Is Video Poker Better at Live or Online Casinos?
One of the more popular non-pokie games found at Australian online casinos is video poker. There are dozens of video poker variants available to play depending on the casino. Often, we are asked whether it is better to play the game at online casinos or at live casinos
Today, we will tell you some of the advantages of playing video poker at both. This will let you make the best decision as to where to play your favorite games.
Stakes May Be Lower at Online Casinos
In many live casinos, the lowest stake you can play is .25 per credit. That’s $1.25 per hand if you play max credits on standard poker machines. Online casinos tend to offer a wider variety of stakes with stakes starting as low as .01, or .05 per hand.
As in live casinos, the lower stake games may have slightly worse payouts because they have stingier paytables. However, they don’t tend to be as stingy as live casinos. Not all live casinos start at .25. Some have lower stakes, but those machines usually are not easy to find. You won’t have any problem finding low stakes VP games at Australian online casinos.
Video Poker Comps Are Better at Live Casinos
If there is one argument for playing video poker at live casinos it is player rewards. The game is not classified as a pokie game at online casinos. As such, it is separate in how it’s treated for playthrough and rewards. Often, VP games will only contribute about 10 to 20% to the overall playthrough. That means you have to play five times as much video poker to contribute the same as online pokies.
Depending on where you play live, you will often find that poker machines contribute similarly to pokies in terms of live comps and player rewards. Personally, I tend to play video poker over pokies in live venues as I can control the RTP and house edge through smart paytable selection.
Greater Selection of Video Poker Variants in Live Casinos
Believe it or not, the average live casino has a wider selection of video poker variants over online casinos. Part of this is because many live casinos offer some form of Game King VP machine. Game King has anywhere from 8 to 16 different variants of video poker available.
Then you include other random video poker machines that are available at the casino and you may have 20 to 30 different variants available. At many online casinos in Australia, you will have anywhere from 5 to 10 variants to choose from. Also, some of the more extravagant variants of video poker are found more in live casinos over online casinos. Online casinos tend to offer the most popular variants.
Paytables Are Better at Online Casinos
Generally, you will find better video poker paytables at online casinos than you will at live casinos. The reason is that online casinos can operate with much smaller margins over live casinos. They don’t have to pay for employees, property upkeep, or other ancillary costs of operating live casinos. As such, they can offer better odds and paytables and still make tons of money.
That doesn’t mean you will find a ton of full pay VP machines. However, you are much more prone to find games in the 8-5 to 9-6 range consistently. Of course, the higher you play, the better your odds will be.
Payouts Are Instantaneous in Live Casinos
The biggest advantage to playing at live casinos over online casinos are payouts. If you play video poker live and hit a Royal Flush, you can cash out immediately and leave the casino. At online casinos, you have to go through the process of cashing out and waiting for your money to get to your account.
Even if you use Bitcoin at online casinos, you will still have to wait up to 24 hours to get your money. Live casinos allow you to cash out right away. Granted, a little patience in payouts may lend to better long-term profits at online casinos.