Video Draw Poker
Cash Draw Poker video poker creates an interesting twist on basic video poker play. This online-only game offers a special pay table that can be unlocked whenever you’re dealt more than one ace or face card. As you raise your bet, you’ll get more benefits from this special feature of the game.
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It makes sense that video poker is one of the most popular games at online gambling sites. First of all, video poker in any form is a beneficial game for gamblers. Many of the best elements of other casino games are included in video poker, while it includes many special characteristics that draw in gamblers.
On top of that, video poker is a perfect game to play online. There’s no difference between playing the game in a casino or on a gambling website. You get the same kind of excitement and payback potential.
For that reason, many video poker manufacturers have come up with games that are unique to online play. Instead of just copying the format of popular casino video poker games, they have their own special features and twists. Cash Draw Poker video poker is one of those special online games.
In most ways, it mimics common video poker action, so it won’t send too much of a shock to the system of regular players. You’ll still be trying to make the best possible five-card poker hand, with rare hands paying the most on the pay table. You’ll still have a five-card deal and a draw round to make it happen.
But Cash Draw Poker video poker offers a bonus for players who receive at least two aces or face cards (jacks, queens and kings) on the deal. Anytime that occurs, you’ll get to play with a special pay table. This pay table offers boosted paybacks on winning hands compared to what you would normally get.
The more aces and face cards you get on the deal, the better the special pay table will be. Since aces and face cards tend to be valuable in video poker anyway, you ‘ll be glad to see them when playing Cash Draw Poker video poker. You can see your winnings take an immediate jump, even with a hand that’s relatively easy to make.
More good news about Cash Draw Poker video poker is the fact that you don’t have to bet extra for the special feature. Most video poker games require a bet higher than the normal max bet of five coins to enact any extras. You’ll be incentivized to make the max bet, however, since that’s where you’ll get the most benefit from the special feature.
But the fact that you’re getting this feature for free in Cash Draw Poker video poker means that you have to pay for it somewhere else. In this case, it comes on the normal pay tables. They’re a bit weaker than what you could expect from a typical draw poker video poker variation.
We’ll tell you everything you need to know about Cash Draw Poker video poker. We’ll explain how to play basic video poker and discuss how the twist in this game affects play. Finally, we’ll look into how to play the game with ideal strategy while also talking about what you can expect from the game in terms of payback percentage.
The Advantages of Video Poker
Have you ever played video poker before? Maybe you’ve taken a chance at playing a few hands of it in a casino. Or maybe you’ve even tried an online version of the game such as Cash Draw Poker video poker.
In any case, you might not have thought too much about the game itself. If you did, it’s possible you compared it to slot machines, since they’re both one-person games and they’re usually found in the same portion of the casino.
It turns out that you might be underestimating how excellent video poker can be for you. There are indeed elements of it that are like slot machines. But there are also aspects of it that resemble table games.
In fact, video poker provides the best of both worlds for gamblers. You get all of the good stuff without any of the stuff that drives some players crazy. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages you’ll enjoy when playing video poker.
- You’ll play video poker all by yourself. No interruptions from other gamblers or casino employees. And it also means the ability to play at your own pace and with absolute privacy.
- You’ll have a great of variety of video poker games at your fingertips. Whether you’re in the casino or on a gambling site, there are hundreds of options for you. That means that you can choose the game that is absolutely right in terms of all of the factors that are important to you.
- You’ll learn to play video poker much faster than other casino games. Once you’ve played a few hands of video poker, you’ll have it down solid. That’s the case whether you just learned to play or have a great background in poker.
- You’ll have an impact on whether you win or lose in video poker. That’s the biggest difference between video poker and slot machines, which leave you no chance to impact play. Getting a chance to exert some strategy on the game is a real draw for video poker players who like a little bit of a challenge.
- You’ll know what you’re getting from video poker. Playing card probability will let you know about the chance you have of making a winning hand, while the pay tables will tell you what you’ll make from your winning hands. There is nothing hidden from you.
- You’ll do pretty well in terms of payback when playing video poker. On average, video poker is one of the highest-paying casino games that you can play. That’s important if you’re looking at the bottom line when choosing your gambling options.
- You’ll be able to play video poker without missing anything. We mentioned this above, but it’s important to stress it, because many casino games can’t say the same. This is especially the case with table games, which often don’t translate well to the online realm.
These advantages are really the province of all video poker games, and Cash Draw Poker video poker certainly qualifies. Before we can talk about how that game stands out, it’s a good idea to get a refreshed on how video poker works in its most basic form.
