This Free Video Poker Guide is Something You Need in Your Life

video-poker

If you love slots and poker, then you will probably love video poker since this is a game that combines both of them. Many casino players play this game to try and win money, but there are many online casinos out there that offer their players free video poker, which means that you can give it a go without risking your own money. However, online casinos that offer free online video poker are not all created equally. In the following guide, we are going to tell you all that you need to know about free video poker.

How to Play Video Poker

Playing free video poker poker is a really simple process, you will be happy to hear. All you have to do is enter your online casino account, find the free online video poker game that you want to play, and click on it. Your chosen game should load up pretty quickly and there will be (no download) that you have to do.

When you are playing free video poker, the video poker rules will be the same, but keep in mind that they might vary depending on the variant you are playing. Once the game has loaded, you decide how much you want to stake, wait for the dealer to deal the cards, decide what cards you want to discard and what ones you want to keep, compare your hand to the dealer's hand, and if your hand is better, you win. However, keep in mind that since you are playing free online video poker machines, you will not be able to win any real money.

So, in order to play free online video poker, you have to:

  • Select the video poker games that you would like to play for free
  • Place down your stake
  • Wait to be dealt your hand
  • Decide on which cards you are going to keep and throw away, or whether it is best if you just fold
  • Compare your hand with the dealer's and whoever has the better hand is the winner

The Winning Hands in Video Poker

When you are enjoying a game of video poker, whether you are playing for real money of for free, there is something that you need to have plenty of knowledge about and that is the different hands you will encounter when playing. If you do not know the different hands, then you will end up losing out on a lot of money whenever you play video poker for money. Imagine chucking away the best hand out of nothing but pure ignorance.

If you are into your poker, then you will be pretty familiar with the hands already. However, there might be a few slight differences depending on the video poker variant that you are playing. Below we have explained all the hands that you can get when playing video poker.

Royal Flush: This is the best hand that you can get, and it is when you have a hand that consists of a 10, J, Q, K, and A from the same suit.

Straight Flush: This is the second best hand and is five consecutive cards from the same suit. For example, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of hearts is a Straight Flush.

Four of a Kind: This is where you have four cards of the same value such as 8, 8, 8, and 8.

Full House: This is where your five cards consist of three of a kind and a pair such as 10, 10, J, J, and J.

Flush: When your hand consists of five cards from the same suit in no particular order. For instance, a 5, 7, 9, J and Q of diamonds.

Straight: This is a consecutive sequence of cards, but they do not have to be the same suit. For example, 7, 8, 9, 10, and J made up of diamonds, hearts, and clubs.

Three of a kind: When your hand consists of just three cards of the same value.

Two Pairs: When your hand is made up of two pairs of the same value such as Q, Q and K, K.

Jacks or Better: When your hand is just a pair of Jacks.

Tens or Better: When your hand is made up of just a pair of tens.

The Different Variants You Can Play at Video Poker Casinos

You can find a variety of different free online video poker machines at online casinos, but there are some variants that are much more popular. Below we take a closer look at the different free video poker games that you can encounter at all of the best online casinos.

Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better is one of the most popular variants of free video poker, and it owes its popularity to the fact that it is such a simple game to play. Jacks or Better is a variant of video poker that is played using a classic pack of cards and the joker can be any card you want in order to help you land a winning combination. The lowest winning combination is a pair of jacks, which is where this game obviously got its name from.

Deuces Wild

Deuces Wild is a bit different since there are no jokers in play. In fact, as you have probably guessed from the name, the twos in the game are wild. What exactly does this mean? Well, it means that you can use the 2s to replace any card to give yourself a winning hand. So, if you have a 10, J, Q, K of hearts and a 2 of diamonds, you can change the 2 into an A of hearts for a really good payout.

Double Bonus

Double Bonus poker is more or less the same as Jacks or Better, but there is one feature that makes it a little bit more complicated. A pair of jacks is the lowest combo needed to win, but you will get a higher payout if you land a selected four-of-a-kind combo. Thus, the payout for getting four aces will be higher than that of getting four kings.

Jokers Wild

It will probably come as not much of a surprise to you to find out that Jokers Wild has an extra Joker card added to the deck. The reason why you will be glad to see another Joker card in this variant is that all the Jokers are wild. Not only are they wild, but if a Joker forms a winning combination for you then you will get a higher payout.

