Video Poker and Video Blackjack Slots

Video Poker and Video Blackjack Slots

Draw Poker

This is the standard Video Poker non-bonus game. Look at the payoff schedule first and determine whether this is a 9/6 game. If not, don't play it.

Bonus Poker

Bonus Poker is a standard draw Poker video game, with the added bonuses of 200 coins for any 2s, 3s, and 4s four-of-a-kind, and 400 coins bonus for four Aces. This game is typically 8/5 or better. If it isn't, don't play it.

Double Bonus Poker

This is one of the best Video Poker games available. On the Game Maker machines, the program is typically 9/6, which isn't bad, however, many IGT machines which may be available in your favorite casino often have a 10/7 program, and this is generally better than the one commonly found on Game Maker machines. Sigma manufactures a similar Double Double Bonus Video Poker machine, where the program plays to 10/6, but this game is a little different from the one I am describing here for the Game Maker machines.

Double Bonus Poker on Game Maker machines pays a bonus of 400 coins for any 2s, 3s, and 4s, four-of-a-kind, and a bonus of 1,000 coins for the four Aces. This is among the best Video Poker games available and the 1,000 coins payoff bonus for the four Aces is 250 coins better than the more liberal 10/7 IGT Double Bonus Poker machines.

But beware! On these Double Bonus Video Poker machines the catch is that two pair will only pay the same as "Jacks or better", namely, for a 5-coin bet you will only get 5 coins back for a pair of Jacks, pair of Queens, pair of Kings, or pair of Aces, and only 5 coins for any two pairs, as opposed to 10 coins for any two pairs on standard Video Poker or standard Bonus Poker. What this means to you is that, as a player, you will traditionally require a much higher bankroll to play these machines longer (and thus more to your best advantage) than you would ordinarily be expected to invest in standard non-bonus 9/6 Video Poker.

Video Blackjack

As soon as technology permitted, manufacturers tried to implement Blackjack as a video game but with poor results. The problem is that most Video Blackjack games simply will not offer the kinds of playing options, which are available in the table version of the game. Plus, the Video Blackjack games are usually very poor payers relative to the investment, and can get awfully boring after a few plays. It's a novelty which a few players try here and there, but my advice to you, if you want to play to win, is to avoid playing Video Blackjack games entirely; until, that is, someone comes up with a Video Blackjack machine which will allow the player a full range of choices, such as number of decks, playing rules, cut-card position, splits and re-splits, double down and double down on splits and re-splits, and so on.