Video Poker Explained
When you pull up a virtual seat for an online poker cash game or tournament, you’ll be up against human opponents, so it’s pretty much like playing in person – minus the need for a poker face.
Online video poker is different. As with a typical machine in Las Vegas, you don’t have an opponent, other than the game software. Most games imitate Five Card Draw poker, so you’re dealt five cards right off the bat. You can hold these cards, or exchange some or all of them for a new one, and hope your resulting hand is somewhere on the paytable.
Video poker game hand rankings and paytables vary, but your best hand – or hands in multi-hand games – will always be taken from the five cards displayed on the screen. The single-player nature, speed and overall presentation of video poker can lead many players to refer to video poker games as poker slots.
However, players should realize that hitting a winning combination on slot machines is purely a matter of luck. Crafting a winning hand in video poker takes a combination of luck, skill, and basic strategy. It’s just one of the reasons why video poker games like Double Bonus Poker, Aces and Eights, and Joker’s Wild are so popular with gamblers.