How To Play Video Poker 2025

History of Video Poker

Poker started on Mississippi riverboats long ago and became a popular gambling game worldwide. It used to be played with just 20 cards, but later on, it switched to the usual 52-card deck. Video poker is a type of poker based on a version from the 1850s called Five Card Draw.

People like poker because it's a mix of skill and luck, and it lets you compete against others. Video poker first showed up in 1891 with machines having five spinning drums, each with 10 cards. But it wasn't until the 1970s, with computers and video screens, that video poker became a big thing.

With affordable computers in the mid-1970s, video poker took off. A company called Si Redd got the game's rights and teamed up with Fortune Coin Company. They made Video Draw Poker, which started in 1979 and turned into 'Jacks or Better'.

Video poker got better over time with nicer graphics, sounds, and more options like playing multiple hands. Now, people can play different versions of it from home or on their smartphones.

How To Play Video Poker

Below we listed the common steps and created a step by step guide on how to play video poker.

1. Choose how many coins to use as a bet. Bets between one and five units are generally accepted in video poker games.

2. Press the 'deal' button to obtain five cards. Although certain video poker games may have a different set of cards, five is essentially the current norm.

3. Press the matching button to choose the cards you want to keep. This is where knowing a few tricks up your sleeve with a strategy might come in handy. 

4. You can replace any cards you didn't keep by pressing the 'draw' button, which will also add new cards to your hand.

5. If you form a hand with a payout according to the pay table, you win. You will receive a greater payment for higher-value hands (such as a royal flush, straight flush, etc.) than for lower-value cards (such as two pairs, aces high, etc.).

Video Poker Strategy Chart Cheat Sheet

We created a cheat sheet with the most popular video poker strategies.

Hold These Hands:

1. Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind

2. Four cards to a Royal Flush

3. Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind

4. Four cards to a Straight Flush

5. Two Pair

6. High Pair (Jacks or better)

Discard These Cards:

1. Unmatched low cards (2 through 10) when you don't have a pair

2. A single high card (Ace, King, Queen, or Jack) if you don't have any pairs or potential draws.

Draw Strategy:

1. Always hold a winning hand.

2. Always hold cards for a Royal Flush or Straight Flush.

3. Hold four cards to a Flush over a low Pair.

4. Hold a low Pair over four cards to an Open-Ended Straight.

5. Hold a low Pair over four cards to a Flush.

6. Hold four cards to an Inside Straight with three high cards (Jack or better).

7. Hold any Pair of Jacks or better.

8. Hold three cards to a Royal Flush over a low Pair.

9. Hold four cards to an Inside Straight with no high cards over a low Pair.

10. Hold two high cards (Jack or better) and discard the rest.

Video Poker Odds

Look at the table below to see what your odds are like when playing different hands of video poker. 

Video Poker Tournaments

While many people love the idea of video poker, some hate the fact that they have to play the game on their own. The basic gist of a video poker tournament is that you will be competing for a prize pool instead of trying to win money yourself. The players who perform the best will be awarded money or prizes. 

💡 One thing to keep in mind is that when playing in tournaments, you might need to adjust your strategy as the gameplay can be different to when playing on your own. 

Video Poker Glossary

We gathered the most common video poker terms and gave an explanation of each in our glossary table below.

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Bonus Abuse and How To Prevent It

Bonus abuse refers to the act of exploiting promotional offers, bonuses, or rewards provided by online casinos, sports betting sites, or other gaming platforms for personal gain, often in ways that go against the site's terms and conditions. This behaviour can include taking advantage of bonuses without genuine intent to play, manipulating terms and conditions, or using multiple accounts to gain an unfair advantage.

Follow these guidelines to avoid being labelled as a bonus abuser and maintain a positive relationship with online gambling platforms:

1. Read and understand terms and conditions and pay attention to wagering requirements, game restrictions, and other rules.

2. Use bonuses for their intended purpose – for entertainment!

3. Never create multiple accounts on the same platform to claim a bonus more than once.

4. If a bonus comes with wagering requirements, fulfil them fairly by playing the required number of games or rounds.

5. Abide by game restriction rules and avoid exploiting games that are excluded from bonus eligibility.

6. Use your own funds to meet the deposit requirements for bonuses and make withdrawals according to the site's terms.

7. Set responsible gambling limits, such as deposit limits and session time limits.

8. Familiarise yourself with these policies to avoid unintentional violations.