Joker Poker Video Poker

Poker is without any doubt the most popular card game ever to be played, even more, popular than Blackjack. Every online casino which has a bit of diversity has at least one poker version on their website. Joker Poker developed by Microgaming is a bit different than other poker games, because they use 52 cards, whilst this version has 53 cards, the 53^rd card is the Joker himself. The graphics are not very attractive, they look kind of “old-school”, but nobody cares about that in this game.

How to Play Joker Poker Video Poker

Joker Poker video poker can be found online on a few websites, many of them offering the opportunity to play it for free. This is just to get used to this version of the game because there aren’t many versions available for it, so this title is really not that different. So you might as well just move on straight to the gambling version, in order to find out how much you can win by playing this game. The only difference from other versions is that it features the Joker which acts as a wildcard by replacing any missing card to get the highest paying combination.

The game features buttons like “Deal”, “Bet One”, “Bet Max”, “Double” or “Collect”. Before any round, you will need to place a bet and once you have done that you can click on “Deal”. This will display 5 cards and usually, the best of them are held automatically, but the choice is yours if you want to keep those cards or to keep others. At this point, you will need to press the “Draw” button to get new cards to fill your hand. The game also has the AutoPlay feature which can be activated when you switch from Regular Mode to Expert Mode and this allows the cards to be dealt with automatically. However, there is more to that. When you have a winning hand you can “Double” or “Collect”. The “Double” feature allows you to select a face-down card to compete against the dealer’s face-up card. If your card has a higher value than the dealer’s card you will double your payout. You can keep using this option or select “Collect”.

Paid Hands

Joker Poker paid hands are depending on the wager you bet:

• 2 pairs – which means 2 specific pairs and a 5^th card which pays from 1 to 5 coins ;
• 3 of a kind – 3 cards of the same rank with 2 other ones (but not a pair) can award you with 2 to 10 coins;
• Straight – 5 in order (e.g. 4-5-6-7-8) which can get you from  3 to 15 coins;
• Flush – when all 5 cards have the same suit can reward you with 5 to 25 coins;
• Full House – 3 of a kind with a pair can credit your account with 7 to 35 coins;
• 4 of a kind – when you have 4 of the same rank + another random card will reward you with 17 to 85 coins;
• Straight Flush – 5 in order having the same suit can get you 50 to 250 coins;
• Joker Royal Flush – when you have them in this order 10-J-Q-K (all having the same suit) + the joker will get coins from 100 to 500;
• 5 of a kind – 4 of a kind + the joker can get you coins from 200 to 1000 coins;
• Natural Royal Flush – when you have them in this order 10-J-Q-K-A all having the same suit. This is the highest paying win in this game and will get you from 750 to 5000 coins.

Hand Rankings

Joker Poker hand rankings are already showing up above in ascending order from the lowest one (2 pairs) to the highest one (Natural Royal Flush), so the wildcard doesn’t help you get the maximum prize.

How to Win

Every player needs to develop a winning strategy for Joker Poker, whether they want to hold specific cards different than the automatically held ones, or just go with the flow and keep the automatically selected ones. Responsible gambling is also very recommended, as the double feature can help you win a lot, but also can cause a serious decrease in your winning.

Conclusion

This game developed by Microgaming has a slightly different approach to poker but also promises a decent payout and tons of fun, action, thrills and excitement.