Video poker combines the speed of slots with the strategy of classic five-card draw, giving players at Australian online casinos a game that rewards both luck and decision-making. Fair Go’s RTG-powered video poker lobby builds on this foundation with dozens of variants, multi-hand formats, and smooth desktop and mobile play for real-money or practice sessions.
What video poker is and how it works
Video poker is a virtual card game played on a machine-style interface where you receive a five-card hand, choose which cards to hold, and draw replacements to form standard poker hands. Payouts are based on a fixed paytable, so every hand and decision has a calculable long-term impact on your expected return.
Key basics:
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Game engine
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Runs on random number generator (RNG) software that shuffles a virtual 52-card (or modified) deck before each hand.
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Each deal and draw is independent, ensuring fair distribution of card combinations over time.
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Player decisions
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After the initial deal, you choose which cards to hold and which to discard, then receive replacements.
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Strategy centres on selecting the mathematically strongest hold for every starting hand.
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This blend of fixed odds and skill-based choices sets video poker apart from pure chance games and makes it an appealing step up from pokies for many players.
Video poker selection at Fair Go
Fair Go uses Real Time Gaming (RTG) software to deliver a large library of single-hand and multi-hand video poker titles. Across the collection, you find classic variants with high RTP and more volatile bonus versions aimed at big-hand hunters.
Available formats and variants:
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Core single-hand games
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RTG’s line-up includes well-known titles such as Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, All American, Aces and Eights, Joker Poker, Bonus Poker, Sevens Wild, and Double Jackpot Poker.
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These are designed for traditional five-card draw play with one active hand per round.
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Multi-hand modes
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Many titles are available in 3-hand, 10-hand, and 52-hand versions, allowing one decision to control multiple simultaneous hands.
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Multipliers and parallel draws make multi-hand formats more volatile and action-heavy.
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Lobby integration
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Video poker sits alongside pokies, table games, and specialty titles, so you can switch between slots and card games under a single balance.
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For players who enjoy slowly building a session around good decisions, the breadth of RTG video poker options is a notable strength of the Fair Go platform.
How to play a standard hand step by step
Despite offering deep strategy, a single video poker hand is easy to understand once broken into simple stages. The core flow is the same across most variants, whether you are playing one or 52 hands at a time.
Typical round structure:
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Choose your game and bet
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Select a variant (for example, Jacks or Better or Deuces Wild), then choose coin denomination and number of coins per hand.
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Many strategies recommend playing the maximum coin count to unlock top royal flush payouts.
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Receive the initial five-card hand
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The RNG deals five cards from a shuffled virtual deck to each active hand.
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In multi-hand versions, the starting hand is shared across all hands before the draw.
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Select cards to hold
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Decide which cards to keep based on your chosen strategy and the game’s paytable.
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The same hold applies to all hands in multi-hand games.
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Draw new cards
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Press draw to replace discarded cards; each hand receives separate replacement cards from its own virtual deck copy.
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Final 5-card hands are then evaluated against the paytable.
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Get paid according to the paytable
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Winning hands such as pairs, straights, flushes, and royal flushes receive payouts multiplied by the coin value and bet level.
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Because every decision can be expressed in terms of expected value, players who study basic strategy charts can significantly reduce the house edge.
Key video poker variants and how they differ
Each video poker variant tweaks the paytable and sometimes card values, which directly impacts optimal strategy and overall volatility. Choosing a version that fits your playing style makes a noticeable difference over many hands.
Popular variants at RTG-powered casinos:
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Jacks or Better
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Pays from a pair of jacks or better upward, with a classic paytable that rewards full houses and flushes generously in “full-pay” versions.
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Often recommended for beginners due to clear hierarchy and straightforward strategy.
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Deuces Wild
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All twos act as wild cards, substituting for any other card to complete stronger hands.
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Strategy is more complex, and paytables reduce payouts on some hands to balance the power of wilds.
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Bonus Poker and Double Bonus
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Increase payouts for certain four-of-a-kind hands, such as four aces or four face cards.
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These games tend to have higher variance but offer elevated jackpot-style wins for premium quads.
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All American and Aces & Eights
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Adjust rewards on straights, flushes, and specific four-of-a-kind combinations to create unique risk profiles.
