It combines the thrill of the slot machine and the strategy of poker and is one of the most popular games offered at any online casino — we’re talking about video poker. With most online casinos offering over a dozen different ways to play, there’s a video poker experience waiting for you, no matter how skilled you are or how big (or small) your bankroll is.
Video poker has a richer history than most people know about, going back to the Boardwalk Empire days of gaming and the earliest slot machines. Online video poker games now take the accumulated knowledge from hundreds of casino floors and distills it into the best player experience available. When you play online video poker, you’re able to get an experience that does more than match the game as offered in Las Vegas – you’ll get one that’s better.
Online casinos have lower overhead and have to work harder to attract and keep players, which means that video poker games tend to pay out more often than they do in a brick-and-mortar casino, and they can offer a complete selection of games.
Old-school video poker players can find All-American Poker at most casinos and know exactly what they’re doing. Receive five cards from the dealer, pick which ones you want to hold and click on the “deal” button to receive your final hand. If you end up with a pair of jacks or better, you win, just as simple as that.
Die-hards, however, may want something with more excitement. With games like Mystery Bonus Poker, every hand is a thrill ride. Players choose whether they want to get the “regular” best hand or go for a special Mystery Bonus when they have a winning hand. Loose Deuces is an online video poker game that only pays out if you’ve got three of a kind, but you’ll get special payouts with certain hands and deuces are wild, meaning that you’ve got even more chances to win. On top of those, there are games like Double Double Bonus Poker that have a special payline for hands that have four of a kind while Pick ‘Em Poker lets you get more involved in every hand.
Of course, online video poker games have to offer that same multi-hand action that keeps you playing Las Vegas. The majority of video poker games in online casinos let you play 3, 10, 52 or 100 hands at the same time and unlike casinos, they offer a bigger variety in how you an bet. In fact, in almost every online video poker game, you can bet as low as $.01 per hand or up to $100.
Check out our online casino reviews and see which site offers the best video poker bang for your buck.