Video Poker Online
The cornerstone of the gambling business, video poker is one of the most thrilling games you can play in both traditional and online casinos.
Millions of gamblers around the world have been enthralled by various variants of this card game, such as Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, and Bonus Poker – ever since Dale Electronics unveiled the first video poker machine in the 1970s.
Why are there so many players playing online real money video poker, and how has the game remained so well-liked for so long? Well, among all casino games, video poker has one of the smallest house edges.
This game’s popularity is enhanced by the fact that it is based on 5-card draw poker, a variation that recreational card players really enjoy.
*If you are rusty on the relative strength of different poker hands consult our poker hand rankings page for a refresher.
Video Poker is very popular today – and it’s clear why video poker has endured for more than 50 years when you consider that it also incorporates a skill / strategy component to maximize winnings (unlike slots – which are 100% random).
Video poker’s popularity has surged to new heights since the introduction of iGaming (online gambling). Players can now benefit from enormous bonuses and receive an advantage when playing video poker for real money online. They can also shop around for games with the best payouts (see our video poker pay-tables section below). Using smart game selection and utilization of video poker bonuses can raise your winning chances and bankroll substantially.
Video Poker Hands – Best to Worst
If you are not sure whether a straight beats a flush, or which poker hands are the strongest – refer to the following list:
- 10 ♥ J ♥ Q ♥ K ♥ A ♥ Royal flush
- 2 ♣ 3 ♣ 4 ♣ 5 ♣ 6 ♣ Straight Flush
- 6 ♠ 6 ♥ 6 ♣ 6 ♦ X x Four of a Kind / Quads / Poker
- 9 ♠ 9 ♥ 9 ♣ 3 ♦ 3 ♥ Full House
- 8 ♠ A ♠ 9 ♠ 10 ♠ K ♠ A Flush
- 4 ♠ 5 ♥ 6 ♣ 7 ♠ 8 ♦ A Straight
- 2 ♠ 2 ♥ 2 ♣ 9 ♠ 7 ♦ 3 of a kind
- A ♠ A ♣ Q ♣ Q ♠ 3 ♦ Two Pair
- K ♠ K ♣ 4 ♠ 9 ♠ 3 ♦ Pair
- A ♠ 7 ♣ 2 ♠ 9 ♠ 6 ♦ High Card
How to play Online Video Poker
What is Video-poker? Video poker is a simple computer vs player poker game, using a standard 52-card poker deck.
Slot machine similarities abound in video poker. However, it has a significant difference that incorporates a skill component. You must develop an game-plan that will enable you to play the cards handed to you in the most effective way possible if you want to get the most value for your money – playing as close as possible to video poker ‘optimal strategy’.
5-card draw (by far the most straightforward type of poker), is the basis for all other video poker varieties. Players are dealt a 5-card poker hand in this game, and they can either keep the hand or exchange some of the cards for fresh ones. Following an exchange of bad cards, or if the player changes no cards (“staying pat”), the player’s final showdown hand is apparent. This hand is what will be paid according to the video-poker pay-table.
Here is a step-by-step description of how a typical hand of video poker goes:
- Players set the stake after loading their real money video poker game. The stake is the price per hand, similar to the price per spin on a slot-machine. Various casinos have different betting limits, although they typically range from $0.20 to $50.
- Once your stake has been set, click the “Deal” button to draw your first five cards. You can discard one or all five cards, (depending on the game variant), to create your final best poker hand combination for your showdown hand.
- The game pay-table is applied to the showdown hand to determine how much you will be paid.
If you wish to rely only on luck, these are the foundational concepts you need to be aware of in order to get started. There are a few concepts you need to understand if you want to play video poker for real money and increase your winnings.
The most crucial phrase you should learn is “full pay,” which describes the highest-paying variation of a video poker machine. Each video poker variant has a variety of pay tables with distinctive house edges and payout systems. Because Jacks or Better, the most common form of video poker, pays 9 times the stake for a full house and 6 times the stake for a flush in full-pay mode, it is frequently referred to as 9/6 Jacks or Better.
Each full-pay version of each real money video poker game is available.
For payout tables numbers, the payoff for the full house is shown by the first number, while the payout for the flush is shown by the second. It goes without saying that you should seek for variations with the biggest payouts for a full house and flush since these games have a more advantageous house edge than low-paying variants.
Although the goals and regulations of each poker variant are the similar, there are some minor variations between them that you should be aware of in order to come up with the best plan of attack. Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Aces & Eights, Bonus Poker, Joker Poker, and Faces and Deuces are some of the most popular video poker games to play online for real money.
Video Poker Pay Tables
One of the features of video poker which gamblers like a lot is that fact that you can work out the “price” or potential cash gain on any given video-poker machine before you play.
This is why video poker it is frequently a “beatable” game and why you will always get the most bang for your buck playing it if you play correctly.
Casinos typically “loosen” or “tighten” a game’s payout by adjusting the quantity of coins won on specific pay categories, most frequently complete houses, flushes, and four-of-a-kinds. Every game has a different set of straights and three-of-a-kinds. The full house/flush numbers are typically the main determinant of a machine’s payback % and your key to determining whether that game is one you can take advantage of. To play longer and earn more money and comps, you want to select the ones with the best returns (aka return to player, or RTP).
