Best Video Poker Online Casinos | 2019

Where to Play Video Poker Online for Real Money?

There are hundreds of online casinos, but most of them are designed to cater to the needs of slot players. Finding a decent video poker online casino is becoming increasingly difficult. Instead of looking for the best online casino for video poker players yourself, take a look at our top video poker casino picks. Moreover, we think you should also consider the bonus offer of the casino you’ll join, which is why we have an extensive collection of online video poker casino bonuses of all kinds.

Players who are too eager to jump into video poker action can join any of the below listed online casinos. The rest of you can scroll below and learn more about the treatment video poker players get at online casinos.

Video poker has been part of online casinos since the early days, but a lot has changed since then. Since it’s not as simple to play like slot games, many players frown upon it. Then again, it has a decent, loyal following, players which despise slots and other RNG based games. Note,  video poker games are also RNG based, but with a few tricks up your sleeve, there are games which have more than 100% of RTP.

Promotions and bonuses are important, both to casual and avid video poker players. However, since the games have such high RTPs, casinos do not put video poker that easily amongst the games you can play with bonus money.

Online Video Poker Signup Bonuses – New Player Bonuses

Fresh starts can be difficult, which is why welcome bonuses are probably the most important type of video poker bonuses. You’ll need the extra bonus funds until you get noticed by the casino operator, and get that VIP status you deserve and want so much. Note, when we say a video poker welcome bonus, we mean bonuses that have wagering requirements that can be completed playing video poker games. They’re not as common as many of you’d expect! Make sure you claim your welcome bonus immediately after you sign up. Also, in case you need a bonus code for the welcome bonus, get it right the first time!

Online Video Poker Free Money

Probably the most sought type of bonuses amongst players into video poker, free money. You might also come across video poker no deposit bonuses, which is pretty much the same. However, the latter is usually used to refer to new player no deposit bonuses for video poker players. We're not that into no deposit bonuses for video poker players because they typically come with hefty wagering requirements that are impossible to complete, not to mention that there are many of them with cashout limits.

Note, you can find these bonuses labelled as Free Play or No Deposit Bonuses in our bonus listings.

Online Video Poker Tournaments & Races

They've grown out of fashion over the years. Slot games and live casino games have taken over the online gaming industry in full. Video poker tournaments are extremely rare. Only a few online casinos showcase online video poker tournaments. The worst part, you have to pay a buy-in,  which discourages a lot of players from giving them a try.

Races are a different type of promotion, or better said a competition. Instead of having to win the most money during a given period, players have to wager the most. That being said, the results can be misleading. The video poker player at the top of the leaderboard is not necessarily the best one. It shows the one that's wagered the most, which puts high rollers at an advantageous position.

Online Video Poker Bonuses are Scarce

Unfortunately, online video poker bonuses are scarce, which is why we recommend you to take advantage of every opportunity that presents to you. As a VIP player, you'll be given more bonus opportunities. Sticking with an online casino for the sake of becoming a VIP, but if the video poker offer is admirable, doesn't sound all that bad. Many players are doing it. After all, it's not like a new video poker game gets released every month as slot games do. Find your favourite video poker online casino, prove your worth, and become a VIP. Besides custom bonus deals, you will get access to account managers, better customer support, higher cashout limits, faster withdrawals and so on.

Can You Apply Video Poker Strategies As a Bonus Player?

Many experienced video poker players have mastered the game, and they don't apply any textbook strategies. They play the game, and it's their style, their approach to winning the game. You will find many different strategies, tips and advice for video poker and how to increase your odds. You can apply any strategy you like, but not as a bonus player. Why? Because there's a bet limit for bonus players, which restricts players from using most popular strategies.

Additionally, some rules prevent all players, including video poker ones, to manipulate the bet size. For example, if you win a big prize, then reduce the bet size, this can put you under investigation and have your winnings voided. This goes for video poker bonus players only.

