The 'low' card in the community cards is wild. As a '2' is the lowest possible card, that would be the wild card if it turns up, and if you had a pair of two's in your hand, you'd have three wild cards to work with. But once again, if the low card pairs, then the next lowest card becomes the wild card. Wild Card Games. Read 6511 times. Our extensive list of poker games in alphabetical order. Check at the bottom of the games for variations that can make the game more interesting. Feel free to comment on any game. A wild card is a card that can be used to represent some other card that a player needs to make up a poker hand, sometimes with some restrictions. This enables higher ranking hands to be made more often, which for some players makes the game more exciting.
Playing online video poker with wild cards provides exciting action that’s much different from the basic game. When you get a wild card in your hand, they can be turned into whatever card in the deck improves your hand the most. As a result, you have a greatly increased chance of making rare, high-paying hands with wild card play.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been giving you an in-depth look at the world of online video poker. After all, many people are unable to get out and do the things that they normally enjoy. And that includes going out to a casino for some exciting gambling action.
Luckily, online gambling websites can deliver most of that action to any connected device that you might have at your convenience. And video poker is one of the games that translates best to online play. When you play online video poker, you’re getting pretty much the same sights, sounds and game play as you would in the casino.
Online Video Poker Comes With Lots of Variety
The world of online video poker is vast. You can stick with a basic game such as Jacks or Better if you wish. Or you can branch out to one of the more complex pay tables, which can offer increased payback on rare hands to spice up play.
You can play multiple hands at once if you really want to increase the pace of play. Or you can even try a game with special features added to it. There are countless ways you can change up basic video poker, either subtly or drastically.
Perhaps the most popular variation on basic video poker play is wild card play. Many people are familiar with the concept of wild cards, even if they don’t know much about video poker. As such, it’s easy for even beginners to slip into games like Deuces Wild or Joker Poker and get the hang of it.
For those who don’t know, when a card is designated as wild, it means that it can be turned into any other card in the deck. In video poker, the purpose of changing the card is to make the best possible winning hand. Anytime a wild card is in your hand, it will greatly increase your chances of forming a winning combination.
If you’re playing a game like Deuces Wild or Joker Poker, you’ll notice changes on the pay table from basic games like Jacks or Better. Adjustments have to be made to ensure that the pay table doesn’t reward you too much for easily-made hands. But another way to look at it is to realize that certain hands, such as 5 of a kind, wouldn’t even be possible without wild card action in online video poker.
In the following article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about playing online video poker with wild cards. We’ll talk about how wild cards affect play and what different types of wild-card games are available. Finally, we’ll take a look at how wild cards affect learning strategy.
How to Play Online Video Poker With Wild Cards
In terms of playing out a hand of online video poker with wild cards, the basic rhythm of play is the same. You still have to create a bankroll at a gambling website. And you’ll still have the chance to make wagers, in most cases, between one and five credits, with the five-credit wager gives you the best possible payback on the royal flush.
As for playing the hand, that’s still the same as well. You’ll get a five-card deal and then decide which cards you want to hold and which you want to discard. The cards that you discard will be replaced with others from the deck to complete your hand, which will be scored according to the pay table.
The Big Difference is the Wild CardWhen you get a wild card (or more than one) on the deal, you can visualize it as whatever card you think might help your hand the most. That will help you make choices about what to hold (if anything) from the other cards in your hand.
Once you finish the hand, whether you held a wild card on the deal or drew one, that wild card will be changed by the software into the card (or cards, if you have multiple) that create the highest-paying winning hand. You don’t have to make that choice at that point, as it will be automatically done.
You also have to realize that the threshold for a winning hand with wild cards will usually be higher than normal. On top of that, there will be hands (specifically 5 of a kind) which will exist solely because of the wild card.