Multi Hand Poker

Multi hand poker, as you can guess from the name, is a variant that allows you to play with a lot of hands at the same time. There are some multi hand variants that allow you to play with as many as 50 hands at once. If you are new to playing this type of video poker, you should definitely play for free for a bit first so that you can get used to playing with more than a solitary hand.

Free Videopoker Versus Real Money Poker

Free video poker is great for those who are looking for pure entertainment. Why are free games so popular? Well, there is no download required to play, no registration process, and you do not have to make any deposits to play. Below we take a look at the main pros and cons of playing video poker for free or for real money.

Free Video Poker:

Pros:

  • You can play right away with no registration required and no download
  • Practice strategies and familarise yourself with a variant
  • You do not run the risk of losing money

Cons:

  • You will have fewer games to select from

Real Money:

Pros:

  • You can make use of the bonuses on offer and get loyalty points
  • There is also no download required
  • You have the chance to win real money
  • A higher variety of games to choose from

Cons:

  • You have a chance of losing real money

Best Video Poker to Play for Free

All of the variants that we just mentioned are great to play, but there is one variant of video poker that we feel you should give a try and that is Jacks or Better Double Up. This game, which was developed by NetEnt, is a single player game that has a high payout and fast gameplay. When you are playing this game, you have the chance to play 25 hands at once. If you land a Royal Flush, you will land 250x your stake.

The coolest feature of this variant is the double up gambling feature where you have to guess the colour of the next card. If you guess correctly, your winnings will be doubled. You can then gamble your winnings again if you are feeling lucky. However, if you guess wrongly just once, then all of your winnings will be lost. Of course, if you do not want to gamble any of your winnings, you do not have to.

Best Sites to Play Free Video Poker

video-poker-varieties

Nowadays, any online casino that is serious about what they do will allow their players to play their games for free. This is because they know that most of their players want to try out games before they start risking their hard-earned money on it. Perhaps they want to make sure they like a game before spending real money on it or maybe they have some new strategy that they want to learn without the risk of losing money.

Online casinos know that if they do not offer free games, then they will lose plenty of custom and they cannot afford this in such a competition industry. So, what are some of the best online casinos to play video poker for free? Well, below we are going to have a look at three online casinos that you should think about taking a closer look at.

Jackpot City Casino

Jackpot City Casino is one of the best online casinos out there at the moment. If you opt to register with them, then you will be able to claim a bonus of up to $1600, which will be spread out over the course of four deposits in installments of up to $400. When you are using a bonus, no matter what online casino it is at, please make sure that you read all the T&Cs that apply before you claim it.

When it comes to the games that are on offer, you will be able to choose from 1,200 games and you can play all of them for free. When it comes to video poker games, you will find popular variants like Joker Poker, Jacks or Better, and Deuces Wild. All their games have been developed by some of the biggest software developers in the game such as Microgaming, Evolution Gaming, and NetEnt.

Gate777 Casino

This is a unique online casino because it is an airport-themed one. We have encountered many online casinos and have yet to find one with the same theme. Standing out from the crowd is very important in this competitive industry and Gate777 Casino have shown us that they know how to do that.

Alongside their unique theme, they also entice players to sign up with them by offering a great Welcome Bonus that is up to $1000 and 100 extra spins. When it comes to the games on offer, you can find more than 1,000 and all of them can be enjoyed for free. Fans of video poker will be able to enjoy variants such as Joker Poker, Deuces Wild, and Jacks or Better. Their games have been created by brilliant software developers such as Elk Studios, Microgaming, Relax Gaming, 2BY2 Gaming, and Lightning Box. If you come across a problem, which will not happen often, speak to a customer care agent and they will help fix the issue.

Jonny Jackpot Casino

A lot of casino players will steer clear of online casinos that have not been around for a long time because they feel there is the possibility that they will be chewed up and spat out by a fierce industry. However, ignoring Jonny Jackpot because they are not as experienced as other online casinos is a foolish move as they have shown us all that they can compete with the best.

When you sign up with them, you can claim a Welcome Bonus of up to $1,000 and on top of that you can claim 100 extra spins. They have hundreds and hundreds of games that you can choose from, and they can all be played for free. Those who love video poker can enjoy the likes of Joker Wild Double Fun, Deuces Wild, and Jacks or Better. Their games have been developed by the likes of Elk Studio, RabCat, Thunderkick, Leander Games, and Microgaming. When it comes to banking options, you will be able to find all the most popular methods.

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