Video Poker Casino

All New Jersey casino sites offer video poker. The selection at some is better than others. The common theme is that the pay tables are better at the New Jersey online casinos than they are in Atlantic City in most limits.

Best New Jersey online video poker

Video poker players truly have the best of both worlds. Poker is the most popular card game on the planet, and slot machines are the biggest thing at the casino. Putting them together was a stroke of genius. Video poker, that old casino favorite, is available online as well! If you're a video poker lover, that's great news. Even better is the fact that you'll find an incredibly low house edge with online video poker. Video poker offers you incredibly high RTP: in fact up to 99.73% RTP! It's also very easy to play.

New Jersey online casinos offer better video poker than is found on most Atlantic City machines. Another bonus is that the limits are lower at New Jersey online casinos. Players can usually find full pay games at the nickel denomination at regulated New Jersey sites. Atlantic City casinos require at least $.25 denomination but often it is $1 or $5.

What’s the best video poker game at NJ online casinos?

Tropicana Casinoand Virgin Casino offers the best video poker game at New Jersey online casinos. It is called Deuces Wild and is only available on the Three- and Five-Play versions of the Game King machine.

This game plays like any other video poker game, in that players are dealt five cards, and must choose which ones to hold. However, all deuces act as wild cards. This changes the optimal strategy compared to traditional games like Jacks or Better by leaps and bounds.

Additionally, players receive smallerpayouts for made hands, because the wild card increases an average hand’s value dramatically. In fact, players need three-of-a-kind just to get their money back.

In multi-line games, players are dealt one hand, just like they are in single-line variants. The difference is that whatever cards they hold are applied to allhands (in this case three or five hands). Each hand outcome is determined separately, and the total payout is the cumulativetotal of all hand payouts.

Players have to ante up the same wager for each hand. So if they bet $1 on a five-play game, the cost per round is $5.

The version of Deuces Wild on Trop and Virgin is nicknamed Not So Ugly Deuces (or Ducks). It is characterized by 4 coins on Four of a Kinds, 10 on Straight Flushes, and 16 on Five of Kinds.

The game returns 99.73 percent to the player using adhering to optimal strategy decisions. Players won’t find a better game on NJ online casino sites, or on non-progressive video game terminals in Atlantic City.

Other great video poker games to consider

The best video poker game at most New Jersey online casinos is Jacks or Better. Nearly every casino platform in the state offers this game.

The game is called Jacks or Higher at 888 and Harrah’s but players will want to avoid that one, as it features reduced payouts for Quads and Straight Flushes.

The benefit of Jacks or Better is that is offers the easiest basic strategy. It is simple for a player to learn. Unlike higher variance games, perfect play will make sense to players familiar with the concept of poker.

The way that a player knows that Jacks or Better is the best game is because a full house will pay nine and a flush will pay six. Make sure to choose the Game King version distributed by IGT. The 9/6 Jacks or Better house edge is 0.46 percent with perfect play.

There is another version by Spin Games spread by some casinos, also called Jacks or Better. Make sure to avoidthis version. It short pays on the flush.

Golden Nugget’s online casino (and Caesars Casino) spreads the next best video poker game. It is called Deuces Wild Elite. This game is like Deuces Wild, except it’s the “bonus” version, paying augmented payouts on five-of-a-kinds, at the expense of reduced payouts on straights (even money). The house edge on this title is a slim 0.55 percent, but the volatility is through the roof.

Golden Nugget is also home to an exclusive higher paying video poker game. It is called Tens or Better. This is the lowest variance video poker game in New Jersey. It has a house edge of 0.86 percent on any wager and with perfect play.

What video poker games can I play at NJ online casinos?

New Jersey video poker variants

There are more than 20 different versions of video poker in the regulated New Jersey interactive gaming market. These games are distributed by IGT, Spin Games, 888 and Amaya Gaming.

