Video poker has become increasingly popular over recent years and can be played both online and on land. The rules are fairly straight forward once you know your poker hands. Video poker combines the classic poker game with the randomness of slots, and with a low house edge it is definitely one to be enjoyed. There are numerous variations of video poker and although they all have the same basic idea; each can vary slightly in rules and pay-outs. We will look further into all the kinds of video poker games available and how to play so you can find exactly what suits you.

The aim of the game is to obtain the highest ranking 5 card poker hand possible. Video poker is and the hands are the same of that with classic poker but without the added pressure of playing against other players.

In case you are not familiar with your classic poker hands, here are the winning card combinations you can expect to find when playing video poker in order from higher ranking first. • Royal flush is an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 of the same suit, for example all hearts. • Straight flush is any other run of cards also in the same suit. For example, four, five, six, seven and eight of diamonds. • Four of a kind is when you have all four of the same number. For example, four aces. • Full house if formed of a pair and three of a kind. For example, two kings and three queens. • Flush is any five cards of any value but of the same suit. For example, three, five, six, nine and jack of clubs.

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• Straight a run of cards like the straight flush but can be of any suit. Example, any eight, nine, ten, jack and queen. • Three of a kind is any three cards of the same value. • Two pair is any two pairs. • Jacks or better refers to one pair but of jack or higher. This can be a pair of jacks, queens, kings or Aces. Winning hands and pay-outs can vary between video poker games, depending on the version or where you are playing, but most video pokers will have the pay table on display as you play so you can get familiar. When a bet has been placed, five cards will be dealt. You will then have the option to hold which cards you want to keep and replace the ones you don’t in order to form the best hand possible. There is no limit to how many cards you can hold or trade in but it can only be done once.

When getting started, you will be able to choose how many coins you bet. Of course, the higher number of coins you bet the higher the pay-out respectively. Most pay tables will look a little something like this.

There are many variations of video poker, generally the term is found within the title and can include pokers with wild cards or with additional winning hands. The pay table above shows the pay-outs for a full pay video poker, this can also be referred to as a 9/6 variation. This is because a full house pays 9 to 1 and the flush pays 6 to 1. Some of the varied games however can have a higher house edge where the pay-outs can be reduced from 9 to 1 to 6-8 to 1 and from 6 to 1 to 5 to 1.

Jacks or better as it is known today is the classic version of the first video poker game that was introduced in the 70’s, then called draw poker. This is the most common version of video poker available with the lowest winning hand being a pair of Jacks.

It’s all in the title, with this version of video poker, the only real difference is that the lowest winning hand instead of being a pair of jacks, is a pair of tens (or better). With the winning odds being a little higher, the pay-outs are a little lower respectively, being a 6/5 game.

Deuces wild may just be the most popular version of video poker due to all two’s being wild meaning a higher-ranking winning combination is more easily achievable. Any two in the deck will substitute for any other card in order to make the possible combination for the hand in play. For instance, if you have a pair and a two in your hand, this will automatically make for a three of a kind. A pair of jacks (or better) and two pair are generally not included in the winning hands in Deuces wild due to the great odds making the lowest winning hand a three of a kind. The highest winning hand is still the Royal Flush, however if this is formed using two’s as wild cards, this becomes the second highest winning hand with lower pay-outs than the naturally formed Royal flush.

Not unlike deuces wild, joker poker includes jokers in the decks and they are the wild cards in this version instead of twos. Again, a royal flush made with jokers will offer a different pay-out to the highest royal flush.

Aces and eights are another variation of poker whereby when you hit four of a kind of said cards, so either four aces or four eights, you will also collect higher pay-outs. Similarly, you may come across Aces and faces which is the same concept but using face cards along with aces instead of eights for higher pay-outs or even All aces video poker which has staggered pay-outs for four of a kind values, with Aces being the highest. Many of the variations will also have a double your money bet where if you make a winning hand, you can gamble your winnings in the chance to double them with a side game. If you choose to gamble, you will be dealt another 5 cards, the first card will be showing and the other four face down. In order to double your money, you will pick a card at random and if the chosen card is of a higher value than the original card showing, you win. See also Independent sites, Non Gamstop Casinos, Payment methods, Gaming tip Blackjack and Gaming Tip Baccarat