Paypal Video Poker Casinos
My favorite game in the casino is video poker. There are a couple of reasons why I enjoy it.
For one thing, you have some control over the outcome. You can choose what cards to keep, what cards to throw away. It is possible to improve at video poker, too, and increase your chances of winning.
I like the poker element, too. If there isn’t a poker game running, or I don’t have the bankroll to sit down at 1/2, video poker is the next best thing.
If you’re anything like me, then I think you’ll enjoy playing video poker online. Each casino offers 5-10 machines to choose from, which also include variations like multiple hands and progressive jackpots.
If you want to know how to get started, then this page is for you. Below I cover the details you need to choose a casino, find a game, play and take advantage of promotions. This guide will help you get your feet wet with online video poker.
Getting Started: Finding the Best Video Poker Casinos Online
The efficient way to finding the best video poker casinos is to leave it to us. Read our reviews; they’ll tell you what you need to know about each casino’s games, promotions, deposit options, and so on.
But, say you don’t want to be efficient. You want to do things on your own. What should you look for?
Here are our priorities:
Licensing – With exception in 1-2 countries or jurisdictions, casinos are required to apply for and be approved for a gambling license before they can operate online. These can cost thousands, even millions of dollars. You should question the legitimacy of any casino that’s not licensed/regulated.
History – We want to know about the company, how long they’ve been in business, and if they’ve operated online casinos in the past. We’ve seen companies fake it until they make it, then run off with customer’s money. You can find out more about a company by visiting casino forums (any gambling forum, really), Wikipedia and affiliate forums.
Banking – What options exist for deposits and withdrawals? What are the limits, time frames, and are there any fees?
Compatibility – The casino must offer a native download, or alternative (such as no-download browser software) for Mac computers. We also prefer casinos that offer video poker mobile apps for iOS and Android, and bonus points are given if there is an app for Windows and/or Blackberry users.
These are must-haves for us. We don’t waiver from them. If a casino fails in any of these areas we won’t recommend them to our readers.
From here we will also look at game variety, support (response time, helpfulness and friendliness), and what kinds of promotions they have.
Getting Started: Choosing a Video Poker Game
Video poker is a great choice because there are so many variations to play. Getting tired of Jacks or Better? Then try Deuces Wild. Tired of Deuces Wild? Play Tens or Better.
You will find that there are more than 15 different video poker variations. What you will find from one casino to the next will vary, however. But you can learn what each casino has by reading our reviews.
Here’s a shortlist of video game variations to show you what’s out there:
- 7-Card Stud
- Joker Poker
- Jacks or Wild
- Pick’em Poker
- Sevens Wild
- Aces and Eights
- Bonus Deuces Wild
- Deuces Wild
- All American Poker
- Double Double Bonus Pokr
- Loose Deuces
- Mystery Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Double Jackpot Poker
Getting Started: How to Play Video Poker
Video poker is stupid-simple to play. The process is very much like slots. It will go something like this:
Choose your game.
Choose your stakes. Most video poker games have a minimum of 5 cents.
You want to remember that each credit is per column. Most (if not all) video poker games have 5. So if you’re betting 5 cents per credit, and are playing column 2, your cost per hand is 10 cents. If you play the max (recommended), that’s column 5; your cost will be 25 cents.
If you’re playing multi-hand video poker, it will be the number of columns multiplied by the number of hands you’re playing per turn. 10 hands at column 5 using .05 credits, will cost you $2.50 per turn.
That’s something you’ll want to remember to budget your bankroll accordingly.
Once you have that figured out you’ll hit the deal button. You will be given 5 cards. Using the rules and payout scheme, you’ll choose which hands you want to keep and the ones you want to discard for new ones.
You’ll then be given new cards, your hand will be ranked, and you’ll be paid if you have a winning hand.
Then you can hit re-deal to start all over again.
Getting Started: Understanding Deposit Bonuses for Video Poker Players
One perk to playing casino games online are the promotions. Players are offered way more in terms of free money, comp points and free spins than they are offline.
One example is the deposit bonus. To encourage more players to deposit, casinos will offer to match a percentage of your initial deposit. An offer might be a 100% match up to a maximum of $2,000.
But, before you deposit with the plan to immediately cash out, with your bonus money attached, know this: all casinos have terms and conditions that require you to wager so much money before you cash out. Otherwise, you risk voiding your bonus money, and any money you won with it.
Video poker players are not exempt from this. In fact, video poker players, as well as blackjack, roulette, Caribbean poker and other table game players, have it worse.
Casinos require that these players wager more money than slots or scratch card players. My guess is that because the house edge is much lower, and the casino wants to ensure they’re making some money.
So a term for slots players might be 25x the deposit plus bonus. If you deposit $100, that means you’d have to wager $5,000 playing slots to clear your bonus.
However, if you’re playing video poker, every dollar you spend only goes 10% as far as slots do. That means you’ll have to wager 10x as much, or in our example, $50,000.
That’s a lot of money to pick up a free $100. Is it worth it? That’s up to you. How long can you go without cashing out? If you run out of money, can you deposit more?
Before getting started, and definitely before choosing a casino based on the deposit amount, take some time to read our reviews. We cover the details such as this, so that you can make an informed decision about where to play. We’ll tell you which casinos have the best play through requirements, and which casinos you should avoid.