Nearly all online casinos offer video poker and most have common variants such as Jacks or Better or Double Double Bonus. One variant that’s beginning to crop up at some online casinos in Australia is American Poker V.
American Poker V is a variant of video poker that’s loosely based on Joker Poker but has generally better payoffs. It also has a cool Mini Bonus feature that helps you recoup some of your losses when you play extended sessions. Learn more about how to play this game and some general strategies for playing the game.
Rules for American Poker V
American Poker V is the latest in the series of American Poker games from Wazdan. The game is more of a variant of Joker Poker, but with a slightly different payout structure.
This game only uses a single joker in the deck, meaning you will see it infrequently. The good thing is that the game does not penalize you as much as it does in other games. As such, you don’t have to worry about “Natural Royal Flushes” versus a standard Royal.
The payouts are a bit different than standard Joker Poker with payouts starting at two Pair rather than three of a kind.
Below is the general paytable for the game based on a single credit:
- 5 of a Kind – 800
- Royal Flush – 400
- Straight Flush – 100
- 4 of a Kind – 40
- Full House – 12
- Flush – 9
- Straight – 7
- 3 of a Kind – 5
- 2 Pair – 3
Bets on this game start as low as .10 per credit and you will usually play 10 credits per hand. Stakes vary based on the casino, so check your casino to see which limits are available.
Mini Bonus
One fun feature about this game is that you can recoup some of your losses via the Mini Bonus. Every time you make a single pair of jacks through aces, ten credits are added to the Mini Bonus counter. Whenever the counter reaches 100 credits, the next pair of jacks through aces will award the Mini Bonus.
For example, if you play .10 per credit, $1 will be added to the Mini Bonus every time you hit a single pair of jacks or better. When the Mini Bonus reaches $10, the next pair of Jacks or Better will unlock it.
Note that if you play this game in demo mode, the Mini Bonus does not seem to unlock. This appears to only be available for real money casino play.
General Strategy for Play
When you play this game, there are a couple of things you should note. First, the game will automatically hold cards that already make a winning hand. The game will also hold cards that can improve to better hands.
For example, if you are dealt a single pair, it will hold that pair. If you are dealt four to a straight, it will hold that straight.
Be careful with this auto-hold feature. Sometimes the game will auto hold three to a straight flush even when there are better options according to perfect strategy. For example, if you are dealt 3,4, and 6 of hearts along with a King of hearts, it will only hold the three to a straight flush.
Next, it will usually benefit you to play this game for longer sessions as it will help to unlock the Mini Bonus. However, don’t make silly holds just to try and unlock it. For example, don’t toss a small made pair just to hold a jack or better.
American Poker V is available at Joka Room and other Australian online casinos offering Wazdan games. Check it out the next time you’re looking for a new version of video poker to play.