How to Play Video Poker
Step 1: Create Your Bankroll
The bankroll is a necessity in video poker so that you can make wagers and have a place for your winnings to collect. Online players will create their bankroll by getting an account started and funding that account by credit card, cryptocurrency or other accepted methods. Players in casinos simply have to insert money into a machine.
The money in your bankroll will be transformed into units known as coins, or credits. These units will be equal to the denomination that you’re playing at the time. For example, five credits on a 25-cent video poker game equals $1.25 (5 times .25).
Step 2: Place Your Bet
Betting is actually part of video poker strategy. The correct way to bet is to wager the maximum amount, also known as the max bet, on every hand. This is especially true with Cash Draw Poker video poker, which provides many incentives to make the max bet.
You’ll be able to choose between one and five credits for the size of your bet, in increments of one credit. And you can change up your bet on every hand if you want. But you’ll hurt your payback potential by not making the max bet.
First of all, you’ll receive the highest payback ratio on the royal flush with the max bet. At one through four coins wagered, the royal flush pays 250 to 1. But that payback for the royal flush jumps to 800 to 1 when you bet five coins.
In addition, the payback on the special pay tables that can be activated when playing Cash Draw Poker video poker is at its highest when you make the max bet. If you feel like the max bet is too expensive, you should try to lower your denomination. That will allow you to get the best payback percentage while easing the burden on your budget.
Step 3: Play a Hand
A hand of video poker plays out much like a hand of the card game known as Five-Card Draw. You get five cards on the deal and then decide which of those cards you want to keep. The ones you don’t want will be replaced by others from the deck for your final five-card hand.
Since Five-Card Draw is a game for multiple players, there are also betting rounds included. And, to win, the hand, you either have to form the best hand or get other players to fold their hands.
Video poker is a much simpler process. Your five cards at the end of the hand just have to form one of the winning combinations listed on the pay table. Here are the winning hands you’ll be trying to achieve when playing Cash Draw Poker video poker:
Video Draw Poker
- Pair of jacks or better
- Two pair
- Three of a kind
- Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
- Flush (five cards of same suit)
- Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand)
- Four of a kind
- Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
- Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)
On this list, the hands at the top are ones that will appear relatively often during gameplay. They also pay the least. The hands at the bottom of the list pay very well but are rarely seen during gameplay.
That little dichotomy is at the heart of all video poker strategy. You have to determine when it’s worthwhile to go for a high-paying hand that might take a lot of luck to achieve. And you also have to know when it’s better to play it safer and shoot for the lower-paying hands as a way of sustaining your bankroll.
When you make your wager and signal the deal, you’ll see five cards appear on the game screen. These will come from a simulated deck made up of the same 52 cards you’d find in a standard deck. Your chance of receiving any of these cards are completely random, and that randomness stays in place when you get to the draw.
It’s important to remember that to prevent you from making poor decisions on your video poker hand. Don’t make your selections based on what has happened on previous hands. That will have no impact on what happens going forward, since a random number generator inside the software will keep that from happening.
You’ll have to decide which of the five cards you receive on the deal are worth holding and being part of your final hand, if any. The cards you don’t want to hold you can discard. On the draw, you get fresh cards from the deck to replace the discarded ones.
Remember that the draw deck will contain 47 cards. After all, the five cards from the deal will have been removed.
Sample Video Poker Hand
Let’s take a look now at a sample hand to see how this process works. Imagine that you receive the following five cards on the deal:
In this deal, you don’t have any winning combinations right off the bat. But you do have the “seeds” of several winning combinations, meaning that there are cards you can hold which will require only one or two cards on the draw to get a winner.
For example, you have a pair of threes. If drop the other three cards from your deal, you’d need another three to get three of a kind. And you’d also have the potential for draws to two pair, a full house, or even four of a kind.
There are also four spades in the deal out of the five you received. Just one more spade will give you a flush. In that scenario, you’d have a nine (spades in the deck) out of 47 (cards in the deck) chance of drawing the card you need for the flush.
Finally, the three, five, and six of spades presents an interesting possibility. If you were to hold only those cards, you’d leave open the chance for a straight flush. That’s one of the highest-paying hands in the game.
You have to decide which of these possibilities are best. When we get to the strategy section, we’ll explain how to make these choices.
For now, you just have to know that you’ll click the icons on the screen which correspond to the cards you want to hold. You can then initiate the draw to complete the hand. Then, your discarded cards will be replaced and your hand will be scored, meaning that any winnings will be added to your bankroll.
By repeating the steps above, you can play as many hands of video poker as you want. You can also quit and cash out your winnings, depending on the withdrawal procedures of the gambling site you’re using.
That’s how basic video poker works. Now it’s time to take a look at the way that Cash Draw Poker video poker separates itself slightly from this format.
