How to Play Video Poker

How Coin Values Work

Before you start the game, you must first set the value of the coins and decide how many coins you want to play. This will determine both your overall wager and the amount of money you stand to win. Above where the cards are dealt, you will see a chart of the payout that corresponds with the strength of the hand. The column that corresponds with the number of coins that you are playing with will be highlighted, and the more coins you play with, the more coins you stand to win if you build a winning hand. It is recommended to play the maximum number of all five coins, because it should trigger the maximum jackpot of the Royal Flush.

You set the coin value, which can normally be as low as $0.05 to $0.25, all the way up to $25 depending on the casino. Your total wager will be the value of your coin multiplied by the number of coins that you play. For example, if you value your coins at $1 and play five coins, you are betting $5 per hand. The coin value applies to the amount that you win as well, so if you value your coins at $1 and play five coins, and then build a Royal Flush that pays out 4,000 coins, you would win $4,000 on a $5 bet.

How To Play

Once your coin values and the number of coins you want to play are set, you click the deal button. You will be given five face-up cards, and the object of the game is to build a the strongest hand, a hand that will pay out according to the chart above the cards. In the first and most popular variation of the game, Jacks or Better, a pair of Jacks or a better single pair will win your wager back, while a Royal Flush will pay out 4,000 coins with the max bet. The rest of the hands build between the two intuitively and based on the hand values of regular poker. The hand values, in order of strength and their typical coin payout when playing max coins, are: Pair of Jacks or Better (5), 2 Pair (10), 3 of a Kind (15), Straight (20), Flush (30), Full House (45), 4 of a Kind (125), Straight Flush (25), and the Royal Flush (4,000).

Once you receive your first five cards, you can click on the ones you want to keep. The ones you don’t click on before pressing the draw button are replaced with cards from the same deck, creating your final hand. If that hand corresponds with a hand in the chart above, you will receive that payout. If you do win, you will be given the option to go double or nothing. The casino will deal five cards, one face-up. You pick one of the four facedown cards in the hopes that it is higher than the casino’s face-up card. If it is, you double your winnings, but if it’s not, you lose them. This is really only recommended if it’s a low payout, like getting your money back.

The Different Variations

Take a look through the Video Poker variations in the casino to get an idea of what they offer, but the variations go far beyond Jacks or Better. Some are Bonus variations, where the payouts for the strongest hands are even higher, but the payouts for the weaker hands are lower. There are Wild and Joker variations, where certain cards can take the place of any other card to create the strongest hand, and there are variations where you can play a specific variation with multiple hands at once. At the best casinos, you can try them out for free in demo practice mode to find the best variation of the bunch, the one that fits your preferences the closest.