Online Casinos for Playing Video Poker

Video Poker is not the most popular game in the casino, but it is easily one of the most player-friendly. Smart play at an online video poker machine can result in a house advantage that is lower than any other casino game out there. If you factor in comps and bonuses, video poker has the potential to be a positive expectation game.

On this page, we have listed the best online casinos for video poker. We’ve noticed over the years that most online casinos tend to pay the least attention to their video poker machines. The graphics and sound effects are rarely amazing, so in this list we have instead focused on casinos that offer the best rules and payouts for video poker.

How to Play Online Video Poker Machines

There are dozens of video poker variants out there, and each variant has its own take on video poker rules. Fortunately, most machines use the same set of basic rules so that when you try a new machine, you don’t have to start from scratch. In this section, we’ll cover the basics of video poker.

Most video poker machines are variants of five card draw poker and Jacks or Better video poker. When you put your money in a video poker machine and hit the “draw” button, you are given five cards at random. You can then keep as many of those cards as you want and then draw new cards. Your final hand is then compared to the pay table to determine your payout.

Most video poker machines start the payouts when you achieve a pair of Jack or better. This means that you do not get payouts for single pairs if they are ranked 10 or lower. Once you hit a pair of Jacks (or better), the payouts begin. The stronger your final hand is, the more you get paid.

Some video poker variants begin the payouts at three of a kind or better. These machines usually have some sort of wild card, so they have to increase the minimum hand for a payout. From the player’s standpoint, the disadvantage of a higher minimum hand is balanced by the advantage of wild cards.