When you play online video poker at a casino site, you are not playing the classic poker game you would be playing in a poker room. It’s a slot-like game that’s about landing poker card combinations, and it can be played with a number of decks. It is a great innovation of the online gambling industry while at its heart it’s very simple.
Unlike a slot game, you as the player has a say on what happens during the game. You choose how many cards you want and which cards you want to keep before drawing your final hand. Other distinct aspects of video poker online are:
You play it alone.
It has the lowest overall house edge of all electronic casino games.
The predecessor to the video poker machine was created in 1891. While the modern version was invented in 1970. Casinos online started hosting online video poker early on, and they enjoy huge popularity online. Some of the most popular online video poker types include:
There are a huge variety of games to be found at US gambling sites. Some are familiar games like roulette and slots, while others are speciality games like pai gow poker and keno. So, why should US gamblers take the time to play online video poker? Let’s look at some of the reasons below:
Lower Overall House Edge: The house edge basically refers to the amount of money the casino makes off your wager. One of the major reasons why fans of casinos online play video poker is that they have a better chance of winning or losing less money.
Players can Affect the Game’s Outcome: What happens to the five cards dealt to you in the game is entirely up to you. You can save them, discard them, or pick which ones you want to save. Furthermore, players can alter their results mid-hand.
Video Poker Games Show You How Much You’ll Make: Most online video poker games show you how much the house edge is and what you’ll take home on the paytable. So, if one game has a 7% house edge and another had a 15% house edge, you know which one to go for.
You can Set the Pace: With online video poker, you aren’t playing against dealer or player. Therefore, you can play however you want. Whether you play a deliberate slow game, or go through ten hands in a minute, you play how you want to.
Even though there are a variety of online video poker games, they all basically work in the same way. Playing video poker contains these five basic steps:
Pick your coin value and how many coins you want to bet.
Press the Deal button to get your five cards.
Select which cards you want to keep – or hold – in an attempt to make the best possible poker hand.
Press the Draw button to exchange your unheld cards for new ones.
Create a qualifying poker hand and get paid according to the game’s paytable.
Online Video Poker Hands
The key to having a good time while playing video poker online is to know your card combinations. Below we’ve listed the poker hands and what they mean.
Flush: When you’re holding five cards of the same suit.
Four of a Kind: At least four cards in your hand must be of the same value.
Full House: There are five in your hand made up of one pair and three of the same kind.
Jacks or Better: The easiest one to get, it’s a hand with one pair of Jacks or a higher value.
Royal Flush: The best combination, the hand must have five cards in the same suit.
Straight: A consecutive hand with mixed suits.
Straight Flush: The hand with five consecutive cards in the same suit.
Three of a Kind: When you have three cards with the same value.
