Video Poker for Real Money in Kenyan Online Casinos
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The best video poker in Kenyan online casinos is the easiest and fastest way of playing a 5-card draw. The game shares features with the classic poker machines found at brick-and-mortar casinos. The hand values are ranked similarly, and the gameplay follows the same rules. However, playing the game online offers more advantages. There are more game variations compared to what you’ll find at land-based casinos. The bet limits are also quite friendly. In fact, if you don’t have the funds to play the game or are unsure of the game rules, you can play free online video poker and enjoy all the real money features. Only after this can you switch to real money play.
During gameplay, you’ll realise video poker online games are quite straightforward until you have to make a gut-wrenching decision on the best card to hold or drop from a hand. This page is meant to simplify this crucial decision-making process. Read how video poker hands are ranked, the rules involved, and the types of games you can play online. And if you are searching for the best video poker online casino sites to visit, there are several recommendations.
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Written & published:
22.05.2023 By author
Elishama A.
Reviewed & updated:
17.04.2024 By gambling expert
Andrew R.
About online video poker game
The online video poker games you comfortably play on your mobile phone have come a long way. They’ve migrated from land-based casinos to desktop platforms before finally making their way to smartphones.
The first video poker machine was designed by Dale Electronics. The Poker-Matic, as it was referred to, was quite a flop and didn’t succeed. However, their idea laid the foundation for the Draw Poker game designed by Sircoma (IGT today). The game incorporated elements of poker and slot machines to entertain. Because of how easy it was to play Draw Poker, compared to blackjack, Texas Hold ’em, craps, and other casino games, Sircoma’s Jacks or Better video poker became a hit. The popularity continued to grow even as land-based casino gaming migrated to digital spaces.
Fast forward to today, video poker online games are as popular as they were in the 80s. However, unlike in the past, when you could only play them at designated establishments, video poker can be played from anywhere. All you need to enjoy a piece of the action is a stable internet connection and a platform to play the games from.
Online video poker interface
Different classes of video poker games
There are three common ways of playing video poker online for money. If you are looking for a classic experience, you can try the traditional/classic way. Perhaps you are searching for a new way of playing video poker; you can try the wild experience. In this section, you’ll get the finer details of the different classes of video poker games you can play online.
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Traditional video poker
The traditional class of video poker doesn’t have any sophisticated features or gameplay. Instead, it has decent payouts for all nine hands and includes a 4000-coin jackpot when you form a Royal Flush and if you place a maximum bet. The best example can be seen in the classic Jacks or Better video poker game.
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Bonus video poker
Bonus video poker is almost similar to the classic game, except it offers you flashy “bonus” payouts for forming certain top-tier hands. For instance, instead of awarding you a 125-coin payout for creating a 4-of-a-kind, a bonus video poker game can split the 4-of-a-kind hand into different levels of quality, offering individual payouts for each level. If you look at Bonus Poker Deluxe, you can see it has five different payout levels when you form a 4-of-a-kind hand. These payouts range from 250-2000 based on a 5-coin bet. Other bonus video poker games include Double Double Jackpot Poker, Double Jackpot Poker, Bonus Poker Deluxe, and many more.
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Wild cards in video poker
In addition to the regular video poker game you can play, online casino software developers have released games with wild cards. These special cards play the same role as the wild symbols in slots. They can replace any other card in the deck to form the best winning combination. For example, in Deuces Wild Bonus and Deuces Wild, any “2” in the hand plays the role of a wild. So, if you have 7H-2H-7S-6D-5C, you have a three-of-a-kind. Since the 2H is a wild card, it will play the role of a 7, thus forming three of a kind.
The same concept applies to Joker Poker, where the single Joker card is a wild card. In Double Joker Poker, the wild Jokers are two instead of one. Always consult with the video poker paytable to know how the game pays when the deuces and Joker are wild cards.
Rules of online casino video poker
Before playing online video poker for real money, the most important thing to understand is the basic rules. The game has over 30 variations you can pick from, but they all follow the same rules. Furthermore, you can either choose to play single-line video poker or multi-line video poker games. As the name suggests, single-line video poker games involve a single hand. This is what is displayed on the screen. Multi-hand video poker online games, on the other hand, let you play multiple hands using one bet. You can play five, ten, fifty, or even one hundred hands by placing a single bet.
With that out of the way, let us look at the rules involved while playing the game. As you play online video poker in Kenya, you have one goal; to form a hand that will rank highly when put in the poker hands chart. You can do this by holding or discarding cards dealt in a hand. Below is a description that involves video poker gameplay and how you can hold or discard cards from a hand.
