Video Poker Glossary

Ace-High

If your hand does not have a pair or better combination and you only hold an ace.

Aces Full

When you hold a full house consisting of three aces and another pair.

Action

When you use a particular machine and bet on it, this is known as action. The amount of action you give refers to the amount you bet on one particular machine during a session.

Boat

A full house is sometimes referred to as a boat, i.e. slang for holding a three of a kind and a pair in your hand.

Bonus Poker

If you’re playing the variant known as Bonus Poker video poker, certain four of a kind hands are paid out at higher rates. However, it does mean lower ranking hands do not get paid out as much as on other machines.

Credits

When you put money in the machine, it becomes known as credits. The number of credits depends on the exchange rate – each machine may have a different exchange rate of dollar to credit.

Coins

On video poker machines, the pay table is divided by coin payouts. The run from one through five. The denomination of the machine will determine how much an individual coin is worth. For example, if you play on a $1 machine, then one coin is worth $1 and five coins are worth $5.

Denomination

The denomination of a machine is the value of one coin. It may be possible for you to change the denomination on some machines. By betting the max bet, you’ll get the highest payback percentage.

Deuces Wild

Deuces Wild is a form of video poker. When playing that variant, a deuce is a wild card and can be substituted for any other card to make the best possible hand.

Double Bonus Poker

Another video poker variation, with this one you get bonus payouts for certain hands. If you manage to get a four of a kind with aces, twos, or threes, you get a high payback.

Draw

The player draws for different cards once only. You can do this by selecting any or all of the initial cards you’re dealt and then hit the draw button to get new cards and establish your final hand.

Face card

The picture cards – Jacks, Queens, and Kings – are also known as face cards.

Four of a Kind

When you have four cards of the same rank, such as four kings, this is known as four of a kind.

Full House

When you hold three cards of the same value and a pair, it is called a full house. For example: Q Q Q 5 5

Full Pay Machine

A machine with the highest payback percentage is known as a full pay machine. For example, if you’re playing Jacks or Better, a full house pays out 9 coins and a flush, 6 coins.

Hand

The five cards you hold are known as your hand. This video poker term is the same as in all card games. Your opponent’s hand could be a flush, and your hand only aces high, for example.

A hand can also refer to the full round from when the bet is first placed to when payouts are determined.

Hold

Once you’ve been dealt your initial five cards, you have the option of holding certain cards and discarding others to draw for new ones. On the machine, the hold button allows you to choose the particular cards you want to hold.

House Edge

There is always an overall house edge, it’s just the percentage that varies. The house edge is the amount the casino will receive in the long run. For example, on a particular video poker machine, the Return to Player (RTP) may be 98.5%. That means the house edge is 1.5%.

Of all casino games, video poker is one of the best for players when it comes to the house edge.

Inside Straight

A straight is a hand where all five cards are in order. Aces can be high or low. For example, A, 1,2,3,4 or 10, J, Q, K, A. An inside straight occurs when a player has four cards to a straight but is missing one of the middle ones. That means there are only four outs in the deck that will complete the hand for a straight. The odds of hitting an inside straight are quite low and, generally, it isn’t worth going for.

Jacks or Better

One of the most popular game types in video poker is Jacks or Better. It’s the simplest game to learn and is a great starting point for beginners. In Jacks or Better, the first hand that is paid is a pair of jacks. From there it increases up to the best hand, a royal flush with the highest payout. The best pay table for Jacks or Better is a 9/6 pay table, with a full house paying out 9 coins for a 1-coin bet and a flush paying out 6.

Joker

Some decks have more than the usual 52 cards. The extra cards are generally jokers. These jokers act as wilds and can be substituted for any other card in the deck to make a winning hand. Joker Poker is a Jacks or Better style video poker game that includes a joker.

Kickers

If you hold a winning combination in your hand that doesn’t use all the cards, for example, three of a kind, the remaining cards are known as kickers. In some variations of video poker, the kicker is extremely important as it can increase the payout on certain hands, such as four of a kind hands in double bonus poker.