Former Slot Players Turned Video Poker Enthusiasts

If you’re one of those players that are sick of the low slot RTPs, and you’ve gotten into video poker, there a few things you should know about. Bet size matters, because it affects the RTP of the game. It’s all about the big prizes, especially the royal flush. Most slot players have never played their favourite slots with max bet. Well, as a video poker player, you might have to raise the stakes to see the returns go up. Again, make sure you're not breaking any bonus terms, that is if you're a bonus player.

The rules are different! Depending on which game you play, meaning is it Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Joker Poker, your chances of winning will change accordingly.

Lastly, unlike slots, in video poker, you are in charge. Not in full, but to some extent, you set the RTP. An optimal strategy can make the difference between a poor video poker run and a decent profit at the end of the day. Nevertheless, in time, you will move away from strategies, special approaches, and you will put your video poker play on auto-pilot!

How Does Video Poker Work?

Before you start playing you should adjust the bet size according to your play style. Usually, video poker machines allow players to place between 1 and five coins. Individual video poker variations pay more if you play with five coins for instance. However, they pay more only for a given set of combinations such as a royal flush.

Five cards are dealt to the player. The player should keep the cards that are of some value. The rest of the cards can be returned. Players can return all cards, or they can keep all, basically return any number of cards if they deem this is the right play to make.

If you decide to keep two cards and return 3, you will be given three cards in return. Depending on the outcome, or in other words, depending on your hand, a predetermined prize will be awarded, that's if you've won. Besides a different rule set, video poker variations have their unique pay tables. This is one of the main criteria by which players choose what poker variation they play. Video poker players who prefer to play more aggressively, out of the guidelines laid out in some of the strategies available below, tend to play with five coins and strive for that glorious straight flush win which pays more. However, if you wish to play more with a proper bet and money management, we recommend you to follow the strategy you can find below.

Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) – Quasi Video Poker

Before we move into greater detail, we must point out that there are quasi video poker machines that can be found at land-based casinos. They look like regular video poker machines, but they function as slot machines do. That said, the outcome of the round is predetermined. Even if the player makes the wrong decision a bonus is given, and the player wins. On the other hand, if the player made the right decision he was supposed to win, he will receive a card that will not form a winning hand.

If you genuinely want to experience the thrill of playing video poker and apply skill and knowledge to win you should stay away from these machines. There's a sign that says VLT on these machines, but it's not displayed in the most visible place.

Variations and Types of Video Poker

There are two main types of video poker, a typical video poker game with a standard paytable. The other type comes with a progressive jackpot. The latter is rather rare. Once the jackpot reaches an attractive amount, the casino will advertise it in an attempt to attract new players. Furthermore, we can dissect video poker variations into Video Poker with Wilds and Multihand or Multi-play video poker games.

However, games that do not have a progressive jackpot tied to them are still the games that see the most play. The fundamental rules of these variations do not change. The only differences are in the paytable and the winning conditions. Therefore, all of them are considered as video poker variations, not as standalone games. Here are the most popular video poker variations:

Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better is among the most popular video poker variations. Players associate Jacks or Better as the standard video poker variation. As the name says, a pair of Jacks is the lowest paying winning hand. We will compare the rest of the variations to the pay table Jacks or Better has.

Tens or Better

Besides the difference in the win condition with the 10s becoming the lowest paying hand Tens or Better is pretty much precisely the same as Jacks or Better. Tens or Better has different full house and flush payouts. Tens or Better has a higher win rate than Jacks or Better due to additional winning conditions, but the RTP is insifignicantly different. Tens or Better is also known as 6/5 Jacks or Better since it pays six times the bet for a full house and five times for flushes.

Deuces Wild

Deuces Wild also sees a lot of play. All twos have the role of the wild. Wilds substitute for any other card to form the highest possible winning poker hand. Video poker variations with wilds or jokers, including Deuces Wild, introduce a new winning combination, five of a kind.

Joker Poker

Instead of having twos as wilds, the deck is extended and includes two additional cards that come in the form of Jokers. The jokers substitute for any other hard to form a better winning poker hand.

Bonus Poker

This game is based entirely on Jacks or Better. However, it does pay more for four of a kind hands. The RTP of Bonus Poker is precisely 99.3%. In essence, the only difference we can note is the bonus payouts, ergo the name bonus poker.

