Introduction
Video poker is a highly underrated gambling game available at most land-based casinos. It is a gaming genre that utilizes computerized consoles similar to slot machines that feature gameplay based on five-card draw. Video poker is an excellent choice for testing your luck en route to real money prizes because these products have small house edges. In specific scenarios, you can even flip the table on the house, gaining the advantage. It will not be a sizeable one, but still, it is better than what other table classics like blackjack and baccarat can offer.
The first video poker slot machine got invented in the late 1970s. However, it wasnât until the 1980s that these games became increasingly popular in Las Vegas and Atlantic City establishments. Much of their attraction to casual players is that they offer card action that is less intimidating than going up against a live dealer. Today, most gambling sites have virtual video poker machines on hand. To ensure that you get the most out of them, if you decide to play them, below, we will elaborate on the following:
- Can you make money playing video poker?
- How do you win at video poker every time?
- Which video poker game has the best odds?
How to Win at Video Poker
Since video poker is casino-style gambling, there is no way to get so good that you win every time you sit to play. Nevertheless, its gameplay involves decision-making, which means that wise choices will get you further than entirely relying on your good fortune.
Each round starts with the game giving you five cards, after which you can choose to switch one or all of them. Once that happens, it pays out a reward if the hand played matches a winning combination featured on its paytable.
- Budget Your Sessions â One of the most vital aspects when betting is to practice bankroll management. That entails allocating a fixed amount of resources not only per session but per bet and sticking to them. For example, a sessionâs budget can be $200, with standard wagers restricted to $1 per hand.
- Use a Strategy Chart â Implementing a professional video poker strategy is a must for those serious about profiting when playing these games. Given their nature, each decision you make changes the house edge in play. A video poker strategy chart details what cards to keep and which to replace from your starting hand. These tables go a long way in evening out the win probability balance between you and your chosen gaming operator.
- Know What Sized Bets to Make â Video poker games usually let you pick your wager size from one to five coins. Most articles you will read online suggest that you always play the five-coin maximum because it improves your odds and makes you eligible for a jackpot. Nevertheless, a royal flush (jackpot) happens once every 40,000 hands. Therefore, it is not wise to continuously chase it when the video poker payouts on non-jackpot bets have a super reasonable house edge of 3%.
- Start With Low Variance Games â Low variance games pay out small rewards but with some degree of regularity. Slots also utilize this game specification. Jacks or Better is a video poker game that should provide a steady stream of consistent payouts that keep you out of the red.
- Claim a Bonus â Online gambling is all about getting free-play cash. Never play at sites that offer unimpressive bonuses. Look to snag the best deal available so that you can keep playing for as long as possible.
Which Video Poker Games Have the Best Odds?
To ensure that you have a chance of getting a decent return on your gaming investment, you need to stack the cards in your favor. That involves selecting titles that offer the lowest house edge. In slot terms, the highest return-to-player.
- Bonus Poker â This is a Jacks or Better variation from Realtime Gaming (RTG), where, with the use of strategy, you can gain a 7.13% advantage over your operator. It is undoubtedly the gaming product with the best odds in the digital sphere.
- Loose Deuces â Loose Deuces is another RTG release, a version of Deuces Wild, which we also list. It features a default house edge of 99.07%. However, if you play smart, you can hold the advantage (1.64%). Loose Deucesâ max payout is x800 your stake.
- Deuces Wild â The catch with this video poker variation is that twos here act as wilds, substituting other cards to form winning combos. The proprietary version of Deuces Wild offered by BetUS casino can give you an advantage of 0.76%.
- Triple Bonus Poker â If you get four of a kind in this Red Rake product, it will triple the value of your expected prize. Triple Bonus Poker features a house edge of only 0.05%, offers a mini-game, and any hand equal to or higher than a pair of Ks will yield a reward here.
- Jacks or Better â Pragmatic Play is an established slot developer that recently branched off into live games. Yet, few know that it also creates virtual video poker games. Its Jacks or Better version has a house edge of only 0.46% and a max prize of x4,000 your bet.
Top Online Casinos for Video Poker
There are thousands of gambling sites out there. All one needs to enjoy them is internet access, a smartphone, and a desire to play. Nonetheless, not all online casinos house video poker. Many do, but when picking one, you have to factor in an operator’s trustworthiness, along with a slew of other aspects. To make things simple, we list the three best video poker sites that gaming info hub Safest Betting Sites recommends. They are:
- BetUS â Founded in 1994, BetUS is one of the most famous internet sportsbooks. They have NFL legend Warren Sapp as their spokesperson and boast two gambling licenses from Costa Rica and Curacao. BetUS pampers you on sign-up with a welcome deal that gives as much as $3,000 in free-play funds. The code needed to activate this offer is CAS150. BetUSâ video poker selection includes twenty-four variants that feature different deck amounts.
- Las Atlantis â Las Atlantis is a novel gaming site launched in early 2020. They may be the platform with the most sizeable offer in the industry, supplying up to $14,000 upon registration. To get this 280% deposit match, you will have to input the bonus code LASATLANTIS when you place money in your casino balance. Curacao oversees this site, which hosts seventeen video poker variants.
- Wild Casino â Wild is a crypto-friendly site that caters to digital coin enthusiasts by listing a crypto-exclusive five-deposit deal that can total up to $9,000 in casino cash. Its codes are CRYPTO300 and CRYPTO150. Panamaâs Gaming Control Board monitors Wild Casino, which offers 29 versions of video poker.
To Wrap Up
Video poker is a gambling genre that has not gotten its due. Thus, we can tell you that playing titles in this game category is a terrific choice if you stick to the tips discussed here. Newbies should never play without having a strategy chart opened in another tab that they can glance at during each hand.
About the Author
Shelly Schiff has been working in the gambling industry since 2009, mainly on the digital side of things, employed by Safest Betting Sites. However, over her eleven-year career, Shelly has provided content for many other top interactive gaming websites. She knows all there is to know about slots and has in-depth knowledge of the most popular table games. Her golden retriever Garry occupies most of her leisure time. Though, when she can, she loves reading Jim Thompson-like crime novels.
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