High Card 10 or Under…

…meaning any mismatched cards 10 or under (10, 7, 5, 3, 2), what do you think is the best to do? That’s right, discard them all.

There are more tips and tricks and the more one plays, the number of possibilities grows. So, to boil down a perfect strategy, we’d say it’s about knowing the best probability of catching a winning hand and optimizing the best possible paying hand.

Final Thoughts

As for the US, VP games online are now available in several states (New Jersey, Delaware, Nevada), but worldwide, the game can be found in many casinos, with the availability being determined by the specific location.

Thanks to the demo mode…

…and so many trainers and insightful guides on strategies, acquiring some basic knowledge is not difficult at all. As for the next levels, it’s all a matter of practicing and understanding how math works. And luck as well.

Frequently Asked Questions