How would you like a selection of bonuses that you can use to play Video Poker on.  Silver Oak Casino is offering what they call the “Always look on the bright side” promotion.  They want players to take advantage of the offers here to claim the bonus that best fits their needs and playing style.  Now since some casinos don’t allow video poker to be played meet play through requirements for bonuses, I checked out the terms and conditions at Silver Oak. There, every $1 wagered on Video Poker counts as $0.50 toward the bonuses. So, you’ll have to play twice as much to reach the play through requirement. But, you can still play video poker with these bonuses. 

Now with the “Always look on the bright side” bonuses, you choose which bonus works for you. For example, you can use the code HAPPY100 to claim a 100% bonus with no minimum deposit amount, so you can take advantage of this bonus with your smallest deposit.  Or use the code BRIGHT150 and claim a 150% bonus with at least a $35 deposit.  SUNNY175 will sent you claim a 175% bonus with a $50 minimum deposit.  And SUPER200 will let players depositing at least $75 claim a 200% bonus.  But if you really like playing at Silver Oak (why not, they’re good folks), give them a call and ask to become part of the Silver Oak VIP club. Because VIP players over at Silver Oak can claim a 250% deposit bonus with a $125 minimum deposit. But you have to become a VIP Player to take advantage of this offer. 

I’ve come across a new Rival Powered casino called Desert Nights Casino and I’ve been checking it out to see what it has to offer Video Poker players. First, this really is a slots game oriented casino.  Of course if you like to play slots in addition to Video Poker, this is a plus for you.  The casino offers iSlots as well as a variety of other slots.  But if you look under games and “Other Games” you will find a small selection of video poker games.  They have the standards such as Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, Aces & Faces, Double Joker, Deuces and Joker and Joker Poker.  They don’t have Coliseum video poker and some of the more unique games I’ve seen out there. But those games always seem to not have the best pay tables.  Sticking to the standards can be a good idea.

But there’s something else going on at Desert Nights Casino.  They are offering  $500 free play bonus to new players.  Now this is a bit of a unique bonus so make sure you understand the details. All you have to deposit into your account is $25.  Then you have $500 to play with for 30 minutes.  Only 30 minutes.  At the end of the time period, you get to keep any money you won over the initial $500. Okay the fine print says up to $100.  But still, that’s not bad potential.  You can play on the casinos dollar for half an hour and potentially win $100.  It might be a good reason to check out Desert Nights Casino.

Whoot! Let’s hear it for bonuses for Video Poker players.  Now one of the sad things about being a video poker player is that while the odds on the game are much better than playing a game like slots, we are less likely to be rewarded with bonuses than slots players.  Okay, the reason for this is that we’re more likely to win while with slots the casino is more likely to get their money back.  But since I’m a video poker player and not a casino, I’m really more likely to look at what I can get out of the casino than what they can get out of me. 

But Club World Casino is going one better, they’ve combined a tournament and bonus into one and it’s running Thursday, January 20^th through Monday, January 24^th.  First, you’ll need a Club World Casino account and you’ll want to make a deposit of $100 using the coupon code VPTOUR.  Club World will then credit you account with $75 in bonus chips, so you’ll already be a winner. 

But next, you’ll want to go in a play your favorite video poker games during the tournament period.  If you’re one of the top three video poker players who score the highest wagering during the tournament period you’ll be awarded  an additional prize. First place will win $100, second place $75 and third place $50. 

Oh, our friends the slot players won’t be left out of the fun. There’s a slot tournament during the same time frame as well as a blackjack tournament.  Yes, the slot pokers do get a larger bonus for their deposit, but come on, it’s slots. You know they’re going to lose all that in a few spins.

I’ve found a video poker tournament for the weekend and if you’re up for a little Deuces Wild action why not  join me over at English Harbour for the Weekend Deuces Wild Face Off.  The tournament start on January 14^th and runs through January 16^th and the entry fee is only $5.  With your $5 entry fee you’ll get a starting balance of $200 to play with. If you run out of money, you can rebuy another $200 for a $5 rebuy fee. 

