Bonus Poker is a video poker game of draw poker. It is extremely similar to Jacks-or-Better video poker, and has many identical characteristics. The similarities are also a worthwhile place to start any consideration of
Bonus Poker is a video poker game of draw poker. It is extremely similar to Jacks-or-Better video poker, and has many identical characteristics. The similarities are also a worthwhile place to start any consideration of Bonus Poker in fact. In the basic game of Jacks-or-Better, a high pair, namely a pair of jacks through aces, pays out at even money. Two pairs in the game rewards the player with a payout that is 2 to 1. In other words, a player will win double their money if they land two pairs in this game. These two basic aspects of Jacks-or-Better form the basis for most video poker games.
The Advantages of Bonus Poker
In Bonus Poker the difference is in the four-of-a-kind winning hands. In standard video poker, the payout is the same, normally 25 to 1 for any four of a kind hand. There is no difference whether the cards are aces or fours, the payout is still the same.
In Bonus Poker, there is an additional pay table section devoted to the four-of-a-kind hands as this is the characteristic of this particular video poker variant, that there is a difference between the different four-of-kind hands. Four-of-a-kind hands are known as quad hands in poker terminology, and will be referred to as such because typing four-of-a-kind is really a painful experience. The quad payout differences therefore in Bonus Poker are that the highest is the quad aces, which pays at 80 to 1. Next is the quad two’s, three’s or four’s, all of which pay out at 40 to 1. The rest of the quads, namely quad five’s through quad kings pays out at the regular Jacks-or-Better rate, namely 25 to 1.
Video Poker Scope
The basics of video poker play are five card draw poker. Bonus Poker, as a game, is preferred by many players due to the bonus quad payouts. The bonuses are more effective than just an increase on the pay table, but given the return to player percentages of the game of Bonus Poker, can make a significant difference to a losing playing session which, thanks to the significant increases in bonus pay outs, can easily be turned around and become a break-even or possibly a winning session very quickly.
The Odds on Bonus Poker
Video poker is still a game of poker mathematics in its core, and consequently there will be some negative payouts elsewhere to accommodate the increased quad bonuses. In Bonus Poker the additional quad bonuses are given at the price of losing some payout odds on a full house and on a flush. The standard pay outs on the base-game of Jacks-or-Better is 9 to 1 for a Full House and 6 to 1 for a Flush, and in the best Bonus Poker games they are reduced to 8 to 1 and 5 to 1 respectively.
Nevertheless this is what makes Bonus Poker such a sought after game, because at the odds as listed above, namely 8 to 1 for a Full House and 5 to 1 for a Flush, the game of Bonus Poker is extremely close to the odds for a 9/6 Jacks-or-Better game at 99.17%. The odds for a 9/6 Jacks-or-Better game is a category leader at 99.54%.