How to Play Video Poker

Video Poker is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting games on the internet. Based on the bar-top machines available all over the world (including places where gambling for real money is not always legal), numerous variations of internet Video Poker and Power Poker are available at First Web Casino.

Most Video Poker games are based on Draw Poker: you are dealt 5 cards, get to choose which ones you want to keep, and then "draw" from the deck to replace the cards you threw away. The idea, of course, is to make as high a Poker hand as possible.

Each video poker game has its own strategy. In many games, you can choose to Double your bet after you get your cards. If you think you have a winning hand, but all means go for it!

Basic Poker Hands

The Basic Poker Hands, ranked from highest to lowest, are as follows:

Five-of-a-Kind (when playing with wild cards)

Royal Flush (10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit)

Straight Flush

Four-of-a-Kind

Full House (3-of-a-kind and a pair: e.g. J-J-4-4-4 would be a "Full House 4's over Jacks")

Flush (all the same suit)

Straight (5 cards in a row of mixed suits)

Three-of-a-Kind

High Card

Video Poker hands and payouts vary from game to game, but the basics are the same. Whatever video poker game you decide to play, make sure you check the Help button and review the hand ranking, as well as the payouts.

Aces & Faces Video Poker

Aces & Faces has no wild cards, but does have high payouts for 4 Aces or 4 Faces (J, Q, K). Aces & Faces has its own special payout table with a large variance of returns on your bet. For example, a Royal Flush pays 500-800 times your initial bet, depending on how many coins you bet. Jacks or better pays even money (you win the equivalent of your bet), no matter how many coins you bet.

Deuces Wild Power Poker

In Deuces Wild Power Poker, you must have at least 3-of-a-kind to qualify. Deuces (twos), of course, are wild. In addition to the basic Poker hands, there are other winning hands, with special payout bonuses for high hands with Deuces: 5-of-a-kind, Wild Royal Flush, 4 Deuces, and 4 Deuces with an Ace. With Power Poker, you play multiple hands. Decide which cards you want to keep and new cards are dealt from different decks, to make up a total of 5 new hands.

Deuces & Joker Video Poker

In Deuces & Joker, there are 5 wild cards (the twos and a Joker). Unlike standard poker, the Joker adds a card to the deck, so you are playing with 53 cards. The wild cards are automatically used to give you the highest possible hand. The maximum payout is 10,000 coins, but payouts are only made in hands of 3-of-a-Kind or better.

Double Double Bonus Poker

Double Double Bonus Poker is one of the most popular Video Poker games online. You can win anywhere from 1:1 with just a pair of Jacks, up to 400:1 with a Royal Flush, depending on how many coins you bet. There are high payouts for 4-of-a-Kind.

Video Poker