IGT owns six titles at online casinos. These are Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Triple Play Draw Poker, and Five Play Draw Poker. Spin Games offers some of the single-line titles with lower pay tables, except Bonus Poker, which is the same.

Spin Games also offers Tens of Better and Jester Poker, which is Joker Poker with an unplayable pay table. Jester Poker only returns 93.2 percent, which is by far the worst game at New Jersey online casinos outside of slots.

Amaya Gaming duplicates a few titles and pay tables. It also offers a Deuces Wild game that only returns 97 percent. 888, which also powers Harrah’s, offers Jacks or Higher, which has a return of 98.25 — nearly 1.3 percent lower than the Game King version.

Of all the games featured on New Jersey online casino sites, video poker and blackjack afford gamblers the best opportunity to see a return on their investment.

However, in order to fully maximize expected value on either of these games, players must develop sound strategies. Now, that’s easy enough for blackjack, where basic strategy only varies slightly from variant to variant.

Video poker payouts

But mastering video poker is worlds harder, as both the gametype and the payout schedule dictate optimal playing styles. The good news is that with all the video poker strategy sheets and calculators on the web, even beginning players can readily look up and learn winning plays.

However, becoming a video poker wizard also requires recognizing the best payout tables.

Why? Because a seemingly slight change in the payout structure (for instance, a Full House paying 8 coins as opposed to 9) can result in a house edge that is four or five times as high when compared to what’s known as a “full pay” schedule.

Luckily, NJ online casinos offer some of the most generous payout tables on the web.

Locating them – now that’s the tricky part. The aim of this short guide is to turn you in the right direction.

Best beginner game – Jacks or Better by Game King

There are almost too many reasons to list why the Game King version of Jacks or Better is one of our favorite video poker games in New Jersey.

For one, at 99.54 percent it boasts the best return of any video poker game in the industry. We recognize this because the Full House pays 9 coins and the Flush 6 coins.

Secondly, the Royal Flush pays a full 800 coins regardless of denomination. Try finding a game in any brick and mortar casino that will pay that figure at denominations as low as $0.10 per spin – we doubt you’ll have much luck.

Jacks or Better is also a relatively straightforward game to learn – at least when compared to other video poker games. The optimal strategy consists of 36 basic rules, and just a handful of exceptions. Guidelines can be easily found on the web.

Lastly, it’s offered at a majority of NJ online casinos, including:

• Borgata/PartyCasinos
• Tropicana/VirginCasino
• Resorts/Mohegan Sun Casinos
• Pala Casino (Game King knock-off that requires 5 coin bet for 800:1 Royal Flush payout)

It’s certainly worth noting that many of these sites also offer other (non-Game King) Jacks or Better variants. Steer clear from them, as more often than not, they’ll only payout 5 coins for hitting a Flush, thus reducing the optimal return rate to 98.45 percent.

Best high volatility game – Double Double Bonus by Game King

The sole drawback to Jacks or Better is that it can be a bit dull, only offering jumbo sized payouts for the Royal Flush. On the other hand, video poker variants like Double Double Bonus Poker have become the game of choice for many gamblers because they offer souped-up rewards for hitting four-of-a-kind.

To offset the increased payouts for quads, Double Double Bonus only pays 1:1 for Two Pair (as opposed to 2:1 for Jacks or Better), and thus, is a far more volatile game that can just as easily create fortunes as wipe out bankrolls.

The best Double Double Bonus variant in New Jersey pays 9 coins for the Full House and 6 for the Flush (98.98 percent). A 10/6 version does exist, but because it pays slightly over 100 percent, is very difficult to find.

Again, we recommend you stick with the Game King version, as the Spin edition (entitled Double Double Regal Poker) once again only pays 5 coins for a Flush.

The NYX Gaming version (found at Golden Nugget Casino) does offer a 9/6 payout schedule, but only pays 800:1 for a Royal when betting 5 coins.

