Posts Tagged ‘video poker’

Over Poker announced by Cryptologic

Friday, July 30th, 2010

I haven’t had a chance to give this one a good run through yet, but I’m making plans for the weekend.  Over Poker is a patented video poker game developed by Cryptologic with the promise that it will give the players more control over the cards and the hands they play.  Sounds good.  Of course your goal is the same as any poker game — get the highest ranking hand.  So your current video poker knowledge will work for you there.  A winning hand is a Jacks or Better hand, but the payout table is different from a traditional Jacks or Better game, apparently because the play of this game gives players an advantage and of course the goal is still for the house to win most of the time.

Over Poker involves playing different levels of hands, which I’ve written about before in Level Up poker, but the play here is different.  You are dealt two cards at the lowest level. After that cards are dealt one at a time and you have three options.  Hold. Discard. Shift.  Hold and Discard work as expected. Shift moves the card up to a higher level.  So, you can move cards upward in hopes of building a better hand at a higher level. But you do have to bet and complete hands at each level.  This could take some strategy.  This could be fun. 

Today, I’m just writing this introductory post explaining the game.  Because I want to take some time to play it and really learn how it works before I give an opinion on whether or not it’s a worthwhile game for video poker fans.  But it sounds promising, doesn’t it.

The advantage of playing video poker online

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The other day I was talking to a video poker player who travels frequently to brick and mortar casinos to play video poker. And wins nicely.  We were discussing different games available for players and which we enjoyed playing.  But I noticed something.  A difference in pay tables.

Now, when you begin learning to play video poker one of the first things you learn is to pay attention to the pay tables for the games.  Minor changes in pay tables can make a big difference in the overall payout that you can expect when playing.  When you play Jacks or Better, you know you want a 9/6 paytable over a 8/5.  Sounds simple enough.  And since I play mostly online (not as much free travel time as my video poker playing friend), I’m used to playing with the best payout tables.  This is a little secret to online casinos – they have very little reason to offer anything less than the best pay table.  After all, if they don’t, you can log off their site and be at another site in minutes. Heck, you don’t even have to log off.  You can open more than one window on your computer and leisurely check out your playing options. 

But a brick and mortar casino only has so much space to devote to video poker, even  though it’s a popular game.  And they know that it will take you time to leave their playing floor and go to another, if there is another casino available.  So, brick and mortar casinos need to offer some machines with the best pay tables to bring in players.  Which means that the determined players take up the best machines.  And other players look for the best pay table still available. 

Which is why online casinos hold an advantage for video poker players. You can always play with the best pay tables. 

Royal Apollo Casino accepts US players

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Good news for those of us who play video poker. There is a new casino in town – the Royal Apollo Casino has opened its door to players from the United States.  Actually, the Royal Apollo isn’t new, it’s just that like many casinos it has been reluctant to accept players from the United States because of legislation being debated for the country.  So as a video poker player, I keep an eye on what casinos are available for players in the United States. 

Royal Apollo runs Rival Gaming Software and offers a sophisticated look and feel that entices players to the site.  Players have the option of downloading their software to a home computer or playing on the site with no download.  The site offers six video poker variations – Jacks or Better (remember, I told you this one is standard and found almost everywhere), Aces and Faces, Double Joker, Deuces & Joker, Joker Poker and Deuces.  It doesn’t have the Double and Double Double variations found on Bodog and other sites, but still a respectable list of games. 

The site is also offering bonuses to bring new players to the site.  You can receive up to $1,200 in welcome bonuses by following the recommend deposit steps on the site.  Your first deposit will be matched up to $200. The second and third deposit up to $150 and the next deposits up to your tenth deposit by $100.  So, if you deposit the minimum matching about for each deposit, you’ll be awarded with $1,200 in matching credits.  (Note: The site is a bit new to US players, so you’ll often see pound or Euro symbols instead of the ol’ $ dollar sign.)

The site also offers “Happy Days” bonuses where each day of the week brings a different bonus.  Royal Wednesday is devoted to Video Poker and offers a 30% bonus on all Blackjack and Video Poker.  So, schedule Wednesday for some video poker at the Royal Apollo. 

Should you take the double or nothing bet?

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Video poker is a battlefield of odds where the casino is always trying to find a way to lure the players away from the good odds of a video poker game to something a bit riskier. They engage in tactics that look enticing and try to convince you that you can win more money for very little extra work. But be careful about falling for them. 

One of the common tactics out there is the double your money game that many online video poker machines will ask you to play when you win a hand.  Now, think of it this way. You have already won a hand at video poker because you followed a good strategy and you’ve developed your playing strategy. In fact, you’ve probably chosen to play video poker because you know it’s a game where strategy, not just luck comes into play.  So far, you’ve made all the right decisions. 

Then you win and the casino has a question for you – will you throw those good decisions out the window and may a bet based purely on luck?  For the double your money game, you’ll be shown 5 cards. The first is turned over and this is the dealer’s card.  All you have to do is choose one of the remaining 4 cards that is higher than the dealer’s card. 

Sounds easy enough. And sometimes you’ll win. The problem is that there is no strategy to this part of the game. There is nothing that will help you chose the best card from the four offered.  In fact, in a random deal there is no guarantee that any of the four cards you get to pick is higher than the dealer’s card. 

So, should you play the double or nothing bet?  Well, if you’re looking for long term play at video poker and hoping to keep your money in play long enough to hit a real jackpot, probably not.  But if you only have time to play a few hands and want to see if you can move your money up (or down) quickly, the bet will let you do that.  Me, I stick with long term benefits.