Playing Cash Draw Poker Video Poker
The first thing you need to know is that there is no alteration of basic game play in Cash Draw Poker video poker. You’ll still be getting five cards and drawing to replaced discarded cards. And you’ll still be trying to make the same winning hands on the pay table.
The difference comes when you are dealt at least two of the following cards:
- Aces
- Kings
- Queens
- Jacks
When you are dealt at least two of these cards, the special feature of Cash Draw Poker video poker comes into play. This is the case whether you get multiple of the same card (a pair of aces) or multiple separate cards that qualify (an ace and a queen, for example).
These cards will open up a special pay table for that specific hand. The pay table is only in place for that hand and you’ll see it highlighted on top of the screen. Once the hand is over, you’ll go back to the basic pay table unless you again receive multiple qualifying cards.
You don’t need to hold the qualifying cards to still earn the feature. Obviously, you would still need to form a winning combination on the draw to get any benefit from the special feature.
To understand how all this works, we first need to take a look at the basic Cash Draw Poker video poker pay table.
Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four of a kind | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
Full house | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Two pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
These pay tables are then separated depending on how much you bet. A separate one will show up depending on the size of your bet that also takes into account the special feature. Here’s what the Cash Draw Poker video poker pay table looks like when you wager the max bet of five coins.
Ace and Face Cards/Hands | 0-1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
Straight flush | 250 | 300 | 400 | 500 | 750 |
Four of a kind | 200 | 250 | 300 | 375 | 500 |
Full house | 40 | 50 | 55 | 65 | 80 |
Flush | 25 | 30 | 40 | 55 | 65 |
Straight | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 50 |
Three of a kind | 10 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 40 |
Two pairs | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
Jacks or better | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
This pay table looks a little different because the top numbers refer to the number of aces, kings, queens, and jacks that you might receive, instead of the coins you bet. You’ll see that when you get zero or one of these cards, the payout totals are the same for the five-coin column in the basic Cash Draw Poker video poker pay table.
But once you start achieving the multiple aces and faces on the deal, you’ll see that the totals start to rise. And keep in mind that there’s no extra net needed to reach those totals. Your bet would remain at the five-coin level.
Let’s take a look at how this Cash Draw Poker video poker special feature works in action. Imagine receiving the following deal:
You can see that you’ve received three of the qualifying cards here for the Cash Draw Poker video poker special twist. That means you’d refer to the column that says “3” to see what your winnings might be.
At that point, you’d have to decide about holds and discards for the hand just as always. In this case, your best strategic play would be to hold the pair of fours. And, as we said above, you can discard the three qualifying cards without losing the special twist on the game.
Let’s take a look at how the draw might turn out.
You received a very beneficial draw which left you with a full house. Look at the row for full house payback and connect it to the column for three aces and faces. The number 55 is waiting there.
You’re looking at a 55-coin payback for a five-coin wager, which is a 50-coin profit. If you had achieved a full house without the qualifying cards and the bonus, your payback would have only been 40 coins. That gives you an example of how the Cash Draw Poker video poker special twist works in your favor.
Keep in mind that the example above is for the five-coin wager. The special pay tables for one through four coins bet would return different amounts than the five-coin wager. As always, you do better with the max bet.
Remember, there is no guarantee that you’ll form a winning hand with the bonus in action. As a result, game play in Cash Draw Poker video poker leans to the volatile side, which means you could be in for wild swings between winning and losing.
The basic pay table for Cash Draw Poker video poker also feeds into the volatility level. Let’s take a look at why that’s the case.
Comparing Video Poker Pay Tables
Pay tables are crucial pieces of information for video poker players. And it goes beyond just knowing how much each winning hand pays. Knowing what’s on the pay table will also help you figure out the proper strategy to take when playing the game (more on that in the strategy section below).
In the case of Cash Draw Poker video poker, you have a game that offers you a special feature without requiring an extra bet to obtain it. That’s relatively rare in the world of video poker. But the game makers wouldn’t put such a twist in there without finding a way to atone for it.
They do this by adjusting the basic pay table for Cash Draw Poker video poker. This is the one that shows what you’ll get for one through five coins wagered, assuming you don’t get the multiple aces and faces you need to set the special pay tables into motion.
Let’s take another look at that pay table.
Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four of a kind | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
Full house | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Two pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Now, for some context, let’s take a look at the pay table for Jacks or Better, which is the most popular of all video poker variations, both online and in casinos. In this case, we’re looking at the full-pay, or highest-paying, version of Jacks or Better.
Jacks or Better Pay Table
Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four of a kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Two pairs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Comparing the two pay tables reveals some very important differences. On the one hand, the Cash Draw Poker video poker pay table offers a little higher payback on the four of a kind pay table. But, other than that, all of the advantages go to the Jacks or Better game.
