Skill or luck: which video card game strategy best suits you?

Online video poker is a fairly simple game to play and maybe that is the reason why it is one of the most played games online. In comparison with its casino counterpart, online video poker is easier and doesn’t require that much experience and knowledge, although players still have to know the basic rules and the objective,  for more pro tips and strategies go here.
Though the traditional five-card draw poker is in its base, video poker differs from it in the sense that it is not played against a dealer or other players.

 

Video Poker Hand Rankings

Knowing the poker hand rankings is integral. The strongest hands are the straight flush and the royal flush. The straight flush consists of five cards of the same suit in a numerical order, while royal flush, the highest paying hand, includes a ten, jack, queen, king and ace all in the same suit. Hands that follow are four of a kind, and full house (three of a kind in combination with a pair). Flush is the next in line, where your cards need to be of the same suit but not in sequence. Straight is the opposite of flush, meaning your cards have to be in sequence but not of the same suit. Lowest hands are the three of a kind, two of a kind, and the pair.

 

How to Play Online Video Poker?

The first thing to do when playing video poker online is choosing your preferred denomination and betting from one to five coins. Five cards are then being dealt to you out of which you should decide which ones to discard and which ones to hold. You can discard all of them, and you will be dealt new ones to replace the cards that you discarded. This is the step where you need to show most skill, as choosing which card to fold or hold is what determines the outcome of the game. You can do that by pressing the Cancel/Hold button. The final step is the payout. The stronger hand you have the better the payout. As there are different variants, the highest ranked hands depend on the variant, as well as the payout amount.

 

Popular Online Video Poker Variants

The most popular video poker variant is, as you may have presumed, Texas Hold’em. It is one of the most played variants online and it is the game of choice to poker pros. You are dealt with two cards, then rounds of betting follow while the five community cards are being revealed.

The next variant that is also commonly played online is Jacks or Better. Available at Jackpot Fortune Bingo & Casino, Jacks or Better is one of the simplest poker versions, very similar to a slot machine. You begin with an initial bet and then you’re dealt with five cards. You check your cards, decide which ones to hold or discard before spinning one final time. As the name implies, if your hand contains a pair of jacks or better, you are rewarded a fixed payout.

If you’re an experienced online poker player, the recommended variant is the Seven Card Stud Poker. It is a poker version where there are no community cards. You can bet on the cards you’ve been dealt and that’s all. What you should focus here is not chasing flushes or straights but calculating the odds and betting the earliest possible.