Video poker players love their games. They've been devout players, with top games like Jacks or Better, Double Double Bonus Poker, Deuces and Jokers, and Bonus Poker Deluxe.
Video poker players differ from slot players. For example, slots fans are keen to sample bonus games and sizzling-hot spins. But video poker players are discerning and slow to accept and respond to newly released games.
Video poker innovation comes from proprietary systems that use established video poker games as a foundation. Then, these games add various in-game elements such as multipliers and bonuses to render new variants.
Most of the innovation in video poker emanates from International Game Technology, known in the industry as IGT. This company was predicated on video poker, but today it is a premier provider of slot machine games, world-class electronic table games, analytics, and a host of marketing systems, to name but a few.
IGT is a market-leading entity in the United States, and in 2014 the company merged into Italian juggernaut GTECH. Such is the shadow cast over the industry by IGT that it is the pre-eminent video poker games provider and the envy of competitors worldwide. IGT is a veritable monopoly, controlling 95% of video poker machines across the United States, with almost all fresh takes on video poker games, developments, and renditions emanating from IGT.
Video poker variants are not often regarded as instant hits. They don't garner international fame and fortune like newly released slots might. Instead, video poker games are incrementally integrated into casinos, little by little. As a result, they slowly develop a devout following over time, unlike their newly released slots counterparts.
In this discussion of new video poker games, leading iGaming provider IGT includes a combination of newly released video poker games and games that are slowly building up a following in casinos worldwide. While they are not new to slot directors at casinos, they are undoubtedly new games to most casino players.
Rack 'Em and Stack 'Em!
We've all heard the poker expression Rack 'Em and Stack 'Em, but Stack 'Em High was introduced as a new video poker variant last fall. This game provides additional chances for players to hit high-paying 4-Ace or 4-Deuce video poker hands any time players begin with 2 or 3 Aces or 2 or 3 Twos.
Stack 'Em is available to players in two versions – Triple Play or Five Play. For the majority of hands, you typically play 3 or 5 hands. As soon as the initial cards are dealt, the cards you decide to hold are maintained in all 3 or 5 hands.
Next, the remaining deck is cloned, and the video poker hand is played with different draws to the other hands. As a case in point, you might hold Three of a Kind and then have 3 opportunities during the Triple Play Variant or 5 opportunities in the Five Play Variant within which to draw the fourth matching card in the game.
Players can complete Four of a Kind in any number of hands, from zero through all. In traditional IGT video poker games, players can select from multiple options. These include Triple Play, Five Play in Bonus Poker, Double Bonus, Deuces Wild Variants, Double Double Bonus Poker, White Hot Aces, etcetera.
You must make an additional 5-credit bet for each line when you activate the Stack 'Em High feature. During the Triple Play Version, that means a Max Bet of 30 credits in the game – the regular 5 credits for each hand + 5 credits per hand to activate the feature. With Five Play Video Poker Games, the maximum bet is 50 credits.
Whenever you hold a pair of Aces or even three Aces in most games, you'll be dealt additional hands. The number of extra hands you are dealt is dependent on the video poker variant and whether you're playing Triple Play or Five Play video poker.
In Five Play Double Bonus Poker, available in demo mode online through www.videopoker.com, a player holding a pair of Aces yields a stack of 8 hands. But if you're holding 3X Aces, it'll generate a stack comprising 11 hands. That represents abundant opportunities to draw the fourth Ace with an attendant 800-coin payout. If you're fortunate, you might be able to win 2,000 coins when a 2, 3, or even 4 comes with that fourth Ace.
With Deuces Wild and the many variants thereof, the trigger cards are deuces. Aces aren't the trigger cards in this situation. During the demo-play mode variation of the game in Deuces Wild, whenever you hold a pair of Deuces (2s), it will generate a stack of 8 hands. This happens while players are holding 3x Twos to generate a 13-hand stack of cards.
It's ill-advised to hold extra cards along with trigger cards. For example, to activate bonus hands in video poker games with non-wild cards, players must hold 2 or 3 Aces with no kicker cards. Likewise, players must hold the 2 or 3 Deuces with no other cards when playing Deuces.
Similar to the other IGT extra bet video poker games, the RTP on the bonus component of the games is typically as high, if not higher, than the RTP on the base games. Overall, the payback percentages are higher on Stack' Em High than on the equivalent games without any bonus bet. Remember, the additional bet increases the game's volatility.
Introducing Powerhouse Poker
Powerhouse Video Poker is yet another variant that brings additional chances to play. This game is packed with extra hands and has been around since 2017. Most video poker players don't know much about this game. But, like many other new video poker games, a limited number of casinos adopted Powerhouse Poker, and others are beginning to accept this game too.
Powerhouse Poker comes in Triple Play, Five Play, and Ten Play variants of standard IGT game families. These include other poker games like Double Double Bonus Poker, Double Bonus Poker, Bonus Poker, and the inimitable Jacks or Better.
With these poker games, players will need to make an additional 5-credit wager for each hand to activate the Powerhouse feature. If players form a winning combo on the deal, then additional hands will be dealt, some of which come with multipliers.
The number of additional hands dealt to players and the attendant multipliers will vary by game. The number of additional hands also varies according to the type of video poker game, such as Triple, Five, or Ten Play video poker. For example, when players are participating in Triple Play Bonus Poker, 3 additional hands will be dealt with a pair of Jacks or Better, 4 of a Kind, A Straight Flush (Five Cards of the Same Suit in Numerical Order), or even a Royal Flush (10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace).
Players will get 6 additional hands with 2 pairs, 9 additional hands with 3 of a Kind, or a Straight, a Flush, or a Full House. Plus, there are multipliers of up to 3X your bet size when you form 3 of a Kind, A Straight, Flush, or a Full House with Powerhouse Poker. It's important to realize that these multipliers form randomly. Not all of the extra hands have a multiplier.
Thanks to the rules of Powerhouse Poker, players can at least double the payout of any winning hand. But, it more than triples the value you would get on Three of a Kind, Straights, Flushes, and Full Houses when you take the multipliers into account.
Ultimate X Bonus Streak
We won't take up too much time with this video poker variant. Suffice it to say, we discussed this in great detail in the 888 Casino Blog, under the New Video Poker Games in 2017, category. Thankfully, the game has reached critical mass and is now widely adopted among a large and growing player base. IGT regards it as one of the best new video games out there!
Similar to the original Ultimate X Game – one of the world's most popular video poker bonus games – Ultimate X rewards players with multipliers on the next hand once certain winning hands have been compiled.
With Ultimate X Bonus Streak, you get a lot more bang for your buck. For one thing, the multipliers are offered on a streak of hands. With non-wildcard games, the multipliers activate 3 consecutive hands when you form the following combinations:
* Three of a Kind
* Flushes
* Straights
* Five Hands after Full Houses or Better
But there's more! The multipliers in this game increase each hand during the winning streak. They can reach a max of 12 X the player's winnings. Similar to other bonus poker games, players must place a 5-credit bet for each and activate this feature. When the winners are slow coming, you can lose your money quickly.
On the other hand, it's possible to win huge when you hit a lucky streak. A word of caution is advised – don't overbet your bankroll. When you hit a purple patch, it's plain sailing to money central!
