Exploit The Variety In Video Poker

Tip Category: Video Poker

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To one not familiar with the game, video poker may appear extremely boring. The player is dealt five cards; he decides which to replace; the cards are replaced and the final hand is weighed against a payout table. But within this format there is immense variety and players can get rid of any boredom by rotating the games they play.

There are two basic ways by which variety is introduced in video poker games. One is by changing the content and the other is by changing the structure. The former is more common and has given rise to over 75 distinct games. The basic game is known as Jacks or Better. In this the minimum payout occurs when the player draws at least a pair of jacks. Variations to this include Kings or Better, in which the player has to draw at least a pair of kings, or Tens or Better, in which players have to draw at least a pair of tens.

The most common form of variation is by introducing the wild card concept. The wild card can substitute for any card so as to make the best poker hand. Usually the wild card is one of the denominations of the 52 card deck. Deuces Wild, which has all twos as wild cards, is a favorite. If players think that four wild cards make the game less challenging they can try Joker Poker. This is played with a 53 card deck, the joker being the 53rd card. Only the joker acts as a wild card.

Many variations have been introduced by tweaking with the Four of a Kind payline. In the basic game any Four of a Kind hand has the same payout. The first variation was introduced by differentiating between Four of a Kind hands of different denominations. For example in Aces and Faces, four aces pay out at 160 to 1; four of similar face cards pay out at 80 to 1 and any other Four of a Kind pays out at 50 to 1. In all these paylines the fifth card is inconsequential. Further variation has been introduced by giving importance to the fifth card. An example of such a game is Double Aces and Faces. Four aces with the fifth card being a face card has a higher payout than four aces with any other card.

Variation in structure is more limited but far more interesting. Usually only one hand was played at a time. Now multi-hand video poker games are very common. In these games one hand is dealt first and players select which cards to hold. These cards are automatically selected for all hands. The remaining cards are replaced in the first hand and dealt in all the other hands. Each hand is independently compared with the payout table. The common multi-hand variants are played with four, ten, fifty and even hundred hands.

The latest structural variation is known as Level Up video poker. In this version four hands are played but not simultaneously as in the multi-hand version. The player plays the first level and if he succeeds in drawing a winning hand he moves to the next level where the payouts are automatically doubled. The player has to get a winning hand in all four levels in order to collect his accumulated payout.

Each of the variations of video poker offer different challenges and require different strategies. Thus they provide different gaming experiences.