For starters, the Jacks or Better pay table offers more payback on the full house and flush hands. These mid-priced hands can make a big difference for players in terms of boosting their bankroll.
But even more crucial here are the discrepancies in payback for three of a kind and two pair. These hands are common in video poker, showing up with semi-regularity. The payback you get from these hands will help to boost your bankroll while you’re waiting for bigger, high-paying hands to show up.
On the Jacks or Better pay table, the three of a kind pays 3 to 1 and the two pair pays 2 to 1. But the Cash Draw Poker video poker offers just 2 to 1 payback for three of a kind and only 1 to 1, or even money, for the two pair.
Those discounts will make it harder for you to keep your bankroll at a steady level. They’ll also force you to raise your starting bankroll a bit. Otherwise, you run a bigger risk of losing all your money before you can get some of those winning hands.
Normally, games like Cash Draw Poker video poker which offer those low payback totals for two pair and three of a kind compensate by boosting four of a kind payback amounts much higher than what’s the case here. You’ll see that as a common characteristic of some of the more aggressive Bonus pay tables.
Of course, those games don’t include the special bonus that Cash Draw Poker video poker does. Getting winnings on those special pay tables, even if it doesn’t happen that often, will help to offset the weaker pay table.
Again, this all feeds into the volatility of Cash Draw Poker video poker. You might have longer stretches of losing hands playing this game, which will stress your bankroll. But your opportunities for jackpot-style payback will rise as well.
Payback Percentage for Cash Draw Poker Video Poker
We’ve talked about the volatility for Cash Draw Poker video poker. But long-term video poker players will be more interested in knowing about the payback percentage for the game. The payback percentage will give you a good indication about what your results will be on a certain game once you’ve played it often enough over a long period of time.
Payback percentage is computed by combining the amounts on the pay tables with the probabilities you have of making those hands. With a game like Cash Draw Poker video poker, the special feature also is taken into account.
If you look at the help screen of Cash Draw Poker video poker, you’ll see the graphic “RTP = 96.95 %.” “RTP” stands for “return to player,” which is another way of labelling payback percentage.
When you play an average session of Cash Draw Poker video poker, your expected payback is 96.95%. You’re expected to lose 3.05% of your bankroll during that session. That 3.05% is the house edge.
Of course, this is just an average amount. In a short session with a small statistical sample size, you might do much better or much worse than that percentage playing Cash Draw Poker video poker. But once you played the game enough over multiple sessions and thousands and thousands of hands, you can expect your results to resemble the payback percentage.
In terms of online video poker variations, 96.95% is a solid enough number. It will probably be much better than any online slot machine you might find.
But in terms of other video poker games, it’s lacking a little bit. For example, the Jacks or Better pay table that we listed will return 99.54%.
Usually, 99% is the goal for serious video poker players in terms of payback percentage. When the expected payback is that high, you have a chance of making up for expected losses through perks offered by gambling websites or casinos. You could even hope to make a profit playing long-term.
You probably won’t have that chance with Cash Draw Poker video poker, as the payback is too low. But that doesn’t mean that you should ignore it as an option.
If you’re someone who wants to earn a better chance at potential jackpots at the higher risk of losing your bankroll, Cash Draw Poker video poker can certainly fill that bill. The special pay tables will definitely provide you with that opportunity if you can hit one of the higher-paying hands after you’ve been dealt several aces or face cards.
Strategy for Cash Draw Poker Video Poker
Learning ideal strategy for video poker is the only way you can hope to maximize your payback potential. Every incorrect play you make on Cash Draw Poker video poker will lower your expected payback. That’s money out of your pocket.
You might be able to get away with the wrong selections about what to hold and discard in the short term. Luck on the draw will help you.
But the more you play, the more mathematical mistakes will hurt you. In every deal, there are 32 possible combinations of holds and discards from which you can choose. Only one of those combinations is correct in terms of the probability math, and that’s what you have to try to figure out for every possible deal.
The good news is that the special feature of Cash Draw Poker video poker doesn’t really add to that strategic burden. Even though the pay table changes with each ace and face card you get on the deal, it does so in relatively proportionate form.
In other words, you don’t have to learn a specific strategy for two qualifying cards, one for three qualifying cards, and so on. Just learn the strategy tailored to the totals on the pay table and you’ll be fine.
Tips for Learning Strategy
Many beginning video poker players make the mistake of trying to learn strategy for a specific game like Cash Draw Poker video poker on their own. They think they’ll be able to figure it out after playing the game for a while.
The problem is that you make mistakes based on results that don’t tell the whole story. For example, you might play a certain deal incorrectly based on the math. If you get lucky on the draw, you could end up forming a winning combination anyway.
