How to play video poker online
A round takes about five seconds: deal five cards, keep some, draw replacements, get paid. The rules fit on one screen. Playing well takes a little longer.
What is on the screen
Five cards in the middle, the pay table above them, a Hold button under each card and a Deal/Draw button below. Your credits and current bet sit at the bottom, next to Bet One and Bet Max.
Always play five credits
The royal flush pays 250 for 1 on one to four credits and 800 for 1 on five. That jump is worth about 1.4% of return on its own, so short-betting a machine throws money away. If five credits is too much, pick a smaller coin, €0.05 instead of €0.25, rather than fewer credits.
Keep what already pays, with one exception
Never break a paying hand hoping for something bigger, unless you hold four cards to a royal flush. Then the royal is worth chasing, even at the cost of a flush or a straight.
- A pair of jacks or better: keep the pair, draw three.
- Two pair: keep both, draw one.
- Three of a kind: keep it, draw two.
- A made straight, flush or full house: keep all five.
A hand from start to finish
You are dealt A♠ A♥ 7♦ 3♣ K♠. The two aces already pay, so you hold them and draw three cards in place of the 7, 3 and king. Keeping the king as a kicker would only make three aces less likely. The draw brings A♣ 9♦ 2♠: three aces, paid 3 for 1 on a standard table.
When you are ready to tighten your choices, the strategy guide ranks every hold from best to worst.