The reason Video Poker is so wildly popular is that, rather than being based purely on luck, your chances of winning are vastly improved when you implement a well-thought-out strategy.
Always Play the Max
This rule can be seen as the most important. Playing the maximum amount of coins you can means you’ll be eligible for a Bonus Win when you land a Royal Flush. Even though you can wager between 1 and 5 coins per hand, you only get in the running for the Bonus Win if you’ve got 5 coins staked.
If you need to come in under budget, it’s preferable that you drop down to a lower coin value and keep all 5 in play rather than up the denomination and lessen how many coins you’re staking.
Choose Low Pairs Over a Single High Card
If you get a Pair, hold on to them, even if they’re low scoring.
It’s always worthwhile to do this rather than run the risk of walking away with nothing at all because you discarded a low Pair to chase a potentially higher-scoring hand based on just 1 card.
Know When to Break Up a Straight or Flush
If there’s any way you could create a Royal Flush, it’s always recommended that you break up your Flush or Straight and go for it!
Know the Pay Tables
No 2 hands are worth the same in Video Poker, and you need to be aware of this when you play at River Belle Casino in Canada. You won’t need to memorise anything however since the information will all be clearly displayed by the paytables on your screen.
Learn the Main Variants’ Rules
Jacks or Better is the best-known Video Poker variant and it offers slightly different rules. You’ll only get a payout if your hand includes at least a Pair of Jacks, even though there are 9 other winnable Poker-ranked hands in the game.
A predetermined pay scale indicates how much you’ll receive for certain hands, with the top prize, for a Royal Flush, usually offering a reward of 250X. You’ll only get paid out for the highest-value hand you’re holding, too.
When playing Bonus, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus Video Poker, you’ll find that there are more winning Poker-ranked hands allowed, although each will still receive a different payout. Generally, the payout percentages on these variants are slightly lower, but the paytables will indicate that you’ll receive higher sums for premium hands.
Deuces Wild transforms all 2 cards into Wild, so you’ll be able to substitute any 2 pip card for one you need to make up a winning hand. Similarly, Jokers Wild turns all Joker cards into substitutes, allowing you to possibly create far more lucrative hands.
But you must note that the payout scales for these two variations are much lower since it’s so much easier to create a paying hand. Hand rankings here are the exact same as they are in Classic Poker games and you can discard as many as you like. You’ll also usually be able to double your winnings in these variations thanks to Bonus Games being provided.