Video Poker for Real Money in Nigerian Online Casinos

Before you can start playing online video poker for real money in Nigeria, it’s crucial you understand the basic rules of engagement. With this in view, you should know the terms “minimum paying hand”, “hand ranking”, and a “wild card”.

• Minimum paying hand

  It refers to the lowest-valued hand, as defined in the paytable, which you must have to qualify for a payout. It could be, for instance, two pairs of J, five consecutive cards in the same suit, etc. Each game has its minimum-paying hand.

• Hand ranking

  It is the value of the hand you have. This is determined by the cards that are in hand. The ranking of individual cards, from low to high, is 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Video poker follows the same hand-ranking guidelines as a regular poker game, except that the royal flush is the highest hand.

• Wild card

  It plays the same role as a wild symbol in a slot machine game: it can be exchanged for any other card in a deck to help you form a winning hand. In video poker, the Joker is often used to represent a wild card.

With that out of the way, you can now proceed and understand the gameplay of video poker. There are many types of video poker online games, but as already stated, they are all based on simple five-card draw mechanics. The games can use a 52-card or 53-card deck during gameplay. To play the game, you must follow the steps below:

Each video poker game focuses on specific hands, meaning each hand’s value varies from game to game. With this in mind, let us have a look at the value of the hands based on one of the most popular online video poker games – Jacks or Better. We start from the highest to the lowest-ranked hand. The list will explain the cards found in each hand and the maximum payout from each.

• Royal flush

  This is the highest-ranking hand in any video poker game. Forming a royal flush is quite rare, but when you do, you are assured of a decent payout, especially if you place the maximum bet. A royal flush’s hand will have an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 – all in the same suit. If you manage to form a royal flush, you receive an x250 multiplier on your bet.

• Straight flush

  Like the royal flush, a straight flush constitutes five consecutive cards in the same suit. The only difference is that it can happen anywhere in the order of the available numbers. For example, you can land 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of hearts. Since it is more common than the royal flush, the payout is x50 your bet. Other games can offer an x40 or x60 multiplier.

• Four-of-a-kind

  From the game’s name, you know you must form a hand with four similar cards. The suits don’t have to be the same. For example, 4 of diamonds, 4 of clubs, 4 of spades, and 4 of hearts. If you are lucky to form this, you will receive a payout of between x20 and x30, depending on the type of video poker game you are playing. Jacks or Better pays out at odds of x25.

• Full house

  When you have a full house, you have two pairs in your hand, i.e., three cards from one rank and two cards from another rank. An example of a full house is 5H + 5D + 5S + 4H + 4C. In the case of Jacks or Better, you receive an x9 multiplier on your wager for a full house.

• Flush

  When you have a flush, it simply means you have five cards of the same suit displayed in no order: King, 2, 4, 7, and Jack – all of diamonds. Payouts for a flush in Jacks or Better is an x6 multiplier. Other games pay out at odds of x5.

• Straight

  While playing online video poker, you are more likely bound to form a straight hand. For this to happen, you must have five numbers in a row with mixed suits. For instance, 2H, 3D, 4S, 5C, and 6H. In Jacks or Better, the multiplier is x4 your bet. In other video poker games, the multiplier could be x3 or x4.

• Three-of-a-kind

  When you have a three-of-a-kind hand, it simply means having three cards of the same rank. The odds of forming this hand are 1 in every 50 hands. An example of three-of-a-kind: 9C, 9H, and 9S. The payout for this hand is constant in all online video poker games and is set at x3.

• Two pair

  The odds of forming this hand is 1 in every 20 hands. It is the second most common type of hand in video poker and involves two cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. For example, 7D, 7H, 9H, and 9C. If you form this hand, you normally receive an x2 payout on your bet.

• Pair

  You must have two cards of the same rank to form a pair—for instance, 2S + 2H. If you form this hand, you receive a x1 multiplier on your bet regardless of the game you are playing. In other words, you get your stake back without losing or winning.

Before looking at the different types of video poker games you can play online, you should understand that they are broadly categorised into “short-pay” and “full-pay” games. The latter category emerged after modern video poker games were developed. You can tell from the game’s name that they offer the highest paybacks. Short-pay video poker games have a little lower payback percentage. As stated, there are tens of video poker games that you can play online. However, these are the most popular games that you will encounter as you play online video poker. Nearly all high-roller online casinos feature them. 

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  Jacks Or Better

  It is the most common video poker game you will encounter online. As you play Jacks or Better video poker game, your final selection of cards should have a pair of jacks or better to win. The full-pay Jacks or Better video poker is commonly referred to as 9/6 jacks. The “9” stands for the multiplier when you get a full house and the “6” from a payout of a flush.

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  Deuces Wild

  In Deuces Wild, all 2s are wild. The payout for a four-of-a-kind in deuces wild is about 1.3% of the total RTP. With a workable gaming strategy, you can get a 100.8% RTP on this game.

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  Joker Poker

  What sets Joker Poker from other video poker games is the wild joker that it has in its deck. This creates one more winning hand. Unlike many other video poker online games, it uses a 53-deck card.

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  Aces and Faces

  A variation of Jacks or Better, Aces and Faces differs from the original game when it comes to the payout of a four-of-a-kind hand.