The prize pool for this tournament is starting at $100 with the first place winner taking home 40 percent of the pot.  Second place gets 25 percent with prizes going down to 10 sixth place winners who each get  a $10 bonus in their account.  (Generally speaking, bonus money is money you can use to play games at the casino, but can’t withdraw until you have met the play through requirements.)

If you’re in the mood for a longer game, there is also the January 100 Hand tournament taking place now through January 31^st.  The entry fee for this one is still $5 and you’ll still start with $250. But you have to make that money last longer.  The prize pool is currently at $1,019.75 but that will go up if you join in.  First prize is 40 percent of the prize pool and second place 25%.  And the game this time is Mega Deuces Wild for some Mega action. 

English Harbour is a great site for some video poker action and one of the sites that also offers video poker tournaments.  If you like video poker and like tournaments, keep an eye on their schedule.

I just discovered something that I hadn’t realized  - I can play in the practice mode at Silver Oak casino without registering or logging in.  I love this.  Now,  most online casinos offer a practice or free play mode for players who want to learn about the casino or practice their strategy. Land based casinos and cruise ship casinos don’t do this, so if you want to play for free, you need to visit an online casino. Note: if you don’t schedule your cruise vacations based on the ship’s casino offerings and already have points ready to transfer to your cruise account and an approved credit limit, you aren’t traveling with a  true gambler. But there is an advantage in that I don’t get seasick at the average online casino.

But back to Silver Oak.  Every good video poker player knows they need to practice their strategy. Sometimes even play with strategy to really understand it.  Before online casinos, players used to buy strategy games for their computers so that they could practice before hitting the real casino. But online casinos offer a wonderful mix of real and practice play because at any time you can switch from practice play to real play and play for real money.  But most online casinos make you sign up for an account before you can use the practice play mode. This way they get your email information to send announcements to and you’re one step closer to having a real account.

But some casino have become competitive and offer players a chance to play on their site without registering or providing any information. Of course this only works for the free play or practice play mode and you can’t win any real money that way.  But it’s a great way to practice your strategy. I hadn’t realized until today that Silver Oak offers this free play option, but I am thrilled to discover that they do.

Oh, and folks I do literally mean high seas. Those waves were more than I (or most of us) expected.  But I’m back from my Mediterranean cruise and full of stories and even some video poker tips to explore on the blog.  But today I’m going to chat about playing video poker on the cruise ship.  First lesson — the odds (or pay tables) are terrible. Second lesson, the casino had only one bank of video poker machines (so 10 machines) while most of the floor space was filled with slot machines. To be fair, there was also only one Texas Hold ‘em table, a couple or three blackjack tables and a single roulette wheel.  But cruise ships aren’t yet catering to video poker’s popularity.  Oh, and when you’re restricted to 10 tables for all the video poker players on the ship and those with varying play amounts, it means you really don’t have the luxury of studying pay tables.  You play what you can get.

And then you hold on tight! Okay, perhaps not on every cruise. But winter in the Mediterranean is oddly enough not known for its great weather. Fortunately, I wasn’t on the ship that tipped so badly trying to get to Alexandria that two people had broken bones. But we were out at sea in that same storm.  The ship was a rockin’ and we — well, most of us resorted to Dramamine and hoped for better weather in the morning.  Just a note, playing under the influence of Dramamine and a heavily rocking cruise ship can affect your concentration and strategy.  Online casinos just don’t have this same problem.

The Video Poker blog will be taking a break through December while I take vacation. I’m going on a cruise and of course there is a casino on the cruise ship.  So I’ll be playing video poker as I sail from Barcelona to Rome then Rome to Greece, then to Alexandria and so on.  Of course when we’re in port, I’ll be off touring the ruins and seeing the sites.  I’m even taking a trip to see the pyramids during the overnight stop in Alexandria.  Which means I won’t be gambling every day. But there are “at sea” days between some of the ports and during those days I expect a lot of us will hit the ship’s casino. 

