Video poker is an advanced electronic game, originated from the card game beloved by many. It’s so widespread everywhere, that even some TV channels are fully dedicated to poker, and to nothing but that. As per the official statistics, poker is even more popular than such terrific sports as golf, billiard, and tennis; and just picture that, there are nearly 60 million active poker performers residing in the US alone!

The backstory of this fun game broke out in the early 1970s, when the pathbreaking video poker terminals were invented. This event coincided with the forthcoming of the novel personal computers and the new mini TV monitors. These pioneering games were developed and improved through the 1970s, and within the 1980s they were in high demand in all the Las Vegas casinos. According to the players, video poker units were less stressful and intimidating than playing with real people. What more, there was no necessity in a banker or a dealer to entertain oneself either. That aside, video poker machines gave them much more freedom concerning the gameplay, so they became very popular shortly after they first emerged in the casinos. Step by step, the video poker industry was developing in a stand-alone world and introduced many new poker types that could be performed only on the machines. For instance, multi-hand poker. Abstractively, it’d be feasible for a dealer to draw three hands to every player every round, even though it would prolong the game dramatically. And what if a player would like to opt for a 50, 25, or 100-hand variant? Obviously, it would be adequate to employ a counting machine for such a job!

When the first online casinos were appearing in the mid-90s, video poker became available as a PC game to punters across the globe. So why not? This option is just like a real cash video poker, but online. Though, it took a while for personal computers to get to every household; and for the next decade, they were still not as big as video poker boxes or table poker.

Now, people may play video poker online for real money in almost any casino. Just like an original card game, online poker offers a great Return To Player that can be 99,8% at times. They boast a rather low house edge. So attentive and experienced players have some good chances to obtain a decent pool of money participating in video poker games online for money.

Here at El Royale Casino, we’re offering you a bucket of recreative options that are supposed to produce some considerable winnings. Our video poker lobby features 56 poker variations. Every type features first-class graphics and animation and breathtaking gameplay. Most of the videogames are designed in an old school semi-video poker machine style. This points that the interface is intentionally designed to remind us about pioneering video poker machines. Moreover, the audio game features are also pretty old school - the gaming sounds are designed to remind us about the classic 8-bit game music.

At El Royale, all video poker variants are featured in a separate lobby section. Just pick their category, and all the offered games will be displayed for your convenience. In the upper panel of the lobby, punters will notice buttons that highlight the games respectively to the quantity of playable hands. You can opt for all 1-hand, 10-hand, 3-hand, or 52-hand games. Actually, every present poker variation is provided in all multi-hand modes, which is a RealTime Gaming signature feature.

Also, as an extra feature, most games open a double-up mini-game. Such an option is offered after any payable hand that you will manage to collect, and if your luck smiles to you to win, your prize will be doubled. However, when losing, all your winnings for the current game will be lost, too. This mini-game offers a 5-card hand where one card face is visible and 4 cards are lying face down. Your job is to select 1 of the unknown cards. If it becomes higher than the opened card, your prize will be doubled. And if the selected card is equivalent to the one you opened, you’ll have the right to try again.

Also, El Royale offers some lucrative promos for newbies who love card games and poker. A 100% bonus up to $1,000 is valid for both card and poker, and one can order it 5 times upon sign up. The minimum deposit sum is $10 for Neosurf, $20 for Bitcoin deposits, and $30 for deposits conducted via a credit card. Apparently, the highest deposit sum that will give you a bonus percentage is $1,000. The bonus amount has a playthrough of x40 times before it will be eligible to cash it out. From the point of view of an experienced player, this bonus just looks very good! Since video poker variations have a rather big payout percentage, not every gambling website is going to risk awarding the bonus amount for such a thing. However, El Royale definitely has the guts to offer a great promo like this, to treat video poker fans at our casino.

And now, after this short introduction to our beloved card game, we’ll immerse ourselves in the best real money video poker and talk about various strategies, odds, betting, benefits and drawbacks of the process, and dispel the myths about video poker gambling.

Free Video Poker vs. Real Money Video Poker

At El Royale, punters can either play video poker for money or completely for free. This is utterly standard practice, and it lets the users play all games in demo mode, so they can decide what game they like the most before making bets. Sometimes you can even test the game without registering an account, which is pretty practical for you anyway.

When you are engaged in a demo game, you’re granted a virtual sum of coins that you can bet when playing. In general, the sum is around $1,000, so you can utilize different strategies and carry on some experiments with your betting ranges. Of course, you can’t spend your money, though! Playing the demo version obviously isn’t equal to real video poker gambling online. Also, the demo mode is not limited anyway. 

Demos use the same algorithms and RNGs as the real play options, so one can surely see how advantageous real betting is. On the flip side, one can’t succeed and gain some funds unless they register and deposit some bucks. So we don’t recommend to dwell too long enjoying video poker in a free mode. After all, genuine gaming pleasure comes only when you face the real risk. Just if the bet is fairly low, the difference between demo and real money video poker is pretty dramatic!

Video Poker Hands

A hand in video poker is a combination which is frequently made up of the cards the punter has in this round, with the cards already on the table. So the greater your hand is, the higher chances of a win one can get. The seasoned poker players or highrollers can count their chances of winning regarding the hand that they own and the cards already drawn within the game. The less professional punters will have to decide on the intuitive level applying their poker experience as well.