Thankfully, the Game King Double Double Bonus format is found at every NJ online casino that also offers Game King’s Jacks or Better. Better yet, players who prefer to straddle the middle line between the two will find single line 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17 percent) and 9/7/5 Double Bonus (99.11 percent) at these casinos as well.

Best multi-line game – Five Play by Game King

The overwhelming majority of online casinos in New Jersey have recently implemented Three Play and Five Play video poker terminals, both by Game King.

The upshot is that these terminals offer games that were previously unavailable in the market. Examples include Deuces Wild Bonus, Bonus Poker Deluxe and the highly volatile Triple Double Bonus.

However, it’s difficult to recommend these games is good faith, due to the often lousy payout schedules. For instance, at most online casinos Triple Double Bonus only pays 5 coins for a Flush – pushing the optimal return all the way down to a paltry 97.03 percent.

Other games aren’t much better, as even Jacks or Better pays just 8 coins for a Full House and 5 for a Flush for a return of 97.30 percent.

Thus, as tempted as you may be to play multiple hands, generally speaking you’ll want to resist the urge – with a few notable exceptions.

Borgata/Party offers a stronger payout table for its three and five line games, including a decentDeuces Wild variant (98.91 percent return, otherwise known as 4/4 or LV Airport/Illinois Deuces).

Other multi-line games on Borgata/Party generally return between 98-99 percent, which isn’t as good as their single-line counterparts – but less than optimal payout structures are generally par for the course with multi-line formats.

Play SugarHouse offers multi-line games with the same same payout tables as Borgata/Party.

Tropicana Casino and Virgin Casino have kicked things up a notch further. It’s multi-line games feature the same payout tables as its stellar single-line Game King games. This is rare, as most casinos make players pay for the reduced volatility of multi-line games by downgrading the paytables.

Not Trop/Virgin. In fact, its Deuces Wild variant offers the bestreturn of all NJ online casino video poker games: 99.73 percent. Play at one of these two online casinos whenever you can.

Biggest disappointment – Deuces Wild

The lack of a good single line Game King Deuces Wild game is a severe disappointment, and one this gambler hopes will eventually be addressed.

The previously-mentioned 98.91 percent return game on some NJ online casinos isn’t terrible for a multi-line game, but still pales in comparison to Not-So-Ugly-Deuces (99.73 percent return, and only found at Trop/Virgin), and Full Pay Deuces (100.76 percent return).

Granted, we’d likely never see the latter in New Jersey, but even a solid 99+ percent return single line game would attract the masses. The closest we get is Deuces Wild Elite, which returns 99.45 percent but is super swingy.

Otherwise, what we’re left with are non-Game King variants that boast abysmal payout schedules. For instance, Deuces Wild by Spin returns just 97.06 percent. At 97.50 percent, Pala Casino’s version is marginally better, but hardly worth playing (also stay away from its Deuces & Joker Wild game).

And that’s about it.

New Jersey mobile video poker

Most New Jersey online casinos offer at least six video poker games on the standard PC software. Android and iOS mobile apps also feature video poker games, but not as many.

Players looking for action on the go in New Jersey will have to settle for Jacks or Better, and other single line games, as Triple- and Five-Play titles have yet to make themselves available.

Will NJ mobile casinos show video poker games more love? Hopefully, but not necessarily, as most operators revolve their mobile sites around slots.

How to play video poker

A game of video poker starts with players deciding the coin denomination. Most sites start at the $.05 denomination. The limits can go as high as $5. The best return is at five coins per hand.

The best action is to play five coins per hand. This is because the payout ratio on a royal flush is usually over three times higher when betting five coins as opposed to four or less. This can add about 1.5 percent to the total return of the video poker machine. This is why it is important to play the denomination that you can most afford to play five coins on.

Once the denomination and number of coins are chosen, click the deal button and the game will deal five cards. The player decides which buttons to keep by clicking the cards with the mouse pointer or touching the screen on a tablet.

Click the draw button to see what cards replace the discards. This hand is then graded and paid based on the pay table listed.

