Video poker is a delightful blend of pokies and table games. While it is not as stressful as playing a game of skill and strategy such as poker, it is definitely not as frivolous as pokies. Players do need to be aware of poker hand rankings and basic poker strategies to win at video poker.

Video poker games have become very popular of late, as a result of which both land-based and online casinos are rolling out more video poker games. The first video poker game was Jacks or Better, which was launched in the late seventies. Today, online casinos offer over 100 varieties of video poker games.

History

Video poker games require a combination of a TV monitor and a central processing unit. The earliest video poker games were rolled out along with the first PCs, but modern video poker machines are highly sophisticated.

Video poker games attracted attention when SIRCOMA, which later became International Game Technology (IGT) launched Draw Poker in the late seventies. Since players felt more comfortable playing video poker games, they gained popularity in the eighties and the nineties and today no casino is complete without them.

Rules

Although there are several variants of video poker, they are all governed by the basic draw poker rules. The only difference between poker and video poker is that the latter is played against the house, not against other players. When players have placed their initial bets, five cards are dealt to them. Players now have to study these cards and retain or discard them depending on their ability to help them create winning combinations. Players will get a fresh card for each discarded card and have the freedom to draw up to five new cards. Once players have made their choice, they must hit the Deal button and their discarded cards will be replaced with fresh cards. Players will then be paid depending on the strength of the poker hand created and the payout table of that particular variant of video poker.

Video Poker Variants

Aussie online casinos offer several varieties of video poker, the most popular of which are Jacks or Better, Aces and Eights, Deuces Wild, Jokers Wild, Double Bonus, Tens or Better, Bonus Deuces Wild. Thanks to the available of multi-hand video poker variants, players can play as few as one or as many as 100 hands at a time, which greatly increases their chances of winning prizes.