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. 

I’m trying to check this one out but Ladbrokes seems to know I’m in the United States and they don’t accept players from my jurisdiction.  But I’m hoping to get far enough in to see the game, even if I can’t play for money.  

Okay, I can’t get in to actually play, but I’ve made it far enough to discover that despite the suggestion I’m seeing from other sites that this is a new Video Poker game, it’s really a new video-style poker game.  In other words, it’s played online, just like say Video Slots, but it isn’t a Video Poker game in the same way that Jacks or Better is a video poker game.

The new game on offering is called “High Speed Poker” Gold Series multi hand.  It’s played with a 52 card deck and using traditional poker hands, but in this case, it’s played against the dealer rather than on a video poker machine.  It seems to have many of the features of Caribbean poker or three card poker, in the sense that you play against the dealer, there is an ante bet, a play bet and an optional bonus.  Basically, it’s a game of 3 Card Poker with the variation that you can play more than one hand at a time.  A maximum of five hands to be precise.  This probably appeals to the die hard fan of three card poker so if that’s your game, you’ll want to check out Ladbrokes casino.  Unless you live in the United States.  In which case, perhaps we all need to move to England.

Class 1 Casino isn’t open to players from the United States but they have a fun Halloween promotion going on that others might want to check out.  Here’s how it works.  If you go to the site, you can take part in the Halloween Pumpkin Hunt. Playing the game is simple and free.  All you have to do is find the seven Halloween pumpkins and you win a special Halloween treat - either a 300 percent cash back bonus for new players or a 60 percent bonus for existing players.

There is a little a trick here.  If you aren’t a member of Class 1 casino yet and are planning on joining, you might want to join before you play the game.  Here’s the trick to this treat.  The regular bonus sign up bonus for new players is 300 percent or 333 percent on your first deposit if sign up using Moneybookers.  So, the Pumpkin Hunt bonus is either the same as slightly less than the ongoing bonus.  But if you sign up first, you can take the existing bonus, then play the game and collect a 60 percent bonus on your next deposit.

As always, I recommend that you check out the terms and conditions for the bonuses before you collect them.   But Class 1 casino does offer a selection of video poker games for you to enjoy.

It is a little known fact that Wizards enjoy playing video poker.  And Witches apparently play slots. At least at Club World Casino.  Now through October 27^th, Club World Casino is running a Witches and Wizards promotion to serve up some spookily good Halloween bonus money.  (For candy, you’ll have to go trick or treating.)  But if you want to take advantage of the Club World Casino bonus, just cast a magic spell and transport yourself over to the online casino site.

First for the Wizards, who we know like to play Video Poker.  Just make a deposit to the casino using the coupon code WIZARDS and you’ll get a 45% deposit bonus up to $1000 to play your favorite Video Poker games on.  You can also play blackjack or table games on this same bonus.  And if you claim the bonus five times, you’ll get an extra $20 deposited to your account for a little extra playing money.

If you have friends who don’t play Video Poker but still like to play, then they might want to consider the WITCHES promotion.  Just use the coupon code WITCHES to get a 60% match bonus up to $1000 when you make a deposit.  This bonus can’t be used to play Video Poker but can be used for slots, scratch cards and Keno.  And once again of you claim the bonus 5 times, you’ll get an extra $20 to play with.

If you aren’t a member of the casino yet, you can take advantage of a 100% deposit bonus up to $150 to play video poker, casino poker, blackjack and other games.  Just sign up at the site and use the coupon code NEW100.  Need more help getting started? Just check out the beginners guide for a little assistance.