That win could reinforce your incorrect notion. As a result, you might go on playing deals like the first one in the same incorrect way over and over, doing damage to your payback in the process.
Figuring out the mathematically correct play on the fly isn’t really an option either. That math is pretty involved, especially when you’re trying to churn through hands of video poker at a fast pace. You’re bound to both slow down your play and make the mistakes as well.
What you should do to learn strategy for Cash Draw Poker video poker is to get some help. There are resources out there who can tell you the correct plays on every deal and provide you with the best tips and advice for playing video poker. These teaching methods have already done the math in every situation, allowing you to reap the benefits.
Here are two methods of video poker instruction that should allow you to achieve perfect play in Cash Draw Poker video poker.
Video Poker Training Software
It’s important that you make sure the software is set up to teach you based on the specific pay table totals for Cash Draw Poker video poker. If not, you could end up getting incorrect information. Luckily, most training software is set up so that you can input all the pertinent data.
Once you’ve done that, you can then set about learning the right plays. You’ll play sample hands of Cash Draw Poker video poker and be faced with decisions about what to hold and discard. The software will push you in the right direction so that each correct play becomes second nature.
Strategy Charts
In the case of Cash Draw Poker video poker, the game might be rare enough that there aren’t strategy charts dedicated to it on the internet. But you might get away with a Jacks or Better strategy chart, since the basic structure of the pay tables are the same. You could also use a video poker calculator to see how the specific pay table alters the strategy.
Once you have a chart in place, you need to memorize it. A video poker strategy chart ranks all possible card combinations in terms of their value when you receive them on the deal. You’ll hold the most valuable combination in your current hand.
Cash Draw Poker Video Poker Pros and Cons
Pros of Cash Draw Poker- Bonus Poker pay tables can really boost your winnings for a single hand
- No extra strategy required for the special feature
- No extra bet is necessary to enable the pay tables with higher payback
- Basic pay table features discounted payback on many winning hands
- Bankroll could suffer because of poop payback for common hands
- Overall payback percentage won’t ensure a long-term profit
Cash Draw Poker Video Poker Conclusion
Cash Draw Poker video poker, which can be found at many top online casino gambling sites, will make your eyes light up when you see aces and face cards on the deal. If you can follow that up with a nice winning hand, your winnings could really spike. You just have to decide if you can handle the volatility to reach that point.
Have you ever been dealt a hand in video poker that you wish you could play over and over again? Well, with Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you sort of have that opportunity. If you are dealt three of a kind, the excitement begins, and your winnings can start to multiply.
Many video poker games are somewhat vanilla in their approach. These games, like Jacks or Better, stick to mimicking the basics of Five-Card Draw poker as you might play it in your home. Only instead of playing against other players, you are simply trying to make winning hands that pay off according to the machine’s pay table.
In some cases, video poker manufacturers tried to spice up gameplay by changing things around a bit. For example, Bonus poker games alter the pay tables to try and allow for more big payouts on winning hands. Meanwhile, wild card games like Deuces Wild and Joker Poker make it easier to achieve rare hands by including wild cards that can be changed into any other card in the deck.
But recently, the trend in video poker has been for the game to be altered with some sort of twist in the way the game is played. And Extra Draw Frenzy video poker falls into this category. By adding one coin to the maximum bet per hand, a player can activate the Extra Draw Frenzy portion of the game.
The feature comes into play whenever a player is dealt three of a kind. Since Extra Draw Frenzy video poker is played in multiple play mode, the player will already have three, five, or ten hands with these three cards in the hand that they can improve on the draw. But the feature gives them even more draws, with the number of draws depending on how many hands they are playing and a little bit of luck.
As a result, the chances of improving upon that excellent deal are greatly improved. And even if you don’t improve the extra hands on the draw, you can benefit from having more winning hands that are essentially bonuses. You can imagine how the winnings can exponentially add up.
Of course, the extra coin that you have to bet each hand to activate the extra draw feature can add up if those three of a kind hands don’t come your way. That’s why you have to be prepared for the possibility of your bankroll dwindling quickly while playing this game. As a result, it might not be for everyone, especially those people who prefer steadier play.
In the following article, you’ll learn all about the ins and outs of Extra Draw Frenzy video poker. We’ll show you how to play the basic form of video poker and how the extra draw twist is added to multiple play. Finally, we’ll go over pay tables, payback percentages, and strategy for playing this exciting variation on video poker.
How to Play Video Poker
Before you get into playing Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you first have to know the actual mechanics of playing video poker. Luckily, it is an easy game to learn even for beginners. And, once you learn, you’ll quickly love all of the advantages that video poker holds over other games that you can find in the casino or on your favorite gambling websites.
