Lowdown on Most Popular Video Poker Variants

Poker is a game just about everyone has heard of at some point or another. At this point, it is ingrained in our culture as the game you play when you go to a casino. Of course, not everyone is cut out for bluffing and playing against other players. Punters may want to challenge themselves without dealing with others around them. To cater to such a crowd, brick and mortar casinos introduced video poker!

It did not take long for this game to take off in popularity. It has a gameplay loop that rewards poker knowledge. Playing smart does give you an edge over someone who is randomly guessing. This is unlike many other casino games, with a few notable exceptions like blackjack. As more and more players were invested in the game, developers started creating video poker variants!

Unfortunately, video poker did not find the same appreciation among the online casino crowd. That said, many games remain available for punters to enjoy. We will discuss a few of the most popular variants in this article!

Deuces Wild

You cannot talk about video poker without mentioning Deuces Wild. For us, it is one of the more iconic video poker games. It improves the formula with the simple addition of a Wild number! The number two serves as a Wild, and can complete any win it finds itself a part of! The Wild is always clearly labelled, so there is no way you will miss it.

Many software providers have their own version of Deuces Wild, but our favourite is definitely the Betsoft version. It comes with several goodies that we would love to see other developers implement. You can form two three-card poker hands on top of the standard five-card poker hand.

On top of that, each win will prompt a Double or Nothing side bet for you to play. The only downside to this variant is that you need a three-of-a-kind to win instead of only a pair.

Jacks or Better

If there was ever a default way of playing video poker, this would probably be it! Just about every developer that makes video poker games has their own version of this variant. It has become so widespread that it even has a few variants of its own!

A good example of this would be Microgaming’s All Aces. It increases the payouts for a four-of-a-kind wins while decreasing the rewards for a few other hands. If you enjoyed Jacks or Better, this is definitely a must-play. With a payout percentage of 99.92%, you are looking at one of the best video poker games ever made!

Tens or Better is another version of Jacks or Better. Here, the minimum requirement to win is a pair of tens instead of a pair of jacks. This makes wins more frequent! Developers account for this by decreasing payouts across the board. As a result, this video poker is perfect for players who want a fun, low variance experience.

Double Double Bonus

Yet another iconic video poker game is Double Double Bonus. The special thing about this variant is how it gives extra rewards for four-of-a-kind hands. Furthermore, these increased payouts do not mean the remaining rewards are lowered as we saw in All Aces.

Once again, Betsoft’s version wins us over with their extras. Being able to score two three-card poker hands and a Double or Nothing side bet will not appeal to everyone. That said, we like having those options available if we ever want to use them!

Two Ways Royal

Playtech also has a few interesting video poker games up its sleeve. One of our favourites is definitely Two Ways Royal! As the name implies, there are two ways to win the Royal Flush in this title. The reward is the same either way! As a result, it does not matter how you win the prize, so long as you pull it off!

The high royal flush is formed by the standard 10, J, Q, K and A combination that has the same colour and suit. Meanwhile, to create the low royal flush, you need cards two, three, four, five and six in the same colour and suit. Punters who are gunning for the top prize will definitely appreciate having more ways to score it!

All American

You may expect All American to be a big deviation from standard video poker. However, just like American and European roulette, the differences are rather minute. The gameplay is identical, with the only notable difference being in the paytable. Straight Flush, Straight and Flush pay more, while Full House and Two Pair pay less.

As a result, this variant is better for players who want to go for the more difficult card combinations. You will not win as much during normal gameplay due to lowered payouts. Instead, you make that money back with improved rewards for more difficult hands like the Straight Flush.