Video Poker Guide
Do you watch the World Poker Tour with undivided attention? Does your mouth go dry and your pulse rise when you see two close hands, both excellent, in play? Or when someone is bluffing with nothing, but they keep the play going with their smooth read of the other players? If you answered "Oh, yeah!" to any of these questions, you may have poker in your blood.
The Video Poker Alternative
Getting to a live poker setting is often difficult, and they are often not the type of place that the uninitiated wants to spend time. Video Poker, however, is a great alternative. It is a way to scratch that poker itch, and it is as close as your computer! All of the top online casinos have video poker options.
Video Poker Variants
There are many Poker variants available online. This listing does not include poker-like games, such as Queen of the Nile Poker Machine download, Red Dog or Pai Gow Poker or War. These games have much in common with Poker, but they are not truly Poker. This listing is just of the variants of traditional poker that is readily available online.
Aces & Faces - Pays for a pair of Jacks or better, but it has higher payouts for Aces and Face cards than it does for lower index cards. So three 9s will pay, but three queens will pay better.
- Deuces & Joker - Pays for three of a kind or better and the Joker serves as a wild card. Four of a kind is, of course, a stellar hand, but four deuces pays better than other sets of four, and a Joker kicker increases the payout exponentially.
- Deuces Wild - Pays for three of a kind or better and the deuce serves as a wild card in any combination. Four deuces pays higher than any other four of a kind.
- Double Joker - Payouts start at two pairs. To help getting those pairs, there are two Jokers that serve as wild cards.
- Jacks or Better - Possibly the oldest form of video poker. Payout starts with a pair of Jacks or better.
- Joker Poker - Another old-school video poker game. In this one, again, the Joker serves as a wild card, but there is only one in the deck this time around, so payouts are commensurately higher.
- Tens or Better - Similar in style to Jacks or better, but payouts start at a pair of tens. Payouts, as a result, are commensurately lower.
Tri Card Poker - This poker variant is played against the house instead of having fixed payouts. As a result, this game is a sort of transition into traditional, table based, multi-player poker.
Once you master these games, you can start taking on some of the more complex poker games such as Pai Gow and Red Dog.
Find your most comfortable chair, get a plate of your favorite snacks and a tall, icy-cold beverage. Put on your dark glasses and start turning a few cards tonight! There is no better way for an evening of fun than to play some of these great video poker games.