Video Poker Rules

Video Poker Facts - Poker as we know it today was believed to be first played on the New Orleans steamboats in the early 1800's.  It became the all-American game.  Video poker was first introduced in Las Vegas in the mid 1970's and had luke-warm reviews due to the limited payouts.  Later when the payouts improved, it became much more popular amongst players. It has become so popular now that it's one of the hottest games in casinos not only because it is fun and easy to play but also because of the player advantage.

Video Poker Purpose, Types and How To Play - In video poker, the purpose of the game is to achieve the best possible hand.  Video poker is an interactive game of skill because the player gets to choose the cards to keep and which ones to discard.  It is not a game of chance like slots.  The payout amount in video poker is dependant upon a winning hand combination.  A basic knowledge of five-card draw poker is required like the ranking of the hands.

There are several different types of video poker machines and most are played with a 52-card deck.  Video poker machines will automatically determine the best hand to keep, with some automatically "holding" the cards for you.  There's Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Jokers Wild, Aces and Faces, Tens or Better and more, plus there are progressive video poker machines.

The major difference between the several varieties of video poker are the payout tables:

The rules only vary slightly.  If a player has a grasp of poker already, all video poker machines will be familiar territory.  Strategy, on the other hand, is a different story, and should be studied on an individual basis.  If a player is not familiar with poker whatsoever, a quick and simple look over the poker hands ranked and listed below will be sufficient to get started playing.  The following information will describe the exact protocol for playing an online video poker machine, no matter the variety.  Thereafter is a description of the poker hands, followed by a brief synopsis and the payout tables for Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild and Jokers Wild video poker.

After loading up an online video poker machine, a player will immediately see the playing screen , consisting of a space for cards, offset to one side by the payout table and the game logo.  Underneath the card section (near the bottom of the screen) are a series of buttons used to set stake amounts saying the words 'Bet One', 'Bet Max', 'Deal' and a plus/minus button to finely tune wager amounts.  The Bet One button will make $1 bets, whereas the Bet Max button will engage $5 bets.  Pressing the Bet One tab multiple times will increase the wager by $1 each time.  If the machine has multiple paylines, like progressive jackpot slot machines, players will probably have to click on an icon that says 'Payout Table' to see all the payouts for the different sized wagers.  Most machines will allow wagers in denominations of $0.05, 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, 3.00, 4.00 and $5.00.  The payout tables are usually in $1,2,3,4 and $5 denominations, whereas the wager size adjuster (which usually has a plus and minus sign on it) will only permit in-between betting amounts.  If the wager size adjuster does not enable in-between wagers like $3 or $4, all the player needs to do is click on the corresponding wager column of the payout table itself or on the Bet One tab multiple times.

After setting the wager amount, the player then clicks on the Deal button, which will set the machine into motion.  After all cards have settled, another series of buttons saying the word 'Hold' as well as a larger, solitary button labeled 'Deal' will appear.  The Hold buttons will appear directly underneath each card, and are clicked to keep cards in the hand.  Once they are, the word 'HELD' will be stamped over the card selected.  If hands are winners from the initial deal, the winning cards will automatically be held.  After making all 'Hold' selections, the player will click on the 'Deal' tab for a second time, after which, all discards will be replaced.  The final hand will be shown, and all winnings will be automatically paid out according to poker hand rank and payout scale.  If the hand wins, the player will have the opportunity to engage in a high card showdown with the machine, consisting of one upturned card representing the casinos, and five face-down cards which the player must choose one card from.  If the players card outranks the dealers (ties going to the player), the player will earn doubling winnings.  If so, the player will be given another opportunity to double winnings again.  This will keep going until the player decides to collect his or her winnings (by pressing the 'Collect' tab), or is beat by the casinos high card.  If the player loses, all original winnings, including the original stake, are lost. 

All poker hands are ranked according to the following (from lowest to highest):

Pair - Two cards of equal value or face. i.e. 7,7,4,Jack,Ace - the two 7's are the pair.
Two Pair - A total of four cards making two pairs. i.e. 5,5,9,9,King  - the two 5's and two 9's make the two pair.
Three of a Kind - Three cards of equal value or face. i.e. Queen,4,8,Queen,Queen - three Queens are the three of a kind, also called triple.
Straight - All cards are in numeric order or consecutive value. i.e. 7,8,9,10,Jack.
Flush - All cards are uniformly suited. i.e. 7h,3h,Aceh,9h,5h (h stands for Hearts)
Full House - Hand composed of a pair and a three of a kind. i.e. 5,5,5,8,8
Four of a Kind - Four cards of equal value or face. i.e. 2,2,2,2,7
Straight Flush - Combination of a straight and flush - All cards in numeric order and uniformly suited. i.e. 6h,7h,8h,9h,10h
Royal Flush - Highest straight flush possible.  There is only one Royal Flush for each suit: Ten, Jack, Queen, King, Ace.

Jacks or Better

This is the original video poker game that plays like standard poker, except that the lowest winning hand must be at least a pair of Jacks, hence the name.  Jacks or Better is known for delivering the best payout percentages.  The payout scale for each winning hand is as follows:

Deuces Wild

Known for being slightly more unpredictable than Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild pays out all poker hands above a three of a kind. Both Pairs and Two Pairs are not paid out since all two's (deuces) are considered Wild Cards.  This means that every two can be substituted for any value or suited cards.  By default, the machine will automatically assign the best possible value to a deuce when it is drawn.  Payouts are as follows: