Video Poker Terms - Basic Knowledge of Five-Card Draw Poker

Video poker game is an interactive game of skill because the poker player gets to choose the cards to keep and which ones to discard. It is not a game of chance like video slot games.

The payout amount in video poker game is dependant upon a winning hand combination. A basic knowledge of five-card draw poker is required like the ranking of the hands. Increase your video poker machine vocabulary with Casino Cash Journey's video poker reference guide. Video poker vocabulary and commonly used terms below.

Video Poker Terms

A

Aces and Eights Video Poker: A classic video poker game in which four Aces or 8s and four 7s get a bonus payout.

Aces and Faces Video Poker: A video poker game in which four Aces or four face cards of the same rank get a bonus payout.

Aces with a Kicker: Used in double double bonus vide poker games where four aces and a two, three or four have a better payout rate than four aces with any other card.

Action: The total amount of money wagered.

All American Video Poker: Has better payouts for Straight Flush than regular Jacks of Better Video Poker.

Average Payout: The average amount you could be expected to win from a machine if you play millions of times.

B

Bank: There are two meanings of this word, the first is the display on the video poker machine showing how much you have in the machine by way of credits/winnings, and the second meaning is how a casino will describe a row of video poker machines.

Bankroll: This is how much money you have set aside as your gambling budget.

Bet Max: Bet Max refers to the maximum bet.

Boat: Full house.

Bonus Deuces Wild Video Poker: A game where the deuces are wild cards, thus creating extra bonus options.

Bonus Video Poker: A game where larger payouts are paid for bonus hands.

Bonus Video Poker Deluxe: A Jack or Better game with higher payout for four of a kind.

C

Cash Back: Bonus awarded to a player, in return for playing with a given online real money casino.

Cash Out: A button which moves the credits into the player’s coin tray.

Catching Cards: Getting good cards.

Coin In: This is simply inserting a coin into the video poker machines, you do this via the coin slot machine game on the front of each machine.

Complete Hand: A hand which uses all the cards in a combination.

Comps: Short for Compensation. In online casinos comp point are usually in the form of additional cash value credits.

Cowboys: Kings.

Credits: The video poker machines keeps track of the of the coins deposited and the winnings made – these are shown on the credit meter.

Cycle: Statistical calculation of the number of hands that need to be played for a card or a combination to come up.

D

Denomination: The denomination of a card is its number.

Deuces: Cards with the face value of 2.

Deuces Deluxe Video Poker: Casino bonus payouts are awarded for four deuces, natural straight flush, royal flush with a deuce, five of a kind, wild straight flush and a wild four of a kind.

Deuces Wild Video Poker: A game with deuces as wild cards.

Deuces and Jokers Wild Video Poker: A game where deuces and jokers are wild cards and have a greater payout.

Discard Buttons: A button located at the bottom of each card which is pressed if you want to discard the card.

Double Bonus Video Poker: A game with bonus payouts for 4 Aces, four deuces, 3s, 4s, 5s through kings.

Double Jackpot Video Poker: Bonus payouts for 4 aces, four Aces with a king, queen or jack kicker, four kings, queens or jacks with an Ace, king, queen, jack kicker and four deuces through tens.

Double Up: Some games provide the option to double the bet on a winning hand.

Draw: Replacement cards.

E

Edge: The advantage in a game.

Expected Return: The average amount of money paid back on a particular bet.

Expected Value: Average of all possible outcomes in the course of a play.

Expert Play: This is when you play video poker machines to optimum strategy, by holding and/or discarding the cards dealt to give you the best chance of a winning final hand.

F

Face Card: Includes Kings, Queens, and Jacks..

Fish Hooks: Jacks.

Flush: A hand containing five cards in the same suit.

Flat Top: A video poker machine that does not offer a progressive jackpot.

Four of a Kind: A hand with four cards of the same denomination.

Full House: Three of a kind and a pair.

Full Pay: The best payout offered for a specific game.

G

Garbage Hand: A bad hand that will not win anything.

Gut Shot: AKA Inside straight.

