If You’re Gonna Play Video Poker, Be Sure To Ask These 5 Questions
Top tips for players looking to dive into the online world of video poker. Ask these questions to avoid mistakes!
Ready to start playing online poker? Hold it right there! Make sure you know exactly what you’re doing and what you’re getting into first. By asking yourself some questions before you set down those virtual chips, you can ensure that you have the best chance of winning.
Study up on these questions so you can decide where and when to play video poker, and even what variant and strategy to use. Don’t forget our last point on taking a look at bonuses first, like what you can see at 21 Casino. Plus, with its $300 Match Bonus, you know 21 Casino has quite a lot to offer!
1. Do I just want to play against a machine?
Video poker isn’t like playing in-person poker at all. If you are playing video poker you are playing against only a machine, there is no real dealer or other players involved. Play is typically done online, via the browser, although physical video poker machines exist too. If you’re going down the video poker route you will have zero interaction with real people. Again, for the people in the back who are hard of hearing: video poker is played only against a machine. This is despite the fact that you may see digital representations of other people at the table.
If you want to play poker online but you are looking for human interaction, then you should choose to play Live Dealer Poker instead. In these games, you have a real live dealer dishing out the cards to other players in the virtual room. However, at present, these live dealer games only allow you to play against the dealer, not other players.
2. Which style of poker do I want to play?
The style of video poker that you play matters. Walking into a game of Carribean Stud and playing it out like it was Texas Hold’em would be a serious rookie mistake. There are a constellation’s worth of poker styles to choose from, with different styles having different levels of popularity in places around the world. If you are looking at video poker, you’re likely to find games like Casino Hold’em, Caribbean Stud, Texas Hold’em, and Royal/Russian Poker fairly easily.
Each style of poker is different. While some of the rules translate over across styles, you really need to know the ins and out of the particular game you are playing to have a good chance of winning.
3. Do I have a strategy?
“I want to win!” is not a strategy. “I don’t want to lose too much!” is not a strategy. Some of the brightest minds of our time have put together time-tested strategies for playing poker using game theory. While many of these strategies rely on someone else making a mistake, which is not possible when you’re playing against a machine in video poker, you can follow them strictly to help your chances at winning, or at the very least minimize your losses.
Plenty of poker gurus have put together strategy cheat cards that you can print out or leave up on your phone while you’re playing poker as a reminder of what to do as well as what not to do. If you are serious about playing poker then a strategy is an essential companion to your games, plus it’s easy to reference in video poker as there is no one sitting next to you to look.
4. Do I have a loss limit in place?
Losing money is no fun. But even seasoned professionals lose sometimes at poker. Setting yourself a loss limit before you start playing, or every week, ensures that you are never spending more than you want to on playing poker.
Our advice? Set a loss limit for each session, day, week, and month, to ensure that you don’t accidentally go overboard when you’re feeling hyped up and ready to win. Loss limits aren’t sexy or fun but they are there for a reason: to protect you.
5. Are there better deals around?
If you can nab a good bonus to play at video poker, you’re already off to a good start. It can pay to shop around at different casinos to see what types of bonuses they have on offer, from match bonuses to a chance to win a progressive jackpot on certain types of video poker. By having a hunt around before you start playing, you will ensure that you get the best deal going that day.
Always read the fine print when it comes to a promo, bonus, or deal at a casino. Some of these come attached with some very convoluted rules on how and what games you can play on.