Types of video poker

Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better is the most common video poker game. All New Jersey sites offer it. All of the “Bonus Poker” games are drawn on the same concept. The minimum hand to win is a pair of jacks.

The pay table is as follows:

• Royal Flush: 800
• Straight Flush: 50
• Four of a Kind: 25
• Full House: 9
• Flush: 6
• Straight: 4
• Three of a Kind: 3
• Two Pair: 2
• Pair of Jacks or Better: 1

888 is the only site that does not offer this pay table. It pays 8 on a full house and 5 on a flush. Jacks or Better is also the only video poker game spread by 888. All other sites offer the games described below.

Bonus Poker

Bonus Poker pays the same as Jacks or Better with a few exceptions.

• Four Aces: 80
• Four 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s: 40
• Full House: 8
• Flush: 5

Double Bonus Poker

This game drops two pair down to even money and loads the top hands.

• Royal Flush: 800
• Straight Flush: 50
• Four Aces: 160
• Four 2’s, 3’s or 4’s: 80
• Other Quads: 50
• Full House: 9
• Flush: 7
• Straight: 5
• Three of a Kind: 3
• Two Pair: 1
• Jacks or Better: 1

Double Double Bonus

Double Double Bonus has the same pay table as Double Bonus except that four aces with a 2, 3, or 4 kicker pays 400 and four 2’s, 3’s or 4’s with an ace, 2, 3, or 4 kicker pays 160.

Video Poker Casino Guide

Deuces Wild

Twos are wild in Deuces Wild. The lowest paying hand is three of a kind. A common pay table is:

• Royal Flush: 800
• Four Deuces: 200
• Wild Royal Flush: 25
• Five of a Kind: 15
• Straight Flush: 9
• Four of a Kind: 4
• Full House: 4
• Flush: 3
• Straight: 2
• Three of a Kind: 1

Avoid pay tables where Wild Royal Flushes pay 20, and Five of a Kinds 12, even if Straight Flushes pay 10. The return on these games is lower than 98 percent.

Joker Poker

Joker Poker has one wild card. The minimum winning hand is a pair of kings. The pay table is:

Video Poker Casino

• Royal Flush: 800
• Five of a Kind: 200
• Wild Royal Flush: 100
• Straight Flush: 50
• Four of a Kind: 18
• Full House: 7
• Flush: 5
• Straight: 3
• Three of a Kind: 2
• Two Pair: 1
• Pair of Kings or Aces: 1

Guides to games at NJ online casinos

You can find video poker games to play at 13 different casinos in Arizona.

But many of the casinos in Arizona don’t offer video poker variations that
educated VP players want to play. The payback percentages are too low.

Here at GamblingSites.org, we encourage our readers to stick with video poker
variations with a 99% or higher return to player. Of course, you’ll need to
master the correct strategy for these games to achieve that theoretical return.

Below, we’ve listed the 13 casinos in Arizona with the most prominent video
poker presence. Some of these casinos don’t offer any games worth playing, but a
few of them have some interesting offerings. We cover all the VP options in AZ
in detail below:

Arizona Casinos with Video Poker

We were easily able to find information about video poker at the following
casinos in Arizona:

1. Bucky’s, Prescott, AZ
2. Casino Arizona 101 & Indian Bend,
   Scottsdale, AZ
3. Casino Arizona 101 & McKellips,
   Scottsdale, AZ
4. Casino Del Sol, Tucson, AZ
5. Cliff Castle, Camp Verde, AZ
6. Desert Diamond Casino Sahuarita,
   Sahuarita, AZ
7. Desert Diamond Casino Tucson,
   Tucson, AZ
8. Fort McDowell, Fountain Hills, AZ
9. Harrah’s Ak-Chin, Maricopa, AZ
10. Hon-Dah, Pinetop, AZ
11. Mazatzal, Payson, AZ
12. Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, Flagstaff, AZ
13. Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, AZ

Several of those properties have literally nothing worth playing. When we say
a video poker game isn’t worth playing, we mean that the pay tables are so tight
that you’re better off playing somewhere else. We look for 99% or better payback
percentages, but we’ll settle for something in the high 98% range.

