Video poker is top-rated almost in all casinos. The reasons are obvious – it's simple and profitable for the players. The idea of the game is intuitive for anyone familiar with poker. The player gets five cards. He may exchange any of them for free but only once.
The goal is to make a poker combination from the paytable.
You don't need to compare your hand to the dealer's or opponents', as in traditional poker.
Playing in the base mode, the casino visitor estimates the cards, keeps those he considers helpful, and exchanges the rest to strengthen the existing combination or create a new one. All varieties of video poker feature optimal strategies, indicating what to do in any given situation.
This approach allows you to reduce the house edge or even gain an advantage in your favor.
Who Needs Auto Hold in Video Poker?
However, some casino visitors may not know that or have a poor experience.
- Someone doesn't play often enough to study the strategy.
- Others don't do it due to negligence.
- And some do not believe that a casino can consistently win, so they just come to quench their thirst for passion and have a good time.
In the end, many types of video poker significantly differ, making exploring all strategies difficult. An efficient universal system, of course, does not exist.
Software manufacturers have solved this problem by incorporating optimal strategy in their games. In other words, it will automatically reset unnecessary cards and leave the useful ones. Usually, this is called Auto Hold.
However, it is not so simple. In some games (usually old or released by unpopular producers), if the player activates Auto Hold, all payments are made by a particular paytable with lower multipliers. It means you have to pay for the help. Thus, online casinos offer their visitors the right to choose to play on their own, receive payment in full, or use the prompts and sacrifice something.
The best software developers do not practice that.
How to Choose the Best Video Poker
A few tips on choosing the most profitable video poker featuring the Auto Hold mode and other options. Pay attention to the following:
- The RTP is the most crucial point. Return to player is expressed in percentage. Of course, the higher it is, the most attractive the video poker is for the player. It may exceed 100% in the best games, but it's rare at online casinos. The RTP may reach 99.5% in some Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker types. We recommend starting with these games.
- Rules – beginners should go for classic video pokers. Finding optimal strategies for these kinds of games is easy, so you don't need to reinvent the wheel. In general, you better always start with classic varieties of new games.
- Providers – Young studios may produce excellent games, but leading casinos offer software from famous brands. Best casinos mean big bonuses, attractive promotions, high-quality service, and other advantages. We recommend playing video pokers from popular developers (remember to check the RTP and other parameters).
- Bets – You should play in a comfortable betting range. Choose a game that answers your financial capabilities.
- Hands Number – Many video pokers allow to bet on multiple lines. It significantly speeds up the gameplay. Using this feature or not is up to you.
- Progressive jackpots – If you want to pursue a big win, try your fortune on video pokers with progressive jackpots. Make sure you carefully study the T&C. Remember, you'll be required to place the maximum bet.
- Bonuses – Some producers offer advanced features. It makes the gameplay more diverse but requires one to step away from the basic strategy. Beginners are not recommended to risk their bankroll in such games.
- Auto Hold – Give up the video pokers that reduce payouts or set restrictions for the Auto Hold mode. Lots of famous software developers won't ask you to sacrifice anything. Choose their video pokers.
We highly recommend reading video poker reviews at Casinoz. Our experts provide the RTP and point out the T&C.'s essential details of the T&C. You can also find recommendations on the strategy in the thematic articles.
Summary
Here are some Casinoz guidelines for beginners:
- Make sure you carefully study statistics for different video pokers.
- Choose the most profitable game.
- Master the basic strategy.
- Practice in a demo mode.
As soon as you feel confident, try playing for money. If you can't wait to start playing immediately, don't hesitate to use Auto Hold. Otherwise, you risk losing much more, as intuition without skills is a bad advisor in casino games.