All American

All American also known as Bally’s All American video poker is also based on jacks or better. It offers higher payouts for straights, straight flushes and flushes. However, you will win less for full houses and two pairs. It used to be very popular a few decades ago.

Multi Hand Video Poker (Joker/Wild, Double and Standard)

All versions of multi-hand video poker tend to attract a lot of attention. What makes them different? Before the five cards are dealt the player selects a number of lines that will be in play. The player is then dealt five cards from which he can keep as many as he likes. The cards that are kept are then placed on all lines that are in play. Now, each line or each hand is dealt additional cards. For instance, if the player has kept three cards, two cards are dealt for each hand.

The player is paid for each winning hand. Multi-Hand video poker can be compared with video slots since they have 10, 15, 20 or more pay lines.

What Video Poker Variations Have the Highest RTP?

Since there are different winning conditions, individual video poker variations have a different number of cards in their decks, and the pay tables are different, it's reasonable to expect that the RTP will differ.

Let's take Jacks or Better as a benchmark. It has an RTP of 99.54%. The variation that comes with a higher RTP than the standard Jacks or Better and that's the most popular among video poker players is Deuces Wild. If played optimally you can expect and RTP of 100.8% when played with five credits. The Double Bonus Video Poker stands behind Deuces Wild with an RTP of 100.2%.

We recommend you to play Deuces Wild since you have higher chances of winning due to the presence of wilds.

How to Play Video Poker?

Video poker is probably the best thing that ever happened to poker players. A lot of players find sitting at a poker table intimidating. Furthermore, playing table poker is nowhere near as convenient as video poker is. It all begun back in the 1970s when the first video poker machines appeared in bricks and mortar casinos. They became an instant hit due to several reasons. Today, video poker is the most popular casino game with a hands-on approach. Although video poker machines look very similar to slot machines, the software they use works differently.

Standard Video Poker Strategy

If we were to cover each variation separately, it'd take you days to go through all the numbers and the statistic. That's why we've compiled a short list of tips and advice that can be applied in a particular situation. We're not going to dwell into numbers and percentages that will only confuse you further. It's rather plain and simple. Hopefully, this will help you to extend your play sessions and end them with a profit.

Depending on the first five cards you receive there are several choices you can make. Here are your options.

• If you don’t have a winning combination whatsoever, nor a high card return all cards
• If you have a high card in your hand keep it, return the rest
• If you have two high cards regardless of their suit and value keep them, return the rest
• If you have two cards that are part of a royal flush keep them, return the rest
• If you have three cards to a straight flush, keep them, return the rest
• If you have four cards to a straight, keep them, return the remaining card
• If you have a low pair, keep it, return the rest
• If you have four cards to a flush, keep them, return the rest
• If you have three cards to a royal flush, take the risk, keep them and return the rest
• Always keep a high pair and return the rest
• Always keep two pairs and return the remaining card for a potential full house
• If you have four cards to a straight flush, keep them and return the remaining card
• A straight in your starting hand, keep them all
• If you have three of a kind, don’t forget to return the remaining two cards
• Always keep a flush, a full house, a straight flush, and of course a royal flush

What’s a Low Pair/ High Pair/ High Card

A low pair is a pair of cards that have a value of 9 or lower, whereas a high pair consists of a pair of cards with a value of 10s and above. A High Card includes the Jack, the Queen, the Kind and an Ace.

The Most Popular Video Poker Game - Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better is by far the most popular and widely played Video Poker game. It’s a variation of video poker that has won the hearts of many casino players that prefer the convenience of video poker machines. The name itself suggests players how they should play the game. In essence, the name has the only rule that players should know about. If you have any idea how to play poker, you will know how to play Jacks or Better.

However, our goal is not to play the game only, and our objective is to play and win. The higher your returns are, the longer you can play and the more chances you have to win that Royal Flush prize. That's the jackpot! If you happen to be a slot player that likes to enter the world of video poker, we recommend starting with Jacks or Better. Why? Jacks or Better is the easiest to grasp. There are other Video Poker versions with minor differences in the game rules.

