Best Casino to Play Video Poker Online - Online Video Poker Games at PlayTech Casinos
PlayTech have been at the forefront of casino software development for many years. The company formed in Estonia in 1999 and would power their first online casino in 2002, growing from strength to strength ever since, and now listed on the London Stock Exchange.
PlayTech offer a very impressive range of all casino favorites, with slots, table games and Video Poker being particular areas of expertise.
In this guide I take a look at all aspects of the Video Poker range offered by PlayTech. I start with a brief rundown of the rules of Video Poker, explaining how the games work and how you’ll actually win. I then look at the different Video Poker varieties you’ll find at a PlayTech powered site, as well as the variations you’ll find at a number of the games.
PlayTech Video Poker Guide – How Video Poker Works
When starting a game of Video Poker, you’ll be dealt five playing cards. These five may or may not contain jokers, dependent on the rules of each individual game. Having been dealt your cards, you’ll now have the option to discard one or more of the cards, even all 5! Any discarded cards will now be replaced by new ones. You’ll now have your final five cards and your aim is to make a poker hand with the cards. Each game will have its own pay table, where the payout for each of the poker hands is listed, and you’ll see that you’ll gain a bigger win for the higher ranked hands. So for example, a straight flush will be worth more than landing 3 of a kind.
PlayTech Video Poker Guide – Range of Games
The most popular variety of Video Poker offered by PlayTech is Jacks or Better. There are actually five varieties of the game, which has the title due to the fact that you’ll need at least a pair of Jacks to land a win. As well as the standard game, you’ll also find multi-hand games, where you’ll play four, ten or even fifty hands at the same time. The 50 hand game is certainly an all-action, exciting game. You’ll receive your initial cards and then make your choice of holding or discarding your chosen cards. You’ll now see 50 hands appear, each showing your held cards with a different set of new cards for each hand - land a pair of jacks or better with your initial 5 cards and all 50 hands are guaranteed to win!
You’ll also come across a Jacks or Better progressive game, where a Jackpot prize could be yours. This is a game with 10 lines in total, but land a royal flush on the first of the lines and you’ll be in the money! A particular form of Jacks or Better is ‘Aces and Faces’ where you’ll find an increased payout for hitting 4 of a kind on either the Aces or any of the face cards, there being several varieties of this game available too.
Deuces Wild is another popular game, this game seeing any twos become wild and allowing the opportunity to actually land 5 of a kind. You’ll notice the payouts are very different in this game, as you’ll need at least 3 of a kind to land a win, this due to the fact that the wild twos make larger hands easier to hit. Four line and single line versions of Deuces Wild are available. In a similar vein, you’ll also find Joker Poker, where a single joker acts as a wild, while 10’s or better, Pick-em Poker, All-American Poker and 2 Ways Royal can also be played.
PlayTech Video Poker Guide – Recommended Games
Jacks or Better Progressive – This 10 hand version of the game certainly ups the excitement level. You’ll see one larger main hand in view, with nine other smaller hands above. Having made your fold or discard decision, all ten hands will be played out instantly and you’ll see how many winning hands you’ve made. However, the main focus is on the larger hand as a Royal Flush will see you walking away with at least a four figure progressive Jackpot.
Aces and Faces – This version of Jacks or Better is possibly the better one, as you’ll receive a premium when landing those big 4 of a kind hands. Four Aces pays 80x your stake, while Jacks, Queens and Kings pay 40x your stake, with a smaller prize of 25x for any other 4 of a kinds. This makes the game a little more exciting and it seems right that four Aces should be worth more than any other 4 of a kind.