Video poker is a simple and easy game to understand. Our experts are here to guide you to break down everything you need to know about this popular casino game.
In the next section, we cover the aim of the game, how to win, the buttons and so much more. Let’s jump in!
How to play Online Video Poker & Rules
Video poker online is based on five-card poker where the aim of the game is to make your best five-card hand. The best-ranked hand you can get is called a royal flush, which is 10, J, Q, K, and A in the same suit. Nevertheless, the chances of landing it are a whopping 649,739:1!
The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards, with four suits; clubs, spades, diamonds and hearts. Ace acts as a low or a high, with the weakest card being 2 and the strongest Ace.
To start the game use the buttons at the bottom of the screen, There, you can edit your bet size and launch a new game. Depending on the variant, there will be other betting rounds.
Once you’ve started you’ll be dealt five random cards. From there, you can decide to hold or change the cards you have to make the best possible hand. Notably, at many video poker casinos, you’ll only win on a pair if it’s jacks or better.
You’ll win if you hold a hand better than the dealer, running from the lowest high card up to a royal flush. We’ll cover the poker hand ranking in the next section.
Poker Hand Ranking
Depending on the video poker casino sites and the variant, you will not win on every hand even if it’s better than the dealers. With some, you’ll need to get at least a pair of jacks and with others, you must land at least two pair or three of a kind.
Below, we’ve made a handy guide on the strongest to weakest hand when you play video poker.
- High card: The lowest possible hand where you do not land anything except the highest card possible. On this occasion, ace is the best and 2 is the worst.
- Pair: A pair is when you have two of any card. The strongest hand is AA whilst the weakest is 22. If you’re lucky you may get dealt a pair at the start of the game.
- 2 pair: 2 pair is when you have two sets of pairs such as JJ and 99. Interestingly Ace beats them all so an AA and a 22 will beat a KK and a QQ. The last of your five cards will be a high card.
- Three of a kind: Three of a kind is landing three of the same number such as three 7s. In some variants you could be dealt two 7s at the start and in the community cards a 7 is dealt. Otherwise, in five-card poker, you’ll just be dealt 3 7s.
- Straight: A straight is five cards in ascending order but not in the same suit. For instance, A, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in different suits. The best straight you can land is 10, J, Q, K and Ace.
- Flush: A flush is when you hold five cards in the same suit. This is difficult to land as you’ll need 5/13 cards. Ace is the highest flush possible you can hit.
- Full house: A full house is when you have one pair and a three-of-a-kind. The three-of-a-kind takes precedence, so if you hold AAA and 22, this will beat KKK and QQ.
- Four-of-a-kind: A four-of-a-kind is when you hold all four numbers for all four suits. Also known as quads at many video poker casinos, the odds of landing a four-of-a-kind are 41460/1.
- Straight flush: A straight flush is when you have a straight in all the same suit. For example, you are holding 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of diamonds. The odds are an impressive 72, 193/1.
- Royal flush: The royal flush is the best possible straight flush which you can get. Sometimes at video poker casinos“royal flush” will just be under straight flush. It’s when you get 10, J, Q, K and A in the same suit.
Video Poker Features
When you play at video poker casinos, the games have many buttons. We cover each one in depth for you below.
Bet max button: The bet max button allows you to place the maximum amount you can bet on each round. The amount will vary depending on the video poker casino sites.
- Hold button: Once you’ve been dealt the five random cards, the next thing you need to do is pick which ones you want to keep. For this, just press the “Hold” button directly underneath each card.
- Deal button: When you’re happy with the bet size and want to start the game, hit the “Deal” button. Next, five cards will be dealt to you randomly.
- Draw button: Once you’ve pressed hold on the cards you want to keep, press the draw button to be dealt new cards. From there, you make your best hand.
How to understand the paytable
When you play at video poker casinos the paytable is located in the top right or left corner of the game. There, you’ll be able to see how much you’ll get paid if you land a particular hand. It will be displayed as odds and it will vary on the game. As an example, you’ll get 1:1 on jacks or better and 80:1 on a royal flush.