Online video poker gameplay
A game of video poker is played using a deck with 52 cards. In special cases, a deck can contain 53 cards (when the Joker is included). Depending on the game you are playing, you can be asked to select the number of hands you’d like to play, per round, before the action begins. This can be anywhere between 1 hand and 100 hands per round. In other cases, this option can be selected during gameplay.
Note that some games have auto-play and auto-hold features. The auto-play feature lets you select the number of rounds you’d like the game to play. Likewise, the auto-hold feature eliminates the need to decide the cards you’d like to hold and dispose of. During video poker gameplay, the following steps are involved:
Placing your bet
This is the first step in every video poker game you play online. You place your bet by selecting the number of coins and adjusting the coin value using the + and – buttons. In some video poker online games, this is the step where you must also select the number of hands you’d like to play.
Hit the “deal” button
In order to receive the first five cards of the game. The cards will be dealt face up. You must analyse the cards dealt before you proceed to the next step.
Holding cards
If you are happy with the cards dealt in the first step, you can skip the “holding” phase and proceed to the fourth step. However, if there are cards you’d like to get rid of, you do that in this phase. So, how do you achieve this? By clicking on the desirable cards and “holding” them and skipping those you don’t wish to hold. You can hold one card or all the five available cards. The choice is yours.
Select the “draw” button
Immediately you hit the “draw” button, a new set of cards is dealt, and the game’s results are determined. The game pays out depending on the rank of your hand.
Video poker hands
Understanding the game rules is the first step to winning in video poker. Knowing how much each hand is worth is the next step. Video poker hands are responsible for determining the payouts during gameplay. Hands that are highly ranked pay out more than lowly ranked hands. Below is the hand ranking hierarchy for the classic video poker game – Jacks or Better.
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Royal flush
The royal flush is the highest-ranking hand in any video poker game. To form this, you must land 10-J-Q-K-A of the same suit. For example, a hand with 10H-JH-QH-KH-AH is a royal flush. When you form a royal flush, you receive the highest payout in the game.
In some cases, landing a royal flush will qualify you to receive the game’s jackpot, but only if you have wagered the maximum bet. Some games will only award you the jackpot if you land the cards in consecutive order, i.e., 10H-JH-QH-KH-AH or AH-KH-QH-JH-10H. In Jacks or Better, when you form a royal flush, you receive a maximum payout of x250 the amount you wager (x800 for five coins).
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Straight flush
This is the second most valuable hand in any video poker game. To form a straight flush, you need a hand with five successive cards of the same suit, e.g. 3H-4H-5H-6H-7H. In Jacks or Better, an Ace can be considered the lowest rank to complete a straight. For example, AS-2S-3S-4S-5S. It can also be treated as the highest rank to complete a straight. For example, 10D-JD-QD-KD-AD. If you manage to form a straight flush, you receive a payout of x50 your bet in Jacks or Better video poker game.
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Four of a kind
As the name suggests, you must have four cards of the same rank in the hand dealt. The suit doesn’t matter as long as they are of the same rank. An example of a four-of-a-kind hand is one where you have 10S-10H-10D-10C-AD. In the traditional Jacks or Better game, forming a four-of-a-kind hand will award you an x20 the amount you wagered.
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Full house
When you have a full house, you have a hand with three cards of the same rank and a pair. The cards don’t need to be of the same suit. An example of a full house includes 3C-3D-3H-JS-KS. In Jacks or Better, when you have a full house, you are paid 8x or 9x the amount wagered.
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Flush
For a flush, you must have five cards of the same suit to form a flush. An example of a flush in video poker is a hand with 2H-4H-7H-9H-5H. If you are lucky to form a flush in video poker, you receive a payout equivalent to 6x.
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Straight
Having a straight means you have five successive cards that are not suited, e.g. 2C-3D-4H-5S-6D. A straight has a multiplier of x4 the bet amount wagered in Jacks or Better.
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Three of a kind
As the name suggests, you must have three cards of the same rank to form this hand. These cards don’t need to be in the same suit, e.g. 3S-3C-3D-JH-5S. When you have a three-of-a-kind hand, you receive a payout equivalent to 3x.
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Two pair
You’ll receive a payout when you have two pairs of cards of the same rank under one hand. For instance, if you have JS-JC-4D-4H-5C, you will receive an x2 payout for forming a two-pair hand.
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Pair
At the bottom of the poker hands ranking is the pair. For this, you must hand a hand with two cards of the same rank to win—for example, 3D-3H-5D-2C-6C, 7S-7C-2D-2H-3S, and many more. In Jacks or Better, you must have a pair of Jacks to form a pair, i.e., JS-JS-3H-4C-5D or any hand with two Js.
