Online Video Poker Tips – Tricks 2023
Online video poker is an incredibly fun game to play and it’s one of the few games that has such a small house edge that a single lucky streak will put you in the green! It’s not all fun and games though because online video poker does take some strategy and it’s always helpful to know of a few tips and tricks along the way.
Thankfully, Veritop has you in mind when we create all of our content! We are professional online casino players and know and love video poker as it’s truly one of our favorites. Any player who sticks around on our video poker tips and tricks page will be able to pick up a few helpful ideas on how to be the best video poker player.
Understanding Video Poker
Video poker is a relatively simple game to play. It works the same way that five card draw poker works, where players will need to get, in most cases, a pair of Jacks or anything better. Players will start off by placing an initial wager on the hand, and then getting five cards given to them.
Here, the player will measure up what they’ve got and perhaps what they’d like to go for, and then hold the cards they want to keep in their hand. After that, a draw button will be used to refresh all the cards that have not been held. Once all five cards are in the possession of the player again, the payout is made.
Video Poker RNG
If you are playing at an online casino that is trustworthy and reputable, there’s a good chance that they are using software providers that you can trust. In doing so, these software providers will have all of their games tested and approved by the like of eCOGRA to ensure that they are certified to be completely random.
This goes a long way in the online casino world because some people are still skeptical of online casinos despite the fact that so many of them have licenses from gambling commissions and thousands of players each day. Where these games differ to a land-based casino is that all of the tech is run in a similar way but off site and online. This means there’s no limit to the amount of games, no queuing for a specific video poker machine, and no waiting in line to collect your winnings.
Video poker RNG (random number generation) is completely random and there’s no way that anyone could possibly predict or pretend to understand the way the numbers come out. As long as you decide to play at a trustworthy online casino, you’ll be safe.
Our Tips and Tricks
It’s not often that players who get a good go on video poker will be able to win every single time. Something that players can do though is to try and maximize their chances of winning by using some tips and tricks to do better. Here are some of our most fundamentally important tips for video poker online:
Check Pay Tables
Pay tables will illustrate the next point that we discuss when we talk about betting the maximum in video poker. Having a firm grasp on what a video poker machine pays when you get certain hands compared to the amount of coins you spend per wager is important.
It can be the difference between getting a huge win on a stroke of luck, to having a massive hand, but getting paid out extraordinarily little for it. There’s nothing worse than getting such a good quality hand only to be paid out so little.
Bet the Maximum
This does come with a caveat. The reason you should always look to bet the maximum is because the more you bet, the more it’ll pay when you win. And it’s not proportional at all. In fact, betting 1 coin and getting a single pair can sometimes be you just getting your money back and that’s not what you want!
Instead, you should be looking to play as much as you can afford to play with maximum coins. If you’re putting in $20, rather play those rounds at maximum coins each time so you get far fewer rounds, but the potential to win more is a lot higher. Sure, you’ll get less game time, but the prolonged game time you’d get at the minimum level would result in you losing anyway.
Practice Makes Perfect
We can never stress this point enough when playing online video poker, or any online casino game for money in fact. Practice makes perfect. It’s an old adage that’s used across the world but one that still holds true. If you want to get good at something, natural talent and ability will only get you so far.
Since online casinos have free play modes for
Claiming Bonuses
There’s no harm in claiming a welcome bonus or a reload bonus from any casino that you play at, in fact, many online casinos will encourage this. It’ll give you license to spend a little bit more money on bets and wagers, and will let you play for longer. These types of bonuses can be claimed at all times, whether you’re just starting to register, or whether you’ve been at that online casino for a long time.
With these kinds of bonuses come wagering requirements too. Each and every bonus will have some kind of strings attached to it in order to make it worthwhile for the casino too. Otherwise they’re just giving away free money! In order to equalize this out, online casinos will ask players to play through the amount they’ve been given as a bonus a number of times before being able to withdraw real money.
Managing a Bankroll
Many online casinos will offer welcome promotions that can often double or triple your bankroll. These can be vitally important to anyone looking to expand their game because it gives players confidence to make larger bets. Knowing how much you’re willing to stake and how much you can afford to lose is important.
If you start playing with something like $20 and you start on a machine that has a maximum bet of 40c, and you intend to play at maximum, you have 50 hands available to you. If you have that amount to 20c, then that increases to 100 hands. Decide how long you’d like to play for and how much you’re prepared to lose.
Stop When it is No Longer Fun
Players will often feel like they need to chase some losses. Setting aside something in your mind and telling yourself that you’re not going to exceed a certain point and then carrying on doing so is a way to quickly go into a pit where you’re unable to get out. It’s important that once you stop enjoying the fun aspect of the online casino, you should stop and have a break.
Nobody will ever tell you to stop indefinitely unless you have a serious problem, but just by taking a few minutes away from the computer or the mobile device will have wonderous benefits on your mental health. It’ll allow you to step away, take stock and focus on why you’re playing in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I win real money playing online video poker?
You definitely can win real money playing online video poker. It’s one of the most popular online casino games to play purely because it’s so consistent everywhere. Players will get the exact same experience with online video poker as they would when playing at a land-based casino but be able to do it from the comfort of their own home.
What is the best video poker game to play?
We’ve found that any one of the video poker games that you’ll see at recommended casinos are incredibly fun to play. There isn’t really a single “best” game to play because they are all pretty great. Those that love to play with wilds will likely enjoy one of the game variety that offers a single card as wilds, but bear in mind, those rules will be different.
Can I play video poker for free?
If you visit any one of the top recommended sites, especially the ones that we mention on our site, you’ll get to play free video poker. It’s important to do this too because while the games may seem pretty forward with things like Jacks or Better or Deuces Wild, there are also a couple of different nuances that some video poker machines offer.
Which video poker hand is the best and what does it pay?
If you’re playing video poker and you’ve managed to hit a Royal Flush, you’ve done extremely well. Usually, if you’re playing the most coins on a video poker machine, you’ll cash out on the maximum which can be around 4,000 coins for such a hand.
What is the difference between video poker and five card draw?
The only difference between these two games of poker is that the one is played on what appears to be a slot machine. Players will be give 5 cards and then be able to hold as many as they like, then replace those from the deck. The game runs on a similar RNG mechanic as five card draw online, but in person, things might be a little different. What’s nice about video poker is that you’ll always be getting the same game with no outside influences.
What’s the house edge on video poker?
The house edge on video poker is extremely low, in fact, it’s one of the smallest house edges in online casino gaming. It can be as little as 0.5% and if a player knows what they are doing and perhaps employs a little bit of strategy, they can get that number even smaller. What it means is that every time this machine takes in $100, it pays out $99.50 on average.