For example, video poker holds an edge over slot machines in that it allows you the chance to have strategy impact gameplay. You also know, through the mathematical probabilities of making certain winning hands and pay tables, about what you can expect from each video poker game that you play, which isn’t the case with slot machines. And video poker machines also tend to pay back much more than the average slot machine.
On top of that, video poker has the edge over table games in that they can be played as a solo experience. No need for you to be involved with other casino patrons or employees. You can simply settle at the machine, play at your own pace, and enjoy the game without any outside distractions.
Now that you know why you should be playing video poker, let’s show you how. Here is a quick, step-by-step tutorial:
- Establish a Bankroll: You do this by inserting money or a redemption ticket into the machine in the casino. If you are playing online, you would have to either have or establish an account with the website offering video poker. Your bankroll will be rendered in credits, with each credit, or coin, equal to the denomination of the machine you are playing, such as a quarter.
- Make Your Bet: With most video poker games, you would have the chance to bet between one and five credits. In the case of Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you can bet a sixth coin to activate the special feature of extra draws. Since this option increases your payback on average, it is recommended that you bet the six coins whenever possible.
- Get the Deal: By pressing “Deal,” you will receive five cards, just as if you were playing Five-Card Draw poker at home with a 52-card deck. Your goal is to make a winning hand out of these cards, as determined by the pay table of the machine. In most cases, your deal will need to be improved for you to have a winner.
- Choose Your Holds and Discards: Your one chance to improve your hand comes during the draw. You press the “hold” buttons for which cards, if any, you want to keep, meaning the other cards in your hand will be discarded. The discarded cards will be replaced by other cards from the same deck from which you were originally dealt, meaning that you can’t again get the same cards you were dealt.
- Winning or Losing: Once the draw occurs, the hand is over. The machine will determine if your hand is a winner and will add credits accordingly. Any bets lost will already have been conducted at the outset of the hand.
- Playing Again or Quitting: You can follow the above steps to continue playing as long as you have some credits remaining. Or you can cash out and get a redemption ticket from the machine. If you run out of credits, you either have to quit or replenish the bankroll.
Once you know these steps, you’ll have a good basis for just about any type of video poker. And, as you’ll see with Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you won’t have to learn anything new in terms of strategy or how to play the game. But once the game starts, you’ll see an extra draw twist that will enliven gameplay and really increase your chances of big wins.
The Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker Twist
The first thing you need to know about Extra Draw Frenzy video poker is that it must be played in multiple play mode. Multiple play allows you to take a single deal and play it over multiple hands. It also requires you to make a bet for each of these draws.
In the case of Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you can play three, five, or ten hands at a time. For each of those hands, you can bet between one and six coins. If you bet one through five coins, gameplay will proceed as normal without the extra feature.
First let’s examine how basic multiple play works, without the feature. Let’s say you’ve decided to play the Jacks or Better version of Extra Draw Frenzy video poker (more on the different versions when we get to the pay table). And you’ve decided to play three hands at a time with five coins wagered for each.
That means that you have wagered, all totaled, fifteen coins for this deal which will encompass three hands. You are then dealt five cards. Let’s say you receive the following deal:
Your decision on what to hold and what to discard will be the same for all three of your hands. Let’s say that you decide to hold on to the four hearts and go for a flush. You would then receive three different draws based on this decision.
For example, you might receive:
On the first hand, you ended up with a pair of queens. The second hand gave you the flush that you were seeking. Only on the third hand did you fail to improve.
As a result, you ended up with the following payouts:
- Hand 1: 5 coins
- Hand 2: 30 coins
- Hand 3: 0 coins
You ended up with a payout of 35 coins total. Remember that your original bet was 15 coins. That means that you came away with a profit of 20 coins.
Now let’s take a look at how Extra Draw Frenzy video poker works when you add in the extra feature of the game. To do that, you have to make a bet of six coins, which is one more than the usual maximum. This bet will not alter the pay tables whatsoever, so you are essentially betting an extra coin on each hand for the same payout.
The tradeoff comes in the extra play feature. On most deals, the extra play feature won’t come into play. You would just play out your multiple hands as we showed you above.
But if you should be dealt three of a kind, the extra draws kick in. Keep in mind that this does not include deals of four of a kind or a full house. Even though those hands technically also include three of a kind, they are considered separate and not in the mix for extra draws.
Let’s say that you do bet the extra coin on a Triple Play, Jacks or Better scenario, making for a wager of 18 coins total (6 times 3). And imagine that you receive the following deal:
This is a three of a kind deal, which will activate the extra draw scenario. Keep in mind that you will still get your normal three hands that you initially bet to play. But the machine will also add another few draws. In the case of Jacks or Better in Triple Play, you can receive anywhere from five to nine free draws.
