Friday, 10 February 2012
Sunday, 08 June 2008 19:33

Video Poker Rules

An article about common video poker rules.


In video poker, as with any other card game, knowing the rules is essential to win. Your knowledge combined with a well-thought strategy, the willingness to gamble, and an ability to make the right decisions can result in an amazing difference in your game.

How the Game Works
The great thing about video poker is that it does not pose the threat of an intimidating opponent. In this game, it's all up to you to win. With video poker, your aim is to get the best hand to win the jackpot. As opposed to what some people think, the video poker machine does not have the house advantage that you often find in may casino games. These robotic dealers comply with casino regulations, so that they are guaranteed to generate random cards every time.

To start the game, you must bet an amount first, then hit the Deal button next. You may improve your hand by keeping or discarding some of your cards to get another random draw of fresh cards. Below each card is a Hold/Discard button that you may press depending on what you want to do with your hand. When you are done, you may hit the Deal button again and another game starts to give you a shot at winning the jackpot.

How the Cards are Ranked
All cards on the deck have specific values. The usual designation is that cards 2 to Ace are ranked from lowest to highest. There are some cases, however, where the Ace is valued at 1. If, for example, you draw the cards containing an Ace, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the same suit, you will have to value the Ace as 1 to get a Straight Flush, which pays about 50 to 1.

In some variations of video poker, a wild card is released. A wild card may be valued as any other card of any other suit and its purpose is to improve a hand. The wild card can come in either the form of a joker or a deuce.

General Rules
There must be a hundred and one versions of video poker available and each carries a different set of rules. However, you may refer to some of the general rules below to get you started.

    - Before you can start playing, you should first deposit an amount. Whether you are playing it in a land-based casino or online, you are required to place a certain amount to serve as your credit or bet.

    - Winning is simple: you just have to get the best hand. Getting the best hand, however, is the hard part. More often than not, the payoff for one hand is different from that of another. To get the best payout, you must get the highest ranking hand, which is the Royal Flush.

    - Once you have a winning hand, you have the option to either double your money by rolling it for another round where bigger stakes are offered or collect your winnings by drawing it out from the machine by hitting the Collect button.

    - A Royal Flush that contains a Joker or a Deuce is good, but it's not as rewarding as the real deal. A Joker Royal Flush pays only 100 to 1 while a Royal Flush pays 400 to 1.

    - Most of the video poker games available use the standard 52-card deck. However, Deuces Wild carries an extra four deuces and Joker Poker carries a single Joker card. Meanwhile Jacks or Better and Tens or Better both don't carry wild card.