Online Video Poker Games On Casino Websites
Video Poker is a game that is based on the basic 5-draw poker. It is considered as a cross between poker and slot machines, since the game is a contest between a player and a machine that acts as the dealer. The goal of the game is to come up with the most powerful poker hand ranking to be paid out by the machine. The payout at the end of the game is dependent on the final hand value that the player is holding and the amount of the wager made.
Online Video Poker Games
Online casino websites recognized the rising popularity of Video Poker games in live casinos, that's why they currently offer the game along with numerous casino games, second only to online slot machines in terms of the number of varieties available in just a single casino website.
How To Play Online Video Poker
The mechanics on how to play online video poker is very simple and only requires a basic understanding of poker hands and a common sense in order to play the game effectively.
An online video poker game starts by first choosing the amount of wager. In multi-hand video poker games, you have to decide how many number of hands to play with. Each hand will use the same amount of wager you choose. After betting the desired amount and selecting the number of hands to play, the machine, which acts as the dealer, will deal you with five face down cards. Upon turning the cards face up, your initial hand/s will be displayed, and if any hand forms a rank that can be found on the paytable, that rank will be highlighted on the paytable. You then decide which cards to hold (keep) or discard in hope of forming a stronger hand ranking. You may choose to keep all cards, or if you had discarded one or more cards, you have to draw cards to replace the ones that you discarded. You will be paid out for a hand ranking of at least one pair of 10s or Jacks, depending on the minimum winning hand ranking in each video poker variety. The higher is the hand rankings, the higher is your payout.
You can collect your payout immediately and start a new game. You can also choose to double your winnings, by choosing a card in which your payout will be doubled if the card you selected is higher than the dealer's card.
Video Poker Hand Rankings
Standard poker hand rankings are used in determining the final hand value that you are holding at the end of the game. However, depending on the video poker variety, the least rank that will be paid out will vary, and there are some twists in the payouts for each hand ranks, as well as some additional rankings that are introduced. The standard poker hand rankings that every video poker variety is using are Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Full House, Four of a Kind, Straight, Flush, Three of a Kind, and Two Pairs.
For one pairs, the term "Jacks or Better" and "Tens or Better" is used to denote that the least hand that will be paid are one pair of Jack and one pair of Tens, respectively.
Basic Online Video Poker Buttons
Playing online video poker games comes with a familiarization of a number of buttons in order to know the game better. Most varieties of the game use the same set of buttons. These buttons are as follows:
Increase [+] and Decrease [-] COIN Buttons - allows you to decide on the coin denominations that you want to wager.
Increase [+] and Decrease [-] HAND Buttons - allows you to choose the number of hands that you wish to play, usually from 1 to 4 hands. This button is not available to single hand video poker games, for these varieties only uses one hand to play.
BET ONE - allows you to increase the number of the coins you want to wager one by one. If the number of coins is already in the maximum based on the game limits, the counter resets to 1.
BET MAX - allows you to wager the maximum amount of coins based on the game limits, and instantly starts the game.
DEAL - allows you to start the game after you have chosen the desired amount to bet.
HOLD - allows you to keep a card in your hand. If you already had chosen to keep a card, the button on that card is now labeled as HELD, and clicking on this button, or just the held card, allows you to discard the card.
DRAW - allows you to complete the game by dealing new cards in place of the unheld cards, if there is any.
REBET - allows you to start another game with the same amount of bet and number of hands as the previous game. If you have a payout, this will automatically be collected by clicking the button.
COLLECT - allows you to collect your winnings.
DOUBLE - allows you to double your winnings.
Online Video Poker Game Limits and Payouts
Most video poker games accepts 1 to 5 coins, with denominations from $0.50 to $20 each coin. Thus, the minimum wager is $0.50 and the maximum allowed bet is $100. Payouts vary from one game type to another, usually having Royal Flush as the hand with the highest payout.