Here are the paying hands on most wild card online poker games:
- Three of a kind
- Straight (five cards in a row in 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)
- Five of a kind
- Wild royal flush (royal flush achieved with the help of a wild card)
- Four wild cards
- Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit)
Notice the difference between a wild royal flush and a regular royal flush:
Sample Wild Card Hand
Let’s take a look at how a sample hand of wild card online video poker might work out. Imagine that you were playing Deuces Wild online video poker, where any twos in the deck are designated as wild. Here is the deal:
- Two of spades
- Ten of spades
- Ten of diamonds
- Jack of diamonds
- Queen of diamonds
If you were playing Jacks or Better, which has no wild cards, and received this deal, there wouldn’t be any winning combinations right off the bat. But, because of the two being wild in this case, this deal is actually an excellent one in Deuces Wild.
There are some interesting possibilities available to you with this deal. For example, you have three of a kind right off the bat, since the two can be added to the pair of tens.
Three of a kind is a winning combination in the world of online video poker, albeit one that doesn’t pay that much. But you’d be drawing two cards if you dropped the jack and queen. With two cards on the draw, you could end up improving to a full house, four of a kind, or even five of a kind.
The other direction you can go with this hand would be to keep the ten, queen and jack of diamonds, along with the wild card. You’d have four cards to both a straight flush and a wild royal flush in this case, with one card to draw. There would be a risk here because you’d be giving up a sure winning hand, but the potential rewards would be great.
Let’s take a look at how the hand might play out if you chose the latter option and held the wild card and the three diamonds.
Here is how the draw could work:
- Two of spades
- Eight of clubs
- Ten of diamonds
- Jack of diamonds
- Queen of diamonds
You didn’t get one of the diamonds that might have turned this into a high-paying hand. But when you take a look at what you did get, you can see that the wild card can be turned into a nine to make a straight.
When you started the process of making a decision about what to hold and discard, making a straight probably wasn’t foremost in your mind. But this hand shows you how flexible and useful a wild card can be.
As a matter of fact, if you’re playing one of the wild card games where there is more than one wild card deck, you are assured of a winning combination if you end up with two wild cards in your hand. The flip side is that you’ll have a hard time ending up with a winning hand in wild card online video poker without being dealt or drawing whatever card has been designated as wild
Types of Wild Card Online Video Poker Games
As with basic video poker, there are many different wild card online video poker games available at top gambling sites. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones.
Deuces Wild
Deuces Wild is probably the most popular of all wild card online video poker games. The four 2s, or deuces in the deck, are designated as wild.
When you think about it, that represents a substantial portion of a 52-card deck. 4 wild cards in 52 means that you have a one in 13 chance of a wild card appearing anytime a card is dealt or drawn. And then when you consider that you’re getting five cards on the deal and up to five more on the draw, you realize that you won’t go too many hands of Deuces Wild without seeing a wild card.
Let’s take a look at a common pay table for Deuces Wild online video poker:
| Coins/Hands | 1 Coin | 1 Coin | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| 4 Deuces | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| 5 of a Kind | 16 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 80 |
| Straight Flush | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| 4 of a Kind | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Full House | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Flush | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Straight | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 of a Kind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
You can see that the biggest payback is reserved for a natural royal flush and four deuces. In that way, a Deuces Wild is structured in a somewhat similar manner to Jacks or Better. Payback is stretched throughout the table in the same manner, albeit over different winning combinations.
Any type of wild card video poker will raise the volatility level. But Deuces Wild pushes the envelope by including the four wild cards in play. You’ll need to make sure your bankroll is sturdy to handle the ups and downs you’re likely to endure during play.
Joker Poker
You’ll see Joker Poker sometimes labelled as Joker Wild or Joker’s Wild, depending on the website involved. In any case, the game is the same, no matter the name.
In Joker Poker online video poker, you’ll be playing with a simulated deck of 53 cards. A joker is added to the traditional 52 cards. And that joker is wild.
In terms of wild card games, Joker Poker is the most conservative. You won’t see wild cards in play nearly as often as in Deuces Wild. But the pay table is also much more forgiving to common winning hands.
Take a look below at a common Joker Poker pay table:
| Coins/Hands | 1 Coin | 1 Coin | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 5000 |
| 5 of a Kind | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| 4 of a Kind | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
| Full House | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| 3 of a Kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 Pairs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The first thing you might notice is that payback on this Joker Poker pay table starts with two pair. As you might remember, Deuces Wild payback begins at a minimum hand of three of a kind.