These casinos don’t have any video poker games that qualify:

1. Bucky’s, Prescott, A
2. Casino Arizona 101 & Indian Bend,
   Scottsdale, AZ
3. Casino Arizona 101 & McKellips,
   Scottsdale, AZ
4. Cliff Castle, Camp Verde, AZ
5. Desert Diamond Casino Sahuarita,
   Sahuarita, AZ
6. Desert Diamond Casino Tucson,
   Tucson, AZ

This does, however, leave 7 casinos in the state with video poker games worth
writing about and (better) playing. Here’s a breakdown by casino:

Casino del Sol, Tucson, AZ

The only video poker games worth playing at the Casino del Sol are available
for $1, so you’re looking at $5 per hand if you bet max coin. (You should always
be betting max coin, of course.)

Our 2 favorite games at Casino del Sol are Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild.

Video Poker Casino Edge

The Jacks or Better games are available with the 9/6 pay table, which has a
99.54% theoretical return. (This assumes, of course, that you play with almost
correct strategy.)

The Deuces Wild games are the “not so ugly” variety, with a theoretical
return of 99.73%. The strategy for Deuces Wild varies wildly from Jacks or
Better, but the extra 0.2% return is worth the effort of learning it.

We also like the Bonus Poker game with the 99.11% payback percentage. Failing
that, you could also try the Double Double Bonus Poker game with a 98.98%
payback percentage. It comes close enough to our 99% target that we often
include it as a playable option.

You’ll find a half dozen of each machine near the high limit rooms.

Fort McDowell, Fountain Hills, AZ

Fort McDowell has multiple good video poker games to choose from. Our
favorite here is the full pay Jacks or Better game with its 99.54% payback
percentage. It’s only available in the $1 denomination, but most people know the
strategy for this game already. You’ll find these games right in the middle of
the casino.

The property also offers “not so ugly” Deuces Wild, which is easy to play
correctly and which also offers an even better payback percentage than Jacks or
Better, at 99.73%. These games are available for a quarter or a dollar, so if
you’re a low roller, the Deuces Wild game is probably a better fit for you.

This is not even the best Deuces Wild game, though. Fort McDowell also offers
DW44, which is a pay table with a theoretical return of 99.96%. This version of
Deuces Wild is found near the Lucky 7 Saloon.

But they offer even better games than this, with higher theoretical returns.
Their Double Double Bonus offers a theoretical return of 99.96%, and it’s
available for 25 cents or a dollar. Expect subtle strategy differences, though.
You should learn the correct strategy, or you’re better off playing a game with
a lower theoretical return that you can play correctly. They also have the
inferior-but-still-good pay table with the 98.98% return. You’ll find the Double
Double Bonus games near the New York Deli.

Unusual games like Super Aces are also available. This pay table offers a
99.94% payback percentage with correct strategy. It’s only available in a
quarter denomination, though. You’ll find it near the buffet.

Their version of Double Bonus Deuces Wild also has a 99.81% payback
percentage when played correctly.

They also have Triple Bonus Plus with a theoretical return of 99.8% and
Triple Double Bonus with a 99.58% return. These are located in the center of the
casino.

You have lots of choices, most of them at 25 cents or a dollar. They don’t
really offer any top-notch game variations for more than a dollar, though.
Still, props to Fort McDowell for having such a wide variety of games with such
excellent pay tables.

Harrah’s Ak-Chin, Maricopa, AZ

Harrah’s Ak-Chin only has a handful of games worth mentioning:

They offer 99.11% Double Bonus, but only if you’re playing for $5, which
means $25 max coin. This is the best game in the house, but it’s probably only
appropriate if you’re a reasonably high roller.

