- Software: Microgaming
- Min Bet: 0.25
- Max Bet: 25
- Autoplay: No
- Paylines: 20
- Reels: 5
- Min Coins Per Line: 0.25
- Max Coins Per Line: 5
- Jackpot: 5000 coins
- Bonus Game: No
- Progressive: No
- Wild Symbol: Yes
- Scatter Symbol: No
- Autoplay Option: Yes
- Multiplier: No
- Free Spins: No
- RTP: 98%
Basic Introduction
Joker Poker is one of Microgaming’s simpler video poker games. This title features only the bare necessities as far as graphics go, but it does have a lot of playability, especially if you favour video poker games, over more traditional table poker titles. Even amateurs should be able to quickly pick up the gaming style in Joker Poker. As with all of Microgaming’s video poker games, you aren’t taking on the dealer or any other players directly. Instead, this game is simply about building a winning poker hand. To begin with, players will have 5 cards on the screen. The game will automatically pick the cards which give the player the best chance of a win. However, you can unselect those cards by clicking on them. Select the cards that you think you wish to keep, and hit the draw button to pocket replacement cards for the ones you don’t. Keep in mind that jokers act as wilds cards, which can replace all other cards in this game. After the second hand, your poker hand is complete, and if it matches one on the paytable, you will pocket a win.
Game Rules
Joker Poker is played with 53 cards – there is the standard 52-card deck, in addition to a joker, which is a wild card and can, of course, be used to complete winning combinations. The cards are shuffled before each and every game, so you have a random deal. To make bets, you can use the (+) and (-) control, which incrementally serve to increase or decrease the size or your wager. By clicking “Bet One” you are wagering one unit times the size of your base wager, and when you want to bet the maximum, you just click “Bet Max.”. It’s very, very easy. By clicking the “Deal” button you get things rolling. You get five cards, and then decide which cards to hold by clicking them.
Clicking “Draw” gets you new cards to fill out your hand. But there’s another way to go. There is an option called “AutoPlay,” available when you convert from Regular Mode to Expert Mode, and what this lets you do is to have your hands played out automatically, according to the best mathematical decision that can be made for any given set of circumstances.
When you open the game on your mobile or PC screen you will see that at the bottom of the screen is Microgaming’s wagering control menu. Players can opt to bet anything from a floor of just 1.25 per hand, up to a ceiling of 25.00 per hand in this video poker game.
A lot of video poker games which feature wilds will often make Three of a Kind the lowest paying hand, but not Joker Poker. The lowest paying hand in this video poker game is Kings or Better. Landing Two Pairs, Three of a Kind, Straights, Flushes, and Full Houses, Four of a Kind, Straight Flush or Joker Royal Flush (Royal Flushes which contain one or more jokers) are worth better pay-outs. The top prize in this video poker game is between 750 and 5,000 coins, for winning with a Natural Royal Flush.
Symbols and features
Symbols are the playing cards. When you achieve the desired objective of a winning hand, you actually have a chance to increase your win. That is through the option of “Doubling,” which is another great feature of this game. Doubling lets you choose a face-down card to go up against a dealer’s face-up card. If your card is of a higher value, you win double the amount of your original win. You can keep doubling or decide to collect at any time.
The winning hands in Joker Poker, starting from the highest to the lowest, include the following:
- Natural Royal Flush
- Five of a Kind
- Joker Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straight
- Three of a Kind
- Two Pairs
- Kings or Better
Joker Poker Hand Ranking
- Royal Flush: A hand with five cards of matching suit such as: A, K, Q, J, and 10.
- Straight Flush: Contains five cards of matching suit in sequence.
- Five of a Kind: Consists of a wild card and four cards of same suit.
- Four of a Kind: A hand made up of four cards of the same face value.
- Full House: Any Three of a Kind plus a Pair.
- Flush: A hand with five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
- Straight: A hand with five cards in sequence.
- Three of a Kind: Refers to a hand with three cards of the same face value.
- Two Pair: Two pairs such as two 6s and two Aces.
- One pair: Two cards of the same face value, but only if they are Kings or Aces.
How to win
It is a really basic video poker game that is fun for all to enjoy. The use of wilds and the lowest paying hand being a pair of Kings mean that you are likely to encounter wins fairly often. Because of this, the lowest pay-outs often only see you win your money back, but even that is better than losing.
Dealt hands fall into two categories: Those hands that have a Joker and those that do not. The following strategy will show you what to do when you have a hand with a Joker or without a Joker.
If you are dealt a hand with a Joker:
- Hold Three of a Kind or higher.
- Always keep four cards to a Royal Flush.
- Always keep any four-card Flush and four-card Straight Flush if it includes A, K, or both.
- Keep three cards to Royal Flush.
- Keep paying pairs of High cards (Kings and Aces).
- Keep any three cards to a Straight Flush.
- Hold any four-card Flush without an Ace or a King.
- Hold consecutive four-card Straights.
If you are not dealt any of the above combinations, discard all cards except the Joker. It is important you always keep in mind that the Joker is part of the combination that you are looking for. For instance, two 8s with a Joker is Three of a Kind.
If you are dealt a hand without a Joker:
- Hold four cards to a Royal Flush.
- Keep any three cards to a Royal Flush and four cards to a Straight Flush.
- Keep any three cards to a Straight Flush.
- Keep four cards to any Flush.
- Keep any four-card consecutive Straight.
- Keep cards to a Royal Flush if 1 of the cards is a King or an Ace.
- Keep unsuited Ace and King.
- Keep Ace or King alone.
- Keep two suited Royal Flush cards lower than Ace or King.
If you do not have any of the above combination, discard all cards and draw five new ones.
Jackpot
The biggest jackpot available in this game is as much as 5000 coins (contingent upon the maximum amount of coins wagered, of course), which happens when you get a “Natural Royal Flush,” which is a royal flush that is put together without any help from wild cards.