Not all the video poker types feature the same hands and the same payout percentages for a definite hand. Specifically, if we take a video poker that features lots of wild cards, some of the classic hands (like 2 pairs or a pair) may be omitted in the rules. This makes the game balanced. For instance, if one has 2 wild jokers and wild deuces, and a pair is also counted as a winning hand, the RTP percentage might end up reaching 102,6% or even higher! This supposes that a participant will get a serious advantage over the casino, and the casino would lose a lot.

Nevertheless, you should know classic hands that are applied to most poker variations. Here they are:

  • Five of a Kind - four sheets of the equal rank 
  • Straight flush - five sheets of an equal suit, which stand in sequent 
  • Four of a Kind - four sheets of the equal value
  • Full House - a pair of sheets of the equivalent value plus three sheets of the equal value
  • Flush - five sheets not of sequential rank, but that have the identical suit
  • Straight - five sheets of sequential rank that all have the identical suit
  • Three of a Kind - 3 sheets of the equivalent value, regardless of their suit
  • Two Pairs - two pairs of sheets of one rank 
  • One Pair - two sheets of the equivalent value, regardless of their suit

We encourage you to look through the rules before placing some bets. The featured hands can excel from the ones outlined above. Additionally, when you are participating in internet video poker for money, consider that some poker variations suppose that the best hand may be the weakest one. 

Types of Video Poker Games

You’ll encounter loads of video poker games, so newcomers can sometimes get lost in this abundance of game titles. That's why it won’t hurt to mention the most widespread video poker types.

  • Jacks or Better (Draw Poker) - the most traditional type on the market. How so? In fact, the first-ever commercially produced video poker that was manufactured in 1979 was a Draw Poker one, so nowadays it’s regarded as a cult classic. This type implies that the weakest winning set is a pair of Jacks. Naturally, the payouts are higher than in regular table poker.
  • All American Poker - this one works very much like Draw Poker, with several small differences. The payouts also start from a pair of Jacks, however, the prizes for straight flushes, flushes, and straights are higher. Meanwhile, the payouts from two pairs and full houses are lower. This kind is one of the most advantageous video poker games for real money one could ever hope to find!
  • Deuces Wild - here all deuces have the functions of wild cards. Also, this is acknowledged as one of the most lucrative types.
  • Bonus Poker - very much like Jacks or Better, but has more significant rates for Four of a Kind.
  • Progressive Jackpot Poker - pretty much any video poker type that also features a jackpot. Part of your bet is going to be deducted in favor of the jackpot pool. Frequently, it will be 1,5% of your bet size.
  • Multi-hand poker - a video poker that allows playing with several hands simultaneously - 5, 3, 25, 10, or even 100. This variation can be connected to any of the previous variations. This one is a little bit riskier, but also it can be very profitable if you play sensibly.

Tips to Boost Your Chances of Winning at Video Poker

From the start, we have to confess there are no 100% reliable rules that you can effectively apply to real video poker casino variations. The best tip that one can follow is the basic counting strategy, which is applied to almost any poker option. Primarily, learn the odds of getting wins for certain hands. For example, one has a pair of 8s and has to opt for calling or folding. One can’t remove the bet once it’s been placed, so they have to make a responsible decision. In this case, non-professional poker players are either going to rely on their intuition or else act emotionally. With that, a real poker master’s going to count their chances, and are generally going to act according to the most reliable kind of poker strategy.

Also, you can try playing with bet amounts too. A few punters believe that when dealing with video poker for money, the stake size can influence the algorithm of the video game. This theory is not really supported by any obvious evidence; but then again, it hasn’t been exposed as fallacious either! In any case, whilst you’re playing wisely and you remember about knowing your limit, you can alter the bet size and still avoid taking any great risk.

Why Play Video Poker at El Royale Casino?

  • A collection of 56 video poker variations
  • All games are produced by RealTime Gaming - a leading gaming software developer
  • Multi-hand games ensuring gameplay with 10, 3 or 52 hands at once
  • A good range of video poker genres - All American Poker, Joker Poker, Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Double Bonus Poker, and many others
  • All games are accessible in demo mode
  • A comfortable video poker gaming lobby that allows sort games by feature
  • El Royale is a secure online casino holding a Curaçao Gaming License and CDS certificate of trust
  • Fast withdrawals - win money playing video poker online and receive your payout instantly

FAQ

Why are the video poker bonuses so limited at online casinos?

The bonuses credited for video poker are not as frequent as the bonuses credited for slots. The primary reason is that video poker is already a very profitable game to bet on. And if we take coolest real video poker options out there, they are no exception! Most providers are not crediting bonuses for poker, because this might not be too rational from their point of view.

What does “rake” mean?

This is a poker term meaning the small percentage that the house can take from the participant’s bet. This term is applied to table poker or live casino poker. So whenever you’re joining a video poker site for real money to delve into the video poker world, this doesn’t apply.

Can I enjoy video poker from my smartphone?

The answer is obviously ‘yes’! A decent internet connection helps you grasp mobile video poker for real money at will. El Royale Casino has a terrific mobile version that instantly adjusts to any size of the screen, letting you get the finest video poker adventure out there!