The number of draws is random. Let’s just say that you end up with the minimum three draws. That means that you have the original three that you bet, plus the extra five, for a total of eight.
For each of those eight draws, you would have the three queens in your hand. You might get lucky and improve upon on them in one or more of the draws, perhaps to a full house or four of a kind. Or you might not, in which case you’ll still have three of a kind in eight hands.
The key here is that three of a kind is a paying hand as it is, without any improvement. In the case of Jacks or Better, you get paid off at 3 to 1. Since, as we said before, you still receive the amount on the pay table for five coins played, even though you technically played six coins, you would get 15 coins for each of those hands.
And that includes the hands that you received through the Extra Draw Frenzy video poker twist. Keep in mind that you didn’t really have to wager to get those hands, unless you count the extra coin wager. It’s like you’re getting free winnings.
Playing the hands without the Extra Draw Frenzy video poker twist, you would have bet 15 coins. If you didn’t improve on any on the draws, you would have come out with 15 coins for each, a total of 45. That’s a 30-coin profit, which isn’t bad.
But imagine it with the extra draws thrown in. Your bet was 18 coins. If you did get the seven extra hands, that’s a total of 10 hands, all paying off at 15 coins apiece even without improvement.
That’s a total of 150 coins on an 18-coin wager, which is a profit of 132 coins. To give you some context, a hand of four of a kind, played at five coins on Jacks or Better, only comes in at a profit of 120 coins. For a much easier to achieve hand, you are getting more back.
That’s what makes Extra Draw Frenzy video poker such an exciting game. Of course, the downside is when you go a long time without ending up with three of a kind on the deal. That means that you’re betting six coins a hand without getting anything in return.
On top of that, you’re betting, at minimum, 18 coins per hand. If you were playing five-play Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, it would be 30 coins per deal. At ten hands, it jumps to 60 coins per deal!
That is a heavy toll on a bankroll if you are not getting positive results. And that is why Extra Draw Frenzy video poker is not a game for small-timers. You have to come with a big bankroll if you want to stay in the game.
Otherwise, you have to be extremely fortunate early in gameplay in order to get your bankroll way up there. Barring that, you are likely going to find it hard to keep your bankroll afloat for too long.
Extra Draw Frenzy video poker is a game that is best played for the long haul with significant money, bet over a large amount of time.
Pay Tables for Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker
One of the benefits of Extra Draw Frenzy video poker is that it gives you exposure to many different pay tables. When you play Jacks or Better or Double Double Bonus or whatever machine you might encounter, you are limited to some version of that basic pay table. But most Extra Draw Frenzy machines or online games give you the chance to explore the pay table that you prefer to play.
If you don’t know much about pay tables, suffice it to say that knowledge of them and how they work is very important in terms of playing video poker well. The pay table should show you not only how much to expect from each winning hand, but it should also show you what strategy to use in terms of holding and discarding certain cards.
In addition, pay tables tie directly into payback percentages, which we’ll get to in a bit. For now, let’s take a look at a couple pay tables you might choose to play on an Extra Draw Frenzy video poker machine.
Here, for example, is a pay table for the game known as Jacks or Better. It’s a game where the payouts are directly tied into the potential of receiving each winning hand. The rarer the hand, the higher the payout.
Jacks or Better Pay Table Pay Table
Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four of a kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Two pairs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
As you can see, this pay table shows the hands that pay the player back and how much each pays out. To read it, you simply have to follow the hand over to the coins played. Keep in mind that, in Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you might be playing six coins to activate the feature, but your payout will be reflected in the “5 coins” column.
Looking at this pay table might not mean too much to you if you’ve never seen a different one. With that in mind, let’s bring in a different pay table that you might choose to play on your Extra Draw Frenzy video poker machine. This is for a game known as Double Double Bonus video poker:
Double Double Bonus Pay Table Pay Table
Coins/Hand | 1 Coin | 2 Coins | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1,000 | 4,000 |
Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Four Aces (2/3/4 kicker) | 400 | 800 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 2,000 |
Four 2s/3s/4s (A/2/3/4 kicker) | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
Four Aces (5 through K kicker) | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
Four 2s/3s/4s (5 through K kicker) | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
Four Ks – 5s (A kicker) | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
Four Ks – 5s (2 through K kicker) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
Full House | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
Two pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
One pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
All other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
You can see that is quite a different pay table. It pays much more aggressively for four of a kind hands than Jacks or Better. But Jacks or Better pays better on the low end, specifically the two pair hand that comes up often during gameplay.
