Video poker, based on Jacks or Better Draw Poker, has become one of the Top Three games at online casinos along with slots and blackjack. That is also the case here at Jackpot Capital Online Casino.
Slots have been around since the middle of the 19th century and blackjack dates much further back. Video poker, on the other hand, has been around only since the digital age began.
As we said, most video poker games, online and on land, are based on Jacks or Better. There is, however, a big difference between land-based video poker and online casino video poker, as we shall soon see.
Online Casinos Feature Video Poker Prominently
Even if an online casino such as Jackpot Capital is known as an online slots casino, the fact that video poker is just as easily accessed as any other games means that for video poker players, an online casino might also be called a Jacks or Better casino!
Jacks or Better Video Poker Has a Very High Return to Player Rate
This is true! The return to player rate in Jacks or Better video poker can be as high as 99.5%! There is a proviso as far as the gamer is concerned: the high return to player rate is possible only if the gamer uses the best strategy on every hand.
Is Video Poker Strategy Hard to Learn?
It is and it isn’t!
There are standard Jacks or Better playing charts easily available online. The problem with these charts is that to the untrained new player eye, they are hard to decipher. Some strategy moves are quite counterintuitive! It takes a little time for a new video poker player to get used to the strategy chart.
Jackpot Capital Has a Great Solution for New Video Poker Players
At Jackpot Capital Online Casino, we allow and encourage new video poker gamers to play Jacks of Better for free for as long as it takes them to get comfortable playing the game for real money.
Every new video poker player eventually does play the game for real money for two excellent reasons:
- It is a lot more fun to play casino games for real money.
- The return to player rate is so high at 99.5% that even in a losing session, a gamer will generally lose very little money! Winning sessions are the same: winners win a little!
Online Video Poker is Based on a 9-6 Payout Schedule
That means that the gamer receives a payout of 9 coins for a full house and 6 coins for a flush. Now, in draw poker, on which video poker is based, a full house is not quite rare but also not very common. A flush happens more often than a full house but it also is not very common.
This is an important point because land-based casinos, in order to have higher profits so that they can pay their enormous operating costs, are increasingly paying on an 8-5 scale meaning that they pay out only 8 coins for a full house and only 5 coins for a flush!
To the untrained eye, this difference doesn’t seem like much since a full house and a flush are not common hands. Statistically, however, the difference between a 9-6 payout schedule and an 8-5 payout schedule is several percentage points in the return to player rate and practically guarantees that every video poker session at an 8-5 schedule will be a losing session!
Sign Up Now!
Go for the Rare Royal Flush
A Royal Flush happens about once in 40,000 hands. That is pretty rare. However, if you get into online video poker and play it often even for short periods of time, you will eventually hit a Royal Flush!
In order to qualify for the extra bonus payout for getting a Royal Flush, gamers have to bet the maximum on the hand. So, always bet the maximum and always look for a way to go for a Royal Flush.
The Counter-intuitive Nature of Best Video Poker Strategy
First of all, there are also casinos that offer Tens or Better video poker. Strategy will change a bit in Tens or Better so learn the difference before you assume that Tens or Better is the same as Jacks or Better video poker.
The most common misconception in video poker is the idea that a gamer should always keep a winning pair. Of course, there are winning pairs and low pairs that don’t win yet. There are hands that best strategy requires breaking up a winning pair and going for a higher-paying hand.
Here are some examples:
- You are dealt four cards to a flush and one of the high-suited cards is paired. In this case, it is correct to break the winning pair and go for the flush. Even if you don’t get the flush, you could re-pair the high card. You could pair another high card if there is one. If you also have a draw to a straight, which would mean a straight flush, you might hit that as well or simply make your straight.
- If you have no cards that work well together, the best strategy is to draw five cards. The exception is when you have a single high card. In that case, you keep the high card.
- If you have a similar hand with two high cards, some say to keep one high card and some say to keep both high cards. Keeping just one high card increases your chances of pairing the other high card and also adds chances of getting another pair that might create a two-pair hand.
- If you have three unpaired high cards, you should keep two connected high cards since that increases the chances of a straight flush. Keeping all three high cards eliminates the possibility of drawing a full house, so best strategy calls for keeping two high cards.
- If you have a low pair and the other cards do not work well together, most strategy cards will say to hold the low pair while some cards will say to discard all five cards and start over. If you hold the low pair, the odds of getting another card for three of a kind are 23.5-1.
- If you have four cards to an outside straight, it is correct to go for the straight as there are 8 cards that can give you the straight. But if you have four to an inside straight, there are only four cards that can give you the straight and it might be better to keep a high card and hope to win with that card.
The key to enjoying video poker and to achieving the 99.5% return to player rate is to play in our unlimited free play mode for some time, study strategy cards, and pay attention to the odds that apply to every decision you make.
Video Poker Has Taken the Gaming World by Storm
This really applies only to online casino gaming since the high return to player rate makes video poker less desirable from the management standpoint at a land-based casino. Another fact to consider when you play video poker is that there is a limit to the number of players a land-based casino can fit on the casino floor.
At Jackpot Capital, we can take on all gamers with no limit in sight as to the maximum number of gamers we can accommodate in cyberspace.
For video poker at its best, and a large selection of many other casino games, JOIN JACKPOT CAPITAL ONLINE CASINO NOW!