They also have a version of Deuces Wild called “LV Airport/Illinois”. This
pay table offers a 98.91% payback percentage if you play correctly. Unless
you’re a high roller, this is the only reasonable choice in the casino. It’s
available for $1, which means $5 per hand when you play max coin.

They do not offer full pay Jacks or Better, but they do have a $5 Jacks or
Better game with a 98.45% payback percentage.

Most of these games are in the video poker room, although the Deuces Wild
game can be found near the front door.

Hon-Dah, Pinetop, AZ

The video poker offerings at Hon-Dah are weak but not awful. They have 2
games worth playing here:

1. 98.45% Jacks or Better
2. 98.01% Bonus Poker

Both these games are available in the following denominations: 25 cents, 50
cents, and $1. You can find them in the “More Slots” room located across from
the bar.

Mazatzal, Payson, AZ

The only playable video poker games in Mazatzal are located near the
restaurant there, The Grille. And there are only 3 games worth considering:

1. 2 Pair Joker Wild is the best
   game available, with a payback percentage of 99.92%. It’s available in $1
   and $5 denominations. Keep in mind that the expected return is based on your
   ability to play with the correct strategy. This is not the most common
   variation, so you might make some mistakes and see a lower expected return.
2. Double Bonus with a 99.11%
   payback percentage is the 2nd best game available. It’s available for the
   same stakes in roughly the same location of the casino. Double Bonus with a 99.11%
   payback percentage is the 2nd best game available. It’s available for the
   same stakes in roughly the same location of the casino.
3. Double Double Bonus with a 98.98%
   expected return is also available for the same stakes in the same location.

We should also point out that the casino only has a couple of each of these
games available.

Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort, Flagstaff, AZ

Twin Arrows Navajao Casino Resort has a nice variety of games with good pay
tables.

The Triple Triple Bonus games near the main entrance are the best deal in the
casino. The expected return on these games is 99.75%. They have 10 of these
games with a sign near them that reads “over 100% payback”. They’re only
available in the 25 cent denomination.

They also offer “not so ugly” Deuces Wild, which you already know has a
99.73% payback percentage. These are located in the same area near the entrance
as the Triple Triple Bonus games. Some of these games offer progressive
jackpots, too. These are also 25 cent machines.

In the same location, you’ll find progressive Jacks or Better games, which
have a 99.54% payback percentage which goes up as the progressive jackpot goes
up. These are also in the “over 100% payback” section. They have 10 machines,
all of which are available in 25 cent denominations only.

Bonus Poker with a 99.17% payback percentage is also available-same location,
same stakes.

Double Double Bonus Poker with a 98.98% payback percentage is also available,
but it should probably be your last choice, since you have so many other
attractive options at hand.

Casino Video Poker Machines

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, AZ

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino is like the Hon-Dah Casino-it offers some
playable options, but there are way better options in the state.

They offer 2 video poker games worth playing, but they have plenty of those
machines available.

The first is Double Double Bonus with a 98.98% payback percentage. It’s
available for $1, $2, or $5.

If you’re a lower roller, you’ll probably prefer the Double Bonus games, even
though they have a lower theoretical return. They’re available for 25 cents and
have an expected return of 98.01%.

Like we said, nothing to write home about, but not awful, either.

Conclusion

Twin Arrows Casino Resort clearly offers the largest selection of excellent
video poker pay tables in Arizona, but they only offer these games in 25 cent
denominations. They’re fun, but only if you’re not wanting to play for large
stakes.

Fort McDowell also offers a lot of options with a wider variety of stakes
available. They’re worth checking out, too.

Several casinos offer video poker games so bad we don’t even bother to review
them. Then there’s the bulk of the casinos, which lie somewhere in the middle.

The most important thing is to learn the correct strategy for the game you’re
playing. We suggest starting with Jacks or Better, since that’s the easiest and
most basic game to learn. It’s also easy to find JoB games with a good pay
table.