Online Video Poker
Video poker is one of the most popularly played casino games and is patterned after the five-card draw game of poker. This game is played on a console that is quite the same as the slot machine. Below is a list of the best online Canadian casinos that offer video poker games with no download required. All bonuses are not available in Ontario.
Top Video Poker Casinos in Canada for January 2025
THESE OFFERS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR WAGER IN ONTARIO
A Short History
In the United States, video poker machines are regulated either by the Indian Gaming Agencies or the state. These machines need to use a virtual deck of cards in order to deal with random sequence cards.
These video poker machines first came out in the ’70s and best match those types of players who are into playing games that involve skill, having the chance of winning big, low house edge, or simply wanting to play by themselves anonymously.
In video poker, the saying “the house always has the advantage” does not apply.
How to Play the Game
The rule in playing video poker is not really difficult. You simply only need to deal with 1 to 5 coins and then the machine will give you 5 cards. With those cards that you have been dealt, you need to decide which hand to discard and which one to keep. After making the decision, the machine pays you off in exchange for the hands that you have discarded based on your hand’s value.
To play video poker you need to insert either a barcoded ticket that comes with credits or money into the machine. And before pressing the “deal” button you should place your bet of credits. It usually starts from 1 and goes up.
After this part, you will get 5 cards and you have the chance to discard 1 or more of these cards to trade for new ones that will be drawn from the same deck virtually. Once the draw is complete, the hand that matches any of the winning combinations posted in the paytable is paid out by the machine.
How Does a Pair of Jacks Effect Video Poker?
Video poker typically begins with a pair of jacks and pays even money. In this type of poker game, players have the option of discarding all their original 5 cards if they want to and paytables are the ones responsible for paying out for hands which depend on factors such as the variation of the game, the operator’s decision, and how rare the hands are.
The combinations in this kind of poker game are very much the same as the ones played in the table poker which includes the flush, two pair, straight, three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, straight flush, and of course the royal flush.
There are machines that provide progressive jackpots and other types of bonuses that attract the players to play more often.
Video Poker Variations
Video poker comes in many variations such as the Joker’s Wild, Anything’s Wild, and Deuces Wild among others. For the joker’s wild, the joker is the wild card. In anything’s wild, the player can choose any card based on its rank to be assigned as the wild card prior to the dealing of the hand. In deuces wild, 2 is the wild card.
If a particular game does not have a wild card, players usually get the four-of-a-kind hand at least one time for every 500 hands and the players may be able to play tens of thousands of hands prior to a royal flush. The latter gets the biggest payout.
This version of the poker game is among the few games in casinos that offer decent odds. Video poker is certainly something that is worth playing for a few bucks. Another nice thing about this casino game is that players have the opportunity to compute their chance to win and hopefully beat the house.
Game Strategies
It is so transparent that you may be able to control your winning. At the same time, you can also come up with other strategies that are uniquely your own. If you are thinking about which kind of poker game is best to play, try considering Double Bonus Poker as it is mainly based on odds. You may also check out Jacks or Better as it gives out great payouts and house edge.
If you learn about video poker well enough, you would also know your chances of getting a certain card. Since it is a 52 card deck, you would know that 1 out of 52 chances, you will get a specific card, and 1 out of 13 chances you may have the chance to get the card that you like, and 1 out of 4 chances you may likely get a certain suit.
Calculating the Winning Chances
When calculating the chances of you beating the house, there are two different ways for the table game and for video poker. In a table game, to calculate the odds, the house edge counts. However, for video poker, the payback percentage of the game contributes to the winning chances.
Payback percentage means calculating the odds by listing all the outcomes possible at any game and then using the base calculation to come up with the probability of having your needed cards. Then you need to add all the possible results to determine the probability of every outcome as well as the probability of having a specific card.
It is true that not all kinds of video poker games are equal because while others would have the best odds and great payouts, some others would have a lower percentage for payback. And it may be important to note that having the best odds does not always equate to higher winnings.
Video poker is a type of casino game that is not really very much difficult to understand and play which is perhaps one of the reasons why many people from around the world love playing this game, you can also check Jammin Jars and Starburst.
It comes with so many variants as well which gives the players a lot of choices. And if you like being creative and using your skills, then video poker may be something worth trying out.
Online Video Poker FAQ
Here are the most common questions about online video poker in Canada.
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