Of course, there are some differences between gambling on a cruise ship and playing video poker online.  On the ship, I may not be able to play at a machine with my favorite games or I may not be able to find one with a full pay table.  This is because the cruise ships knows that I’m unlikely to jump off and swim to another ship to play.  So, I’m a captive audience.  They also charge a fortune for internet access, so it’s not worth trying to login to an online casino at sea. And also a bit too expensive for me to blog from the ship.  But I will be taking notes and when I get back, I’m going to write a post or two about my shipboard gambling experience.    

I’m over at English Harbour playing a little Tens or Better video poker.  And actually doing fairly well with the cards today.  I seem to be on a two pair run.  Okay, two pair only pay two for one, so it’s not really doing much for the bankroll, but it’s giving me a little bit of relaxing fun.  Besides every time I hold a pair, I can hope for a three of a kind, a full house  or even four of a kind win.  Those may not be the coveted Royal Flush, but they can keep you in the game a bit longer. And a four of a kind is a nice payout.

But sometimes the name of the game at video poker is to be able to afford to keep the cards flowing for as long as possible.  It can be a game of patience or endurance.  But oddly, a relaxing one.  There’s that moment of putting yourself into the game and focusing on the cards. You hold and draw and wait to see what appears next.  For those few seconds, all your attention is focused on one thing — the cards. 

I play for enough to be pleased when I win but not devastated when I lose. So video poker does become a game that lets me put the world aside for a few minutes and relax.  Besides, I just drew for four of a kind, so I’ve turned a one for one pair of jacks win into a 125 for one four of a kind win.  Which means I now have more money to play with.  Off I go.

You know, I’m going to come down with an “it depends” answer on this one.  It depends on why you’re playing, what amount you’re playing for, the games you play and even whether or not you’re playing to win a big jackpot or just to have a little fun. 

I’ve seen plenty of people out there saying that you need a big bankroll to play video poker because it can take thousands of spins to hit the Royal Flush and win the big jackpot that will potentially pay back all your loses.  And this isn’t wrong.   Statistically, hitting that royal flush can take thousands of spins. Or you could hit it on the first spin.  That’s the tricky thing about statistics.  You might need a thousand spins to earn back all the money you put in. Or you might not.

But I go back to my first video poker experience. My father took me a casino and sat me in front of a video poker machine and told me to try to hold anything that was jacks or better.  I started with $20 and walked out with $25.  Not bad for a first time.  But there was another factor to take into account. I was playing a nickel machine at 25 cents a hand and one hand at a time.  I was also new to video poker so I spent some time considering every hand.  So, a mix of slower play for less money kept me playing on twenty dollars for hours.  It was fun.

Dad was over at the $5 machines and playing for full pay and five or more hands a spin.  His bankroll was considerably larger than mine and he needed it to be.  He’s walked away from video poker nights with a few thousand dollars in his pocket or down a few hundred dollars.  He plays for serious money and that does take serious money. 

But, if you just want to have a little fun on a trip to Vegas or another casino, you may find that you go through your video poker bankroll a lot slower than you’ll burn through a slots bankroll. 

We video poker players are a special group. We love to gamble and we love to be able to use a little strategy to swing the odds our way.  But we’re also often overlooked when it comes to casino promotions and bonuses. Perhaps because some of us are just a little bit too good at winning the money and casinos would rather spend time attracting slots players than us.

But now Omni Casino is offering a promotion just for video poker players.  A Double Royals Video Poker Promotion.   Here’s the details.  When playing video poker if we get a royal flush (10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace) in Spades or Clubs during the promotion period, we win double the prize amount up to 1,000 credits.  Royal Flushes in Hearts or Diamonds still win the regular prize amount.  This promotion runs every Friday and Saturday in November and winning hands must be dealt between 9 GMT and 18 GMT  to qualify.

Now there are some other details to consider.  The bonus is only valid on single line video poker games with coin values from 1 penny to .25 cents.  And players can’t use deposit bonuses and promotional chips to place their wager. 

Omni Online Casino has been in business since 1997 and is licensed by the Government of Curacao.  The online casino runs Playtech casino software and is certified 100% safe and secure.  The casino offers both instant play and downloadable software options with over 100 games available as well as 24/7 support for players.