There is also a Full Pay version called 9/6 because the payoff for the full house is nine times your bet and the payout for the flush is six times your bet.

How to Play Jacks or Better

As we mentioned earlier, playing Jacks or Better is easy; winning is the hard part. So yes, you push the Draw button, you select what cards you want to return and what you want to keep. It's simple. The thing is, what cards should you keep?

Considering the payouts of any given winning combination we can compile a list of possible outcomes and the possibility of these events occurring. After a close risk analysis considering all options and the potential winnings, we can come up with a concrete, in-depth strategy. It is a strategy, but you don't have to analyze anything, you have to follow the tips and advice we're going to give you, along with the specific guidelines. If you follow the instructions, you are playing the game optimally.

The Paytable of Jacks or Better - Return/Payout Percentage

Video poker games get their name according to the rules, and they also have this "digit slash digit" reference which gives us more information about its nature. These numbers give us the payout for the Full House wins and Flush Wins, usually when it's lowered.

Besides, the paytable is a starting point for many decisive moments that might look odd to you. In all honesty, in some instances, some decisions seem counterintuitive, but they're reasonable if we consider all possibilities, all outcomes. This is the moment when the paytable or the payouts of the video poker game are brought to light. That's why there are so many video poker games and so many different video poker strategies.

However, in the end, all of them are based on the same principle: "are the sacrifices worth the risk?" You don't have to decide, take a look at the guidelines and you'll have your answer. Instead of blaming yourself for losing, blame the strategy. If you win, then you can take the credit, we're okay with that.

It’s not a Strategy - It’s a Copy & Paste Approach

Many "experts" call this type of approach "strategy". We tend to disagree because it's not a strategy per se; it's just a set of guidelines. Regardless, we're going to go with the flow because most of you are used to the term strategy.

Remember, even if we were to come up with an out of this world system and simulation with bet manipulation and situation specific guidelines we still can't guarantee a profit. But, there's a big BUT. The payout percentage gets astronomically close to 100%! If you think out of the box for a moment, the idea is to stay in the game the longest, to have a chance to win a Royal Flush, which in Jacks or Better pays 4000x the bet size, at five coins.

A little bit of statistics before we drown into numbers. Winning a Royal Flush in Jacks or Better is six times more likely than winning a jackpot in a Slot Games, and we're not talking about the progressive jackpot.

The below listed “Jacks or Better cheat sheet” applies to Full Pay games only, meaning you should look for 9/6 Jacks or Better, which comes with an RTP of 99.54%.

This list includes the most common situations in which you might find yourself. It is compiled using common sense, a bit of calculation involving probability, risk assessment and plain Video Poker experience.

Hands You Should Always Avoid Playing Jacks or Better

Always avoid these hands; don't fall for the rather lucrative options. Resist the temptation!

• 10 and an Ace, Suited – Hold the Ace Only
• 4 to an Inside Straight with NO High Cards – Garbage, Return All Cards
• 4 to an Inside Straight with a High Card, Two High Cards – Keep High Cards Only
• 3 High Cards, Unsuited – Return the Highest High Card, Hold Remaining 2 High Cards

Eventually, you will find yourself in all of these situations. Try to play Video Poker with a cool head, as if you’re playing Blackjack for instance. It’s a mix of a game of chance and game of skill. You can affect the payouts if you’re implementing a predetermined approach. Call it a strategy if you may, it will be fruitful. It’s much better than to play like a bull in a China shop.

Deuces Wild – Guide & Simplified Strategy

Video Poker machines were once the most popular type of casino game and the easiest to access. You could’ve entered your local bar and see one or two of these. They've grown popular mainly because of their convenience and the opportunity to skew the odds of winning in the player's favour if played correctly. Over the years, Video Poker games have evolved, diversified resulting in a whole range of different Video Poker games, with different paytables and similar, yet not identical game rules.

How to Play Deuces Wild? 