Double Double Bonus also includes the concept of kickers, which comes into play in a four of a kind hand. The fifth card in such a hand that isn’t included in the set is considered the kicker. For example, look at the following hand:
In that hand, the three of clubs is the kicker. Kickers can really come into play in Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, since you will have many chances to draw to four of a kind if you get the extra draws from the three of a kind deals.
You wouldn’t play Double Double Bonus the same way you would Jacks or Better. Or at least you shouldn’t. The size of the payouts for each winning hand should dictate your strategy.
In the case of Extra Draw Frenzy, you can choose from the following variations of video poker:
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Poker Deluxe
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
- Triple Double Bonus
The pay tables will be slightly different for each of these. And within each bigger category, you will find pay tables that sometimes have certain payouts that are altered. For example, many Jacks or Better games have payouts slightly less than 9 to 1 for a full house or 6 to 1 for a flush.
The extra draw amounts differ for each game as well. Jacks or Better tends to give out the most, while Double Bonus yields the least. In each case, the more hands that you play in the multiple play, the more extra draw bonus hands you will receive.
Payback Percentages
Each version of each game played within Extra Draw Frenzy video poker also comes with its own payback percentage and pay table. In the case of the Jacks or Better game we listed above, for example, that percentage sits at 99.55 if you play the six coins per hand.
What that means is that a player putting $10,000 into the machine could expect to walk away with, on average, a bankroll of $9,995 once all that money is played. That makes for a $5 loss, which isn’t bad at all. Keep in mind that a $5 loss over all that time playing could conceivably be wiped away and even turned into a profit when you consider all of the bonuses the casino or online website might throw your way for playing.
Each of the games above has a payback percentage attached to them. You can find these by looking online. The higher the percentage, the better the game is for the player in the long haul.
But payback percentage shouldn’t be your only consideration when choosing a game. After all, if you’re only playing for a short time, your outcome will be dictated more by luck than anything else.
When choosing among the games you can play under the Extra Draw Frenzy video poker banner, you should consider what you’re looking to get out of playing the game. For example, if you want a steadier game with fewer ups and downs, you’re better off with Jacks or Better. This is because it pays off the best for the common hands that come up often during gameplay.
By contrast, some of the Bonus games might be for you if you want to come up with a big payout in a short amount of time. Come up with four of a kind, and you can come back with some serious profits quickly. The Extra Draw Frenzy twist adds to that with the chance to earn exponential winnings from the extra winning hands on the three of a kind deals.
Strategy for Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker
To make the most out of your video poker play, you have to try to learn the right play, based on probabilities and payouts, for each possible deal you might receive. This isn’t an easy task for any video poker game. But it is especially hard for Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, where you are essentially able to play just about any variation of video poker with the extra feature added on top.
Remember that making the right choice each and every hand is the only way to make the quoted payback percentage over the long haul. The mistakes you make in terms of what to hold and discard will reduce your payback. Again, this is based on those who play for a long time, as those who play only a short while will have luck dictate the outcome more than anything else.
In the case of Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, you’ve got a game where you would have to learn the right play for many different variations. As we mentioned above, the strategy for Jacks or Better is markedly different than for Double Double Bonus because the payouts are so different. Add in the other possible games, and you would have to know six different sets of strategy in total to play the game perfectly.
The better strategy would be to choose just one of the variations and stick with it. You can find these strategy tips in the sections for these games on this site. You can also use one of the following two methods to get it done:
- Video Poker Training Software: This software lets you play various types of video poker as if you were playing in a casino. You will be alerted each time that you make a mistake during gameplay. In that way, you’ll get the hang of making the right hold and discard for every hand that you play.
- Strategy Charts: Look up these charts on the internet for the game of your choice under the Extra Draw Frenzy video poker banner. These charts rank the possible deals you might receive by the winning combinations within them. When you compare your own hand to the ranked combinations, you can see what the best way to play your hand will be every time.
Pros and Cons of Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker
Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker Pros
- Chance for exponential winnings with three of a kind deals
- Even without improving on the three of a kind, you’re still getting free winnings with each extra hand
- You can sample many different forms of video poker
Video Draw Poker Odds
Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker Cons
- Six coins per hand can be expensive
- Without three of a kind hands, your bankroll will decrease quickly
- Choosing between different video poker variations can be confusing for beginners
Best Free Draw Poker Games
Extra Draw Frenzy Video Poker Conclusion
Video Draw Poker Machine To Play
Extra Draw Frenzy video poker, whether played in a casino or at a top online casino gambling website, brings the thrills whenever you see three of a kind on the deal. More thrills come when you see how many extra draws you get. The question is whether or not those thrills are worth the extra coin that you have to bet on at least three hands at a time, a pricey situation.