Right off the bat, you can tell then that Joker Poker puts a wining hand in play that will come up once every ten hands or so. This gives you a chance to churn out more winning combinations per hands played than in Jacks or Better. (You might also find variations of Joker Poker that pay out for a pair of kings or better as well, further lowering the standard for a winning hand.)
That will lower the volatility level, meaning that Joker Poker offers less of a bumpy ride than Deuces Wild. But the drawback is that you’ll see wild card show up far less often. As a result, you won’t get as much of a boost from the wild card aspect in terms of attaining rare winning combinations.
Deuces Wild Bonus
Deuces Wild Bonus or Bonus Deuces Wild really adds a jolt to wild card play. You’ll be dealing with four wild cards as in common Deuces Wild, which is exciting enough. But you’ll also be looking at a pay table with more high-paying winning hands available to you.
Take a look at a common pay table for Deuces Wild Bonus:
| Coins/Hands | 1 Coin | 1 Coin | 3 Coins | 4 Coins | 5 Coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| 4 Deuces with an Ace | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 |
| 4 Deuces | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 |
| Wild Royal Flush | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| 5 Aces | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| 5 3s, 4s, or 5s | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| 5 6s through Ks | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
| Straight Flush | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| 4 of a Kind | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Full House | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Flush | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Straight | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 of a Kind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The main difference is that 5 of a kind payback is separated by which rank is involved. But no matter what rank is involved, 5 of a kind in Deuces Wild Bonus pays back more than it does in common Deuces Wild.
You’ll also see a special payback available for four deuces with an ace kicker. It’s another way that Deuces Wild payback puts high-payout hands into play.
Whenever you have a pay table that increases the payback for rare hands and decreases it for common hands, that raises the volatility. Deuces Wild Bonus is, therefore, high on the volatility scale.
If you really want to push it in this direction, seek out a game call Double Bonus Deuces Wild online video poker. It adds even more high-payback hands to the equation.
Strategy for Online Video Poker With Wild Cards
On one hand, the strategy for wild card online video poker is somewhat easier, in terms of just guessing what to do. Anytime you get a wild card on the deal, you’ll be holding on it, no questions asked. The value that it provides is just too great to pass up.
But as we’ve talked about online video poker in recent weeks in this column, strategy is something you have to memorize. You can’t make it up on your own.
The best way to do it is to consult a strategy chart or video poker training software. These resources have already figured out the math of all the right plays for you. You can reap the rewards of all that math.
With wild card play, you have more to learn. With Deuces Wild, for example, you’ll need to learn a set of plays for every deal with no wild card involved. But you’ll also have to learn what to do with one wild card, two wild cards, and so on.
As a result, it might take you longer to memorize a strategy chart to learn perfect play. And it might take you a little longer playing with training software before you get everything down as well.
If you want simple strategy, you’re better off sticking with games without wild cards. But you’d be missing out on all the benefits that they offer.
Conclusion
We hope that you’ve learned all that you need to know about playing online video poker with wild cards. If you like your video poker action particularly thrilling, wild cards are a great way to go.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Below is the complete guide for determining how to rank various poker hands. This article covers all poker hands, from hands in standard games of poker, to lowball, to playing with a variety of wild cards. Scroll to the end to find an in-depth ranking of suits for several countries, including many European countries and North American continental standards.
Standard Poker Rankings
A standard deck of cards has 52 in a pack. Individually cards rank, high to low:
Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
In standard poker (in North America) there is no suit ranking. A poker hand has 5 cards total. Higher ranked hands beat lower ones, and within the same kind of hand higher value cards beat lower value cards.
#1 Straight Flush
In games without wild cards, this is the highest ranking hand. It consists of five cards in sequence of the same suit. When comparing flushes, the hand with the highest value high card wins. Example: 5-6-7-8-9, all spades, is a straight flush. A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest ranking straight flush and is called a Royal Flush. Flushes are not permitted to turn the corner, for example, 3-2-A-K-Q is not a straight flush.