Deuces Wild is a Video Poker game, a variation that gives players additional chances of winning due to the presence of Wild cards. In the case of Deuces Wild, 2s are Wilds, but they work differently than one might expect.

If we were to list all Video Poker games and sort them by their popularity, Deuces Wild would take the 2^nd place, behind Jacks or Better only. Compared to Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild is much more interesting to play, mainly because of the presence of the Wild cards.

Before we move on to the instructions on how to maximize returns playing Deuces Wild, let's check out the paytable:

 We’ve excluded bets that are in the middle, such as 2, 3 and 4 coins to avoid confusion, but we had to include 5 coin bets because of the bonus given for a Natural Royal Flush.

The distinctive hand is Four Deuces, which pay 200x the bet. Before you jump to premature conclusions, let’s take a look at why does the paytable of Deuces Wild look so different from other paytables.

The Deuces Wild Paytable - Explained

It doesn’t take to be an expert in Video Poker to notice that there are huge differences. 4 Deuces take the place of Four of a Kind when compared to other variations.

Why is Four of a Kind such an underpaid hand in Deuces Wild? Because the wild cards, the Deuces (2s) can take the place of any card to form a winning hand, four of a kind in this case. This also applies to other hands as well, such as a straight, a flush, a full house, a three of a kind. As you can see, Deuces make the game much more exciting.

The payouts are more modest because they occur more frequently. Ergo, the natural royal flush still pays the most. There's nothing wrong with hitting a Wild Royal Flush, and it still pays a lot. Deuces Wild pays incrementally unless you hit the Natural Royal Flush. Some players prefer a game that has high a hit rate. We second this because there's no fun in waiting for the big prize. Grinding your way to it is, by all means, thrilling and profitable.

Deuces Wild – Basic Tips to Follow

1. Never Discard a Deuce.
2. Never Hold a Single Card that cannot fit in a combination.
3. Always prefer a pair to a straight or a four card flush.

Now, these are core rules which you should always follow. Playing and profiting from playing Deuces Wild is more complicated. Below, you can find a table that you will find useful in any situation. The Wild cards drive the game, so are your profits. The entire strategy and your decisions will be based around deuces.

Deuces Wild In-depth Strategy Guide

These separate tables should be your primary indicator of what to do depending on your hand. As we mentioned earlier, Deuces are the Wild cards, and they are the starting point. Just make sure you follow the guidance we provide below.

How to Approach One Deuce Hands

As you can see, it's pretty straightforward; however, this is only when you have a Deuce in your hand. That's when things get too complicated. For example, if you have two deuces in your hand, it's much more straightforward. To clarify, here's a different table that will illustrate that you have more options and it's more straightforward.

How to Approach Two Deuces Hands

It becomes easier to form a high paying hand. If we were to analyze Jacks or Better, for instance, there'd be one table, but it would be a long one.

Every game of Deuces Wild is played with 52 cards, which includes a total of 4 deuces. Seeing a starting hand with 3 Deuces is exciting and rewarding. Here’s what you should do if you happen to have a hand such as this.

How to Approach Three Deuces Hands

Winning a Wild Royal Flush is a common thing to see in Deuces Wild. Believe it or not, you will enjoy this game way more than other non-wild video poker variations.

How to Approach a Hand without Any Deuces

You might be wondering, what should I do if there aren't any Wild cards in my starting hand? This is an unfavourable situation to be in, especially since this is Deuces Wild we’re talking about.

In this situation, you should approach your hand as if you're playing a regular non-wild video poker variation. If we were to supply you with more information regarding this matter, we'd just fuel the confusion. You will find our Jacks or Better guide rather useful in this situation. Many experts argue against this approach, but we find it simpler and more comfortable to learn this way.

NOTE! Aim for the Royal Flush. Deuces Wilds will have your back. Winning a Wild Royal Flush becomes more comfortable to win as you beat the learning curve.

Try to Play a Full Pay Deuces Wild Paytable If Possible

Your returns will be affected severely in the long run, adversely. It doesn't cost a thing to double check before you start your Video Poker endeavours, conquering Deuces Wild. With a perfect play, you can expect a 100.76% RTP.