Video poker is a game variant of Poker that is played by one player against the dealer which is a computerized machine that resembles a slots. Today, video poker games are very common, especially in online casino websites.

How to Play Video Poker

The objective of the game is to obtain a poker hand that pays out the most in the video poker pay table. Similar to how slot machines works, video poker on live casinos operates by inserting one or more credits into the machine. After inserting the desired amount to wager, the players have to press the "Deal" button, and then cards will be virtually dealt.

Five cards will be dealt to the player by the video poker machine, in which the player has the opportunity to discard one or more of the cards. In doing so, the player has to draw additional cards in exchange of the discarded ones. This is done to make the best poker hand combination.

The payout for the game depends on the rank of the final hand that the player has obtained. The basic poker hand ranking system is applied in video poker, and except for a certain variety of video poker, the hand ranking that pays out the most is the Royal Flush. The lowest hand ranking that can pay out depends on the video poker variant that is played. Typical games only pay out on a hand that has at least a pair of Jack, and is usually even money.

Some video poker machines offer progressive jackpots, in which several machines are linked together and shares a common jackpot that constantly increases as the players wager on these interlinked machines. This encourages players to play and wager more coins frequently.

Video Poker Varieties

As the game poker itself has many varieties, video poker also have a lot of game variants that usually differs on the way a specific card or hand ranking is played. In most game types that use wild symbols, the machine determines the other cards the player is currently holding, and automatically assigns a card value to the wild symbol to form the highest possible hand ranking, thus, giving the player the best possible payout.

Aces and Faces - a video poker game in which a four-of-a-kind hand consisting of a kicker plus either four Aces, Jacks, Queens, or Kings has increased payout. Players need a hand of at least one pair of Jack to be paid out.

Deuces Wild - a variety of video poker where any deuce or 2 acts as a wild card and can complete a strong and winning hand ranking. The lowest hand ranking that will pay out is any three of a kind.

Joker Poker - a video poker variant that uses a 53-card deck (including one Joker). The Joker acts as a wild card and can be assigned to any card of any suit to form the best possible hand.

Deuces and Joker - a video poker game in which both the deuces and the Joker serves as wild cards. Three of a kind is also the minimum rank required in order to be paid out. The hand that pays out the most in this variety is a hand that contains four deuces and the Joker.

Double Joker - a video poker game in which both the deuces and the Joker serves as wild cards. Three of a kind is also the minimum rank required in order to be paid out. The hand that pays out the most in this variety is a hand that contains four deuces and the Joker.

Jacks or Betterr - a variety of video poker in which a pair of Jacks is the least valuable poker hand that will be paid out by the machine. There are no wild card used in this variety.

Tens or Better - a video poker game in which both the deuces and the Joker serves as wild cards. Three of a kind is also the minimum rank required in order to be paid out. The hand that pays out the most in this variety is a hand that contains four deuces and the Joker. a video poker game where the lowest poker hand that will pay out is a hand that contains a pair of Tens. There are also no wild cards that are used in this game variant.

Multi-Hand Video Poker Games - Multi-Hand Video Poker Games - Some online casinos offer multi-hand video poker games, in which the players can play more than one hand at the same time.