Comparing Joker Poker Online Video Poker Variants

Added: August 6, 2015

Australian online casinos powered by Microgaming offer two Joker Poker online video poker games. One is Joker Poker, which is played with a deck of 53 cards, the extra card being a joker. The other is Double Joker Poker, which is played with two jokers in a deck of 54. The jokers in both the online video poker games act as wild cards. If you are a new player, your first impulse may be to play Double Joker Poker thinking that it will offer higher returns. But it is the other way round. The average return for Double Joker Poker is only 98.1% as compared to the average return of 98.6% for Joker Poker. This article will help you understand why this is so.

In the Joker Poker payout table, the lowest ranking poker hand that yields a payout is kings or better. This results in 44% of the hands dealt being winning hands. The Double Joker Poker payout table begins with two pairs. This is to compensate for the extra wild card. As a result only 36% of the cards dealt contribute to winning combinations. There are some material differences in the payouts for the various hand rankings as well, with the payouts for Double Joker Poker being lower. The discussion refers to payouts per coin for five coins wagered. The payout for flush is 4 as compared to 5. The payout for full house is 5 as compared to 7. The payout for four of a kind is 8 as compared to 17. The payout for straight flush is 25 as compared to 50. The payout for five of a kind is 50 instead of 200. The payout for natural royal flush is 800 instead of 1000. The net effect of the fewer winning hand ranking and the lower payouts in Double Joker Poker is that it has a lower average return to player than Joker Poker.

Both these online video poker variants are played in the standard manner. After you place the bet, one hand of five cards is dealt. You can then ask for replacement of any number of cards from this hand as you want to. In order to achieve the returns indicated make sure that you use the optimum strategy for the replacement. Incorrect strategy will result in significantly lower returns. After the indicated cards are replaced the hand is compared with the payout table. If it is a winning hand, then the payout is made. Otherwise the bet is forfeited.