Video poker games highest RTP
| Online Video Poker Game | RTP (%) |
|---|---|
| 1️⃣ Full-Pay Deuces Wild (Microgaming) | 100.76 |
| 2️⃣ Full-Pay Double Bonus Poker (Microgaming) | 100.17 |
| 3️⃣ Full-Pay Double Double Bonus Poker (Microgaming) | 100.07 |
| 4️⃣ Full-Pay Jacks or Better (NetEnt) | 99.56 |
| 5️⃣ Bonus Poker Deluxe (Microgaming) | 99.64 |
| 6️⃣ Double Jackpot Poker (RTG) | 99.63 |
| 7️⃣ Super Aces Bonus Poker (RTG) | 99.94 |
| 8️⃣ All American Poker (NetEnt) | 99.38 |
| 9️⃣ Pick ‘Em Poker (RTG) | 99.95 |
| 🔟 Tens or Better (Microgaming) | 99.14 |
How do you form the best video poker hands?
There are certain plays you can make to form a hand with a potentially high win. For example, if you are missing one card to form a flush, straight flush, straight or royal flush, discard the card that is not part of the combination.
- If you have a 2S, 3S, 4D, 5S, and 6S in your hand, you are missing a 4S to form a straight flush. According to the strategy, discard the 4D card.
- If you have a straight flush or a three of a kind in your first deal, discard the two cards that are not part of the hand. For example, you can have a hand with 5S, 5D, 5H, 3D, and 2S. The best play will be to discard the 3D and 2S and see if you can form a better hand.
- If your hand has three cards to a royal flush, straight flush, flush, or straight, you should discard the remaining two cards. For example, if you have a 3S, 4D, 5H, 8S, and JD, you must discard the 8S and JD from the hand.
- Discard the 5th card if you are dealt two pairs. By doing this, you increase your chance of landing a full house. This also applies to when you receive four a kind.
Video poker paytable
It is crucial you understand the video poker paytable in whatever version of the game you are playing. The paytable is under the main menu of all online video poker games and explains the expected returns from each hand.
Best online video poker varieties
The most common type of game that is widely known by players online is Jacks or Better. However, there are many games you can pick from if you intend to play video poker online for money. Some of the most common ones include Deuces Wild, Joker Poker, Aces and Faces, Bonus Poker, Flush Attack, and many more.
Jacks Or Better
Jacks or Better is the perfect starting for anyone trying to play video poker for the first time. You can play this game in the most basic format without complicating gameplay with wilds and bonus games. To form a win in Jacks or Better video poker game, you simply need to have a pair of jacks in your hand to win.
Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild video poker has four wild cards in it. This means that any of the four deuces “2s” can become any card in the deck. This way, it plays the same role as a wild symbol in a slot machine game, i.e., it replaces all the other cards in the deck to form the best win. Take, for example, a hand with the following cards; 6S-5S-8S-4S-2H. The 2H can turn into 2S so that you get a straight flush.
Joker Poker
Joker Poker, as the name suggests, has the Joker play the role of a wild card. So, instead of playing video poker with a deck of 52 cards, you will be playing with 53 cards. Most Joker Poker games have Return To Player percentages exceeding 98%, making them one of the highest-paying online casino games.
Aces and Faces
Aces and Faces is a variation of Jacks or Better. The game follows the same gameplay rules and awards most hands the same way as in Jacks or Better. The only difference comes in the payout of a four-of-a-kind hand.
Video poker winning tips
Now that you know the basic rules you must follow as you play online video poker in Kenya, you must understand some plays you can make to increase your winning chances. Remember that the average payout ratio in the best online video poker is around 99%. With the right plays or strategies, you can win more hands than you lose in a video poker game.
Search for theoretically positive games
Theoretically, positive video poker games offer a negative house edge, i.e., they come with an RTP higher than 100%. With a proper understanding of basic hand ranking, the paytable, and how to hold/dispose of cards, such games give you a better chance of winning. Good examples of theoretically positive video poker games include Full-pay Deuces Wild (100.76% RTP), 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17% RTP), and 10/6 Double Double Bonus (100.07% RTP).
Understand the paytable before playing video poker
Lastly, regardless of the video poker online game you are playing, it’s crucial you have a good understanding of the paytable. It is the only way to understand the cards you must hold and discard.
Play video poker for free
Conclusion
It does not matter whether you are a poker shark or a rookie player looking to learn the ropes of playing a new casino game; a video poker is a perfect option. As seen in the tips section, online video poker games don’t require sophisticated strategies to play. Properly understanding the paytable and how to hold and discard cards is enough to ensure a fun and rewarding experience. If you have difficulties conceptualising what you’ve just read, free online video poker can help you practice the game without spending money. And when you are ready to commit real money, the bet limits are quite friendly. The best video poker in Kenyan online casinos allows you to play the game for as little as 50 shillings and get the potential of winning thousands from such a bet.