Max Bet

The highest amount you can bet on a video poker machine on one hand is known as the max bet. Many machines will have a max bet button that automatically bets the maximum and deals the hand.

Min Bet

A min bet is the absolute minimum that a machine or game will allow you to wager on a single hand. By wagering the min bet, the payback percentage will be affected for hitting a royal flush. Better to wager the maximum coins. If you find a single bet too large, you can move to a lower denomination machine.

Multi-Hand

The majority of video poker games also have multi-hand options. These allow you to play multiple hands at once. Each extra hand played is completely separate from the initial hand and the same bet must be made on every hand. Multi-hand games first deal a player five cards, the player then chooses which cards to hold and these are held for every extra hand. Each hand is then dealt the relevant number of new cards from separate decks.

Odds

The odds provide you with a percentage prediction of what outcomes will occur. The odds of getting a Royal Flush during the initial draw are 1 in 649,740. For a Straight Flush, it is 1 in 72,193, and video poker odds for Four of a Kind – 1 in 4,165.

Outside Straight

If you have four cards in a row and needs a fifth card at either end, this is known as an outside straight. For example, if your hand includes 5,6,7 and 8, you’ll need either a 4 or 9 to complete the straight. With eight cards left in the deck to make the straight the chances of hitting it is double that of an inside straight.

Pat Hand

When you’re dealt a five card made hand that can’t be improved by drawing more cards, you have a pat hand. This can occur when you flop a flush, straight, straight flush, or royal flush.

Pay Table

On all video poker machines, you’ll find a pay table. It provides information on how much you’ll win with a winning hand. The tables will usually list payouts based on one through five coin bets. We recommend you check the pay table to ensure the machine has the best possible payback percentage.

Payback Percentage

In the long run, the return that a machine gives back to players is known as the payback percentage. In video poker, the player’s strategy is vitally important in respect to getting the highest possible payback. A payback percentage can be calculated based on the pay table and when the player is using perfect strategy.

Perfect Play

When playing video poker, you’ll decide which cards to hold before drawing. This brings strategy and skill into the game. If you employ the perfect strategy then the payback percentage will be increased as much as possible.

Progressive Video Poker

Video poker games sometimes have an associated progressive jackpot. How does this work? If the top hand is achieved, such as a royal flush while betting max coins, then the player receives a jackpot prize. You can find progressive video poker jackpots online. They are usually developed by a single software developer and available in multiple online gambling sites. The progressive jackpots usually have an extra component added to the game to win, not just having to hit a royal flush.

Quads

Poker slang for four of a kind.

Random Number Generators or RNGs

Random Number Generators (RNGs) determine particular outcomes on online games. These ensure all draws or deals are completely random. This means that every time a card is dealt, every card in the deck has the same probability of coming up. Like slots machines, each hand is independent of the hand before it, so a machine can’t be running hot or cold.

Rank

The value of a card is referred to as the card rank.

Royal Flush

This is the ultimate hand. If you can beat the odds of 1 in 40,000, you will get a nice win with a video poker royal flush hand. There are variations to royal flushes in video poker. Sequential royal flush is when the cards are dealt to the player in order from left to right. You can achieve a natural royal flush by getting the standard five suited cards, or in some games by using a wild card. This will generally pay out much less than a natural.

Straight

A straight is a five card hand in sequential rank order, they can be of different suits. An Ace can act as high or low for straights. For example, 10, J, Q, K, A, is a straight, as is A, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Straight Flush

A straight flush is a five card hand in sequential rank order and all of the same suit. Once again, an Ace can act as low or high.

Three of a Kind

Three of a kind is when you hold three of a certain ranked card in your five card hand.

Two Pair

Two Pair is when you hold two sets of pairs in your hand. For example, a pair of fours and a pair of Jacks.

Wild

A wild is a card that can be substituted for another. In many forms of video poker, deuces wild and jokers wild for example, there are wild cards available to the players. In deuces wild, all the twos are wild. This makes deuces wild an attractive game. In jokers wild, there is at least one extra card in the deck which is a joker and acts as a wild card.