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 6/5 |
95.36%
|
| 7/5 |
96.25%
|
| 8/5 |
97.40%
|
| 8/6 |
98.49%
|
| 9/6 |
99.64%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 10/4/3/2 |
95.34%
|
| 12/4/3/2 |
96.22%
|
| 10/4/3/3 |
97.36%
|
| 13/4/3/3 |
98.80%
|
| 9/4/4/3 |
99.45%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 25/15/10/4/3/2 |
94.82%
|
| 20/10/8/4/4/3 |
95.96%
|
| 25/16/13/4/3/2 |
96.77%
|
| 20/12/9/4/4/3 |
97.06%
|
| 20/12/10/4/4/3 |
97.58%
|
| 25/15/9/4/4/3 |
98.91%
|
| 25/16/10/4/4/3 |
99.73%
|
| 25/15/11/4/4/3 |
99.96%
|
| 25/15/9/5/3/2 |
100.76%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 20/9 |
97.68%
|
| 25/9 |
98.61%
|
| 25/12 |
99.81%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 7/5 |
93.11%
|
| 8/5 |
94.19%
|
| 9/6/4 |
96.38%
|
| 9/6/5 |
97.81%
|
| 9/7/5 |
99.11%
|
| 10/7 |
100.17%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 6/5 |
94.66%
|
| 7/5 |
95.71%
|
| 8/5 |
96.79%
|
| 9/5 |
97.87%
|
| 9/6/4 |
98.98%
|
| 10/6 |
100.07%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 6/5 |
95.12%
|
| 7/5 |
96.17%
|
| 8/5 |
97.25%
|
| 9/5 |
98.33%
|
| 9/6 |
99.44%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 6/5 |
95.00%
|
| 7/5 |
96.15%
|
| 8/5 |
97.30%
|
| 8/6 |
98.39%
|
| 9/5 |
98.45%
|
| 9/6 |
99.54%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback | 800/200/100/50/20/6/5/3/2/1/1 |
93.78%
|
|---|---|
| 800/200/100/40/20/5/4/3/2/1/1 |
95.46%
|
| 800/200/100/50/15/7/5/3/2/1/1 |
96.38%
|
| 940/200/100/50/15/7/5/3/2/1/1 |
96.74%
|
| 100/800/100/100/16/8/5/4/2/1 |
97.19%
|
| 940/200/100/50/17/7/5/3/2/1/1 |
98.44%
|
| 940/200/100/50/18/7/5/3/2/1/1 |
99.29%
|
| 1000/100/50/50/20/10/6/5/2/1 |
99.92%
|
| 800/200/100/50/20/7/5/3/2/1/1 |
100.65%
|
| 940/200/100/50/20/7/5/3/2/1/1 |
101.00%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 6/5 |
96.87%
|
| 7/5 |
97.77%
|
| 8/5 |
98.69%
|
| 9/5 |
99.69%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 6/5 |
96.62%
|
| 7/5 |
97.67%
|
| 8/5 |
98.73%
|
| 9/5 |
99.80%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 20/10/8/4/3/2 |
99.92%
|
| Pay-Table | Payback |
|---|---|
| 7/5 |
94.92%
|
| 8/5 |
95.97%
|
| 9/5 |
97.02%
|
| 9/6 |
98.15%
|
| 9/7 |
99.58%
|
Video Poker Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a royal flush pay in video poker?
The payout of a Royal Flush (the best possible poker hand, followed by a straight flush, then four of a kind) depends on the video poker machine or game pay-table. The pay-table is an on-screen reference on video-poker machines / apps / games, which tells the player how much they will earn (per unit bet) at showdown depending on the strength of their poker hand (e.g. pair, 2 pair, 3 of a kind, etc).
Is there such a thing as "hot" video poker machines?
Computer RNGs (random number generators) don't factor in previous results, so for example a machine or video poker game online should not know that it just paid out a royal flush and that it statistically shouldn't pay out another for at least 40,000 more hands.
The odds of getting any give hand on a video poker game are the same regardless of what happened on the hand before.
How Does a Video Poker Random Number Generator Work?
A random number generator (RNG) is computer software or hardware which cycles through numbers in a specific range, and a rate of a millions of numbers per second. When the deal button on a video poker game is hit, the RNG stops at whichever number it’s on, and deals a card corresponding to the one of the cards remaining in the virtual deck.
Does Video Poker have 52 Cards just like Regular Texas Hold'em Poker?
Video poker decks generally have 52 cards, unless there is an added wild-card (e.g. in Joker Poker), in which case the deck contains 1 extra card, for a total of 53 cards.
Does Video Poker offer higher returns to player (RTP) than slots?
Video poker, on average, returns more to players than slot machines.
What are the odds of getting a royal flush in a hand of video poker?
The odds of hitting a royal flush (the best possible hand in poker, also know as "the nuts") is 1 in 649,740 - in any 52-card poker game (with no wild-cards).
How is video poker different from 5-card poker?
Video Poker is similar to regular 5-card poker, with the only difference - you cannot lose more than your initial bet. The poker hand rankings are also the same in all Hold'em poker variants.