#2 Four of a Kind (Quads)
A four of a kind is four cards of equal rank, for example, four jacks. The kicker, the fifth card, may be any other card. When comparing two four of a kinds, the highest value set wins. For example, 5-5-5-5-J is beat by 10-10-10-10-2. If two players happen to have a four of a kind of equal value, the player with the highest ranking kicker wins.
#3 Full House (Boat)
A full house consists of 3 cards of one rank and 2 cards of another. The three cards value determines rank within Full Houses, the player with the highest rank 3 cards wins. If the three cards are equal rank the pairs decide. Example: Q-Q-Q-3-3 beats 10-10-10-A-A BUT 10-10-10-A-A would beat 10-10-10-J-J.
#4 Flush
Any five cards of the same suit. The highest card in a flush determines its rank between other flushes. If those are equal, continue comparing the next highest cards until a winner can be determined.
#5 Straight
Five cards in sequence from different suits. The hand with the highest ranking top card wins within straights. Ace can either be a high card or low card, but not both. The wheel, or the lowest straight, is 5-4-3-2-A, where the top card is five.
#6 Three of a Kind (Triplets/Trips)
A three of a kind is three card of equal rank and two other cards (not of equal rank). The three of a kind with the highest rank wins, in the event they are equal, the high card of the two remaining cards determines the winner.
#7 Two Pairs
A pair is two cards that are equal in rank. A hand with two pairs consists of two separate pairs of different ranks. For example, K-K-3-3-6, where 6 is the odd card. The hand with the highest pair wins if there are multiple two pairs regardless of the other cards in hand. To demonstrate, K-K-5-5-2 beats Q-Q-10-10-9 because K > Q, despite 10 > 5.
#8 Pair
A hand with a single pair has two cards of equal rank and three other cards of any rank (as long as none are the same.) When comparing pairs, the one with highest value cards wins. If they are equal, compare the highest value oddball cards, if those are equal continue comparing until a win can be determined. An example hand would be: 10-10-6-3-2
#9 High Card (Nothing/No Pair)
If your hand does not conform to any of the criterion mentioned above, does not form any sort of sequence, and are at least two different suits, this hand is called high card. The highest value card, when comparing these hands, determines the winning hand.
Low Poker Hand Ranking
In Lowball or high-low games, or other poker games which lowest ranking hand wins, they are ranked accordingly.
A low hand with no combination is named by it’s highest ranking card. For example, a hand with 10-6-5-3-2 is described as “10-down” or “10-low.”
Ace to Five
The most common system for ranking low hands. Aces are always low card and straights and flushes do not count. Under Ace-to-5, 5-4-3-2-A is the best hand. As with standard poker, hands compared by the high card. So, 6-4-3-2-A beats 6-5-3-2-A AND beats 7-4-3-2-A. This is because 4 < 5 and 6 < 7.
The best hand with a pair is A-A-4-3-2, this is often referred to as California Lowball. In high-low games of poker, there is often a conditioned employed called “eight or better” which qualifies players to win part of the pot. Their hand must have an 8 or lower to be considered. The worst hand under this condition would be 8-7-6-5-4.
Duece to Seven
The hands under this system rank almost the same as in standard poker. It includes straights and flushes, lowest hand wins. However, this system always considers aces as high cards (A-2-3-4-5 is not a straight.) Under this system, the best hand is 7-5-4-3-2 (in mixed suits), a reference to its namesake. As always, highest card is compared first. In duece-to-7, the best hand with a pair is 2-2-5-4-3, although is beat by A-K-Q-J-9, the worst hand with high cards. This is sometimes referred to as “Kansas City Lowball.”
Ace to Six
This is the system often used in home poker games, straights and flushes count, and aces are low cards. Under Ace-to-6, 5-4-3-2-A is a bad hand because it is a straight. The best low hand is 6-4-3-2-A. Since aces are low, A-K-Q-J-10 is not a straight and is considered king-down (or king-low). Ace is low card so K-Q-J-10-A is lower than K-Q-J-10-2. A pair of aces also beats a pair of twos.