H

Hand: The five cards held.

High Card: A Jack, Queen, King or Ace.

Hold: The cards you keep in your hand.

Hopper: The tray that holds the coins and counts them electronically when they get released to a player’s tray.

House: The establishment hosting and running the game. 

 I

Inside Straight: Four cards to a straight and the missing card is in the middle of the straight.

Inside Straight Flush: As for an inside straight, but cards must be in the same suit.

J

Jackpot: A special casino bonus paid when the highest hand is hit.

Jacks or Better: The original video poker game.

Jacks Poker: A game where the Joker is the wild card.

Joker Poker: Another video poker game variant in this game there is an additional card in the deck which is a wild Joker.

K

Kings or Better: A pair of Kings as the minimum winning hand.

L

Ladies: Queens.

Loose Deuces Video Poker: A deuces wild game with bonuses for four deuces, royal flush with a deuce and five of a kind.

Louisiana Double Video Poker: A basic Jack or Better video poker game, with an extra card known as the double card.

M

Max Bet: The maximum amount of coins played per spin. This maximum has to be played in progressive to win.

Maximum Average Payback: The amount of payback per dollar bet.

Multi Play: Machines allowing up to ten hands of video poker simultaneously.

N

Net Losses: The amount lost after the wager amount is deducted from the payout.

Odds: Defines the probability of drawing a hand of any kind.

O

Outrun: To beat.

P

Pair: A combination containing two cards of the same value.

Pat Hand: A hand where all the initially dealt cards make up a winning combination.

Payback: The long term expected return of a game.

Pay Off: The number of coins paid for a winning hand.

Payout Schedule: The machine’s schedule is posted on the glass front in the form of a table showing the number of coins paid out for each winning hand.

Payout: The dropping of coins by the machine, when cashing out.

Pay Table: This is printed on every single video poker machine, and it will show you every single hand ranking possible on that machine along with how many coins you will win based on how many coins you are staking.

Perfect play: A perfect hand blocks every house advantage.

Progressive Jackpot: A big jackpot that grows progressively as more people play and more money is deposited. For every play, another small amount is added to the jackpot total. Generally the progressive jackpot is linked with other machines.

Q

Quads: Four of a kind.

R

Rag: A card that does not fit into a hand, a useless card.

Rainbow: Three or four cards of different suits.

Random Number Generator: A program that generates new numbers on a completely random basis. The RNG is used in many internet casino machines to provide absolute randomness.

Rank: The numerical value of a card.

Rejected Cards: Cards that you discard voluntarily following a round of play.

Royal Flush: A hand containing Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit – the highest card in video poker if no wild cards are played.

S

Sequential Royal Flush: A Royal Flush in order. Extra bonuses are given for these.

Sevens Wild Video Poker: Sevens are the wild card and bonuses are paid out for four sevens, royal flush with a seven and five of a kind.

Short Pay: This is a classic video poker game that does not pay out the best it can due to its configured pay table, and therefore offers bad value for players.

Spill: When you win a hand which pushes your credits to over 1,000 – most video poker machines don’t add to your credits but rather spill quarters into the tray to make up the difference.

Straight: Five cards not in the same suit, but in sequence.

Straight Flush: Five cards in the same suit, in sequence.

Strategy Card: A card showing the correct plays for every possible hand on a particular game.

Suit: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts or Spades.

T

Three of a Kind: A hand with three cards of the same denomination.

Tens or Better Video Poker: A game where tens or better are the minimum paying hands.

Tilt: To play wildly.

Triple Play: Some machines allow you to play 3 hands of video poker at the same time.

Trips: Three of a kind.

Two Pairs: A hand containing two pairs.

U

Underdog: The person least likely to win the pot.

V

Video Poker Machine: Video display to simulate the real money game of poker.

W

Wild Card: A card used to substitute any other card in the deck. A joker.

Wild Royal: A wild card to make a royal flush.

Winning Hand: A hand that you get paid for. Most video poker machines pay out for a minimum of a Pair of Jacks.