Video poker is one of the most popular and played casino games that keeps people entertained, thrilled, and engaged during the whole span of the game. It was in the 1970s that video poker was introduced and 5 decades later, it is still the most loved casino game that is available in both land-based and online casinos. Video poker is quite different from slots and the most important thing that you need to know about for winning a video poker game is hand rankings. Having an extensive knowledge of video poker hand rankings can give you the advantage of making the right decision, thus increasing your odds of winning.
Understanding Video Poker Hand Rankings
In video poker games, the value of hands in each variant of the game and the payout are decided on the final hand that you hold. This means it is important for you to know the hand rankings and their payout to make imperative decisions that can help you win. We will now look into the hand rankings from highest to lowest which is applicable for almost all video poker games.
Royal Flush
Royal flush is the five-card combination that’s ranked the highest in a video poker game, both offline and online. This five-card combination consists of ace, king, queen, jack, and 10 of an identical suit. It is rare for a hand to be royal flush but it can win you a huge jackpot. Royal Flush can pay out 250x of the original bet.
Straight Flush
The second one is the straight flush. This one is quite similar to Royal Flush as it includes a five-card combination of the same card suit. Here, the prime factor is that the card should be of consecutive numbers for example; 6,7,8,9, and 10 of the same suit. The payout for Straight Flush ranges between 40x and 60x of the original bet.
Four of a Kind
Four of a Kind is the hand when you get four cards of the same numerical value but different suits. For example; 5 of hearts, 5 of diamonds, 5 of spade, and 5 of clubs. In Four of a Kind, the 5th card is not relevant. The payout for Four of a Kind is 20x and 30x of the original bet.
Full House
Full house is the hand where you have three cards that are of the same numerical value and the other two are of two different numerical values. For example, 7 of diamonds, 7 of clubs, 7 of spades, 2 of hearts, and 2 of clubs then it is a Full House. The payout for Full House is 9x of the original bet.
Flush
On the hand rankings, Flush ranks as the fifth highest. This is the hand where you have any five cards of different numerical value from the same suit. An example is 2,7,8, King, and Jack all of Hearts. This hand has a payout of 6x of the original bet.
Straight
Straight is the sixth highest in ranking and has the most odds of winning. This hand means any cards in a sequential order that are of different suits. An example of straight is a hand of 5 of clubs, 6 of hearts, 7 of diamonds, 8 of spade, and 9 of clubs. The payout for straight is 4x of the original bet.
Three-of-a-Kind
Three of a kind is similar to four of a kind but here you only need three cards of the same numerical value and the other two cards are irrelevant. For example; 7 of clubs, 7 of hearts, and 7 of diamonds. The payout for Three of a Kind is 3x of the original bet.
Two Pair
Two pair is one of the most common hand that has high odds of winning. This is the hand where there are two different pairs where one pair has one rank and the other has a different rank. The payout for Two Pair is 2x of the original bet in all variations of the game.
Pair
Pair is the lowest in hand rankings and it is the most common one. This hand has one pair of identical valued cards and the other three cards are of no value. An example of a Pair is a jack of spades and a jack of hearts. The payout for Pair is 1x of the original bet.
Conclusion
Hands are the most crucial part of video poker games and with a wide understanding of its ranking, you can easily strategize your poker game and improve your chances of winning. The hand rankings might be different for the numerous variants of video poker games available on both online and brick-and-mortar casinos but the general rankings of the hand and their payouts were discussed in this article which might have given you an idea of how to strategically play video poker games.
Read More: What Is Full-Pay Video Poker?