In games with more than five cards, players can choose to not use their highest value cards in order to assemble the lowest hand possible.
Hand Rankings with Wild Cards
Wild cards may be used to substitute any card a player may need to make a particular hand. Jokers are often used as wild cards and are added to the deck (making the game played with 54 as opposed to 52 cards). If players choose to stick with a standard deck, 1+ cards may be determined at the start as wild cards. For example, all the twos in the deck (deuces wild) or the “one-eyed jacks” (the jacks of hearts and spades).
Wild cards can be used to:
- substitute any card not in a player’s hand OR
- make a special “five of a kind”
Five of a Kind
Five of a Kind is the highest hand of all and beats a Royal Flush. When comparing five of a kinds, the highest value five cards win. Aces are the highest card of all.
The Bug
Omaha Wild Card Poker Games
Some poker games, most notably five card draw, are played with the bug. The bug is an added joker which functions as a limited wild card. It may only be used as an ace or a card needed to complete a straight or a flush. Under this system, the highest hand is a five of a kind of aces, but no other five of a kind is legal. In a hand, with any other four of a kind the joker counts as an ace kicker.
Wild Cards – Low Poker
During a low poker game, the wild card is a “fitter,” a card used to complete a hand which is of lowest value in the low hand ranking system used. In standard poker, 6-5-3-2-joker would be considered 6-6-5-3-2. In ace-to-five, the wild card would be an ace, and deuce-to-seven the wild card would be a 7.
Wild Card Poker Games
Lowest Card Wild
Home poker games may play with player’s lowest, or lowest concealed card, as a wild card. This applies to the card of lowest value during the showdown. Aces are considered high and two low under this variant.
Double Ace Flush
This variant allows the wild card to be ANY card, including one already held by a player. This allows for the opportunity to have a double ace flush.
Natural Hand v. Wild Hand
There is a house rule which says a “natural hand” beats a hand that is equal to it with wild cards. Hands with more wild cards may be considered “more wild” and therefore beat by a less wild hand with only one wild card. This rule must be agreed upon before the deal begins.
Incomplete Hands
If you are comparing hands in a variant of poker which there are less than five cards, there are no straights, flushes, or full houses. There is only four of a kind, three of a kind, pairs (2 pairs and single pairs), and high card. If the hand has an even number of cards there may not be a kicker.
Best Wild Card Poker Games
Examples of scoring incomplete hands:
10-10-K beats 10-10-6-2 because K > 6. However, 10-10-6 is beat by 10-10-6-2 because of the fourth card. Also, a 10 alone will beat 9-6. But, 9-6 beats 9-5-3, and that beats 9-5, which beats 9.
Ranking Suits
In standard poker, suits are NOT ranked. If there are equal hands the pot is split. However, depending on the variant of poker, there are situations when cards must be ranked by suits. For example:
- Drawing cards to pick player’s seats
- Determining the first better in stud poker
- In the event an uneven pot is to be split, determining who gets the odd chip.
Typically in North America (or for English speakers), suits are ranked in reverse alphabetical order.
- Spades (highest suit), Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs (lowest suit)
Suits are ranked differently in other countries/ parts of the world:
- Spades (high suit), Diamonds, Clubs, Hearts (low suit)
- Hearts (high suit), Spades, Diamonds, Clubs (low suit) – Greece and Turkey
- Hearts (high suit), Diamonds, Spades, Clubs (low suit) – Austria and Sweden
- Hearts (high suit), Diamonds, Clubs, Spades (low suit) – Italy
- Diamonds (high suit), Spades, Hearts, Clubs (low suit) – Brazil
- Clubs (high suit), Spades, Hearts, Diamonds (low suit) – Germany
REFERENCES:
http://www.cardplayer.com/rules-of-poker/hand-rankings
https://www.pagat.com/poker/rules/ranking.html
https://www.partypoker.com/how-to-play/hand-rankings.html