When one thinks of casino games that aren’t slots, roulette, blackjack, baccarat, or poker – all these games come to mind. Very few casino players think of video poker. Why? While it may not be the most popular option at online casinos, there is a very good reason why video poker could tick all your boxes and more. Let’s explore video poker right here and explain why it may be ideal for beginners and those taking their first steps into the internet casino world.

What Is Video Poker?

Video poker is one of the simplest games you can play at online casinos. It requires no specific experience to play and yet can deliver excitement and decent prizes aplenty. To begin with, video poker is a game that is not played against a dealer. In fact, your only objective is to form the best paying hand you possibly can do.

Setting Up a Bet

Setting up a bet on video poker is straightforward. Below the cards, you’ll find your betting options. You may be able to place a straight bet, or you can sometimes tinker with the value of your coins and the number of coins you stake per hand. Either way, placing your bet is the first step to trying this game, and bets are typically cheap.

The Order of the Hands

Once you’ve played your bet, it is time to play video poker. You’ll be dealt a total of five cards. You can keep or discard as many (or as few) of these cards as you want. After doing so (you don’t have to), you’ll end up with a five-card poker hand.

The hands you’re looking for in most video poker games are conventional. In short, you’re looking at a pair of Jacks, Two Pair, Three-of-a-Kind, Straight Flush, Full house, a Four-of-a-Kind, Straight Flush, or a Royal Flush. Some video poker variants introduce new hands into the mix, and these unconventional hands are formed by using wilds. Some may also raise the minimum hand you need to win.

Landing a Win

Bagging a win on video poker is a lot easier than it sounds. As there is no dealer and no opposing players, you merely need to land the best hand you can to bag a win. If your video poker hand matches one of those on the paytable (displayed on the screen), you’ll snap up a prize equivalent to the amount you’ve bet. For instance, a Pair of Jacks may only offer a 1:1 payout, but a Royal Flush may be worth 500:1. These are just examples, though.

Video Poker Variants

There are many video poker titles and variants out there which feature slight variations on the reels. For instance, in multi-hand video poker games, you can wager on up to a hundred hands at once. In other video poker variants, you may find wild cards incorporated, allowing you to obtain unconventional hands such as an Unnatural Royal Flush or the fabled Five-of-a-Kind. These all add spice to what will turn out to be a seemingly simple and fun but not necessarily widely popular casino game to play.