With the advent of new technologies and electronic machines in casinos, video poker emerged in the 70s. There is no doubt that since then the game has gained increasing popularity.

As an alternative to traditional poker, which is played at a table against other players, video poker allows the player to play alone, using an electronic device, whether computer, mobile phone or tablet.

So, if you want to become a better video poker player, it will be essential that, initially, you know the rules of traditional poker, specifically the card combinations. Then, you should focus on understanding video poker itself, knowing its variants in detail.

WHAT IS VIDEO POKER?

As we have already mentioned, video poker is a variation of table poker, which can be played by just one player and against a machine, computer, mobile phone, among other mobile devices.

Note that the first video poker machines, which appeared in land-based casinos, had a very similar appearance to slot machines, and their operation was also very similar.

Currently, the game is very popular in online casinos.

video poker rules

As casino machines and computers don’t have (to date) enough intelligence to face human beings in a traditional poker game, the video poker concept had to be changed a little, to provide a good experience for the gamblers.

Thus, the game begins with the attribution of 5 cards to the player. Of these, the cards to be kept must be selected, and the rest eliminated. The player must also choose the cards that allow him to have the best possible hand.

After selecting the cards to keep, the game discards the unchosen ones and will provide the player with new cards, in the same number of rejected cards, always making a total of 5 in the player’s hand. Therefore, this set will be the player’s final hand.

The hand will then be evaluated by the system and the player will be awarded a prize based on the strength of their hand.

Practical example

To make it easier to understand how the game works, let’s explain it through a small example.

Let’s imagine that the player receives the following 5 cards:

6 diamonds, A hearts, 2 hearts, 5 spades, A clubs.

Having received 2 of the same high value cards (the two Aces), the player selects these 2 cards, discarding the rest.

The machine will thus assign 3 new cards to the player, the final hand being:

A diamonds, A hearts, K hearts, 6 hearts, A clubs.

Having achieved a set of aces (best combination of his hand), the player is awarded according to the result obtained.

VARIATIONS

There are numerous variants of video poker, so it is essential that the player knows the rules of the variation on which he will bet. Below, we present the most popular ones.

video poker without wild

This type of variant does not include any “Wild” cards.

Jacks or Better

“Jacks or Better” is the best known lineage of video poker. In it, players will have to obtain at least a pair of jacks to receive any prize.

You have or better (10 or better)

In this version of the game, players must get at least a pair of 10’s in order to be awarded some reward.

video poker with wild

This version of the game includes a card that serves as “Wild” or “Joker”. That is, this one can take the value of any of the other cards.

wild jokers

The “Joker” is used as a Wild card. 2 Jokers will be added to the traditional deck.

Deuces Wild

Duke is used as Wild. So there will be four Wilds in the deck.

…