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Suited to players who enjoy chasing mid-level hands with bigger than usual payoffs.
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Understanding how each variation changes the value of different hands is crucial before adopting a strategy chart.
Paytables, RTP, and why they matter
The paytable is the backbone of every video poker machine, listing payouts for all possible winning hands at each coin level. Small shifts in paytable numbers can change the return to player (RTP) by one or more percentage points, which adds up significantly over time.
Paytable essentials:
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Full-pay vs short-pay
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“Full-pay” tables preserve top payouts, such as 9/6 Jacks or Better, where a full house pays 9 and a flush pays 6 times the coin stake.
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“Short-pay” versions reduce pay for full houses, flushes, or other key hands, lowering RTP while keeping the game superficially similar.
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Example impact
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A full-pay Jacks or Better machine can reach an RTP above 99% with perfect play, while short-pay versions fall closer to 97–98%.
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Over thousands of hands, that gap represents a notable difference in theoretical losses.
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Reading the chart
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Paytables list hands in descending order from royal flush to minimum qualifying hand, with payouts shown for 1–5 coins bet.
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The royal flush line typically jumps significantly at 5 coins, reinforcing the benefit of max-coin betting if bankroll allows.
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Checking paytables before committing to long sessions is one of the main ways skilled video poker players protect their expected return.
Basic video poker strategy principles
Although each variant has its own optimal strategy, several core principles apply across most games. Following these guidelines helps beginners avoid common mistakes and move closer to mathematically sound play.
Strategic foundations:
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Prioritise made hands and strong draws
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In many games, keeping a pat hand such as a straight or flush is better than breaking it for a speculative royal draw.
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Exceptions exist when paytables heavily favour royal flushes or specific quads, but they are rare.
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Understand kicker importance
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Variants like Bonus Poker treat certain four-of-a-kinds with specific “kicker” cards more favourably, affecting which pairs or trips to hold.
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Strategy charts factor in kicker values when deciding whether to break a full house or keep high pairs.
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Use structured strategy charts
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Many experienced players rely on ranked strategy lists or charts to decide which hand category takes priority.
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Consistently applying chart-based decisions narrows the gap between casual and expert play.
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These fundamentals become more precise when combined with variant-specific guidance, especially for games with wild cards or enhanced four-of-a-kind payouts.
Multi-hand video poker: more action, higher swings
Multi-hand video poker amplifies the same decision across several hands at once, increasing both excitement and volatility. Fair Go’s RTG suite offers popular games in 3-hand, 10-hand, and 52-hand versions for those who want more outcomes per deal.
Multi-hand characteristics:
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Shared decision, separate results
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Players choose a hold on the initial five-card hand, then each hand draws independently from its own deck clone.
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A strong starting hand, such as four to a flush, can produce multiple winning results across the board.
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Bankroll impact
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Betting multiple hands multiplies your total stake per round, so bankroll can swing more rapidly.
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Sensible players adjust coin size or hand count to keep risk in line with their budget.
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Strategic consistency
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Optimal strategy per variant remains the same; only the number of independent draws changes.
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Multi-hand formats are suited to players who are comfortable with higher variance and prefer faster-paced sessions with many resolved hands per minute.
Bonuses, wagering, and video poker at Fair Go
Bonuses and wagering rules affect how video poker fits into an overall casino strategy. Many online bonuses prioritise pokies, and Fair Go follows a similar pattern when calculating contribution toward rollover.
Bonus-related considerations:
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Contribution to wagering
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At Fair Go, pokies count 100% toward wagering, while video poker is often excluded or set at 0% in the general bonus terms.
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This means video poker is usually better suited to cash play rather than bonus clearing tactics.
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Offer selection
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Players focused on video poker may prefer promotions that do not restrict game choice or deals specifically friendly to table and poker-style games if available.
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Reading bonus terms before wagering is essential to avoid unintentionally violating restrictions.
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Loyalty and VIP play
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Fair Go’s VIP program counts wagers from video poker toward long-term comp and status, although often at a slightly lower rate than pokies.
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Consistent video poker sessions can still contribute meaningfully to cashback and tailored rewards.
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Treating video poker as a high-RTP, strategy-driven game rather than a bonus-clearing tool aligns better with how contribution rules are structured.
Banking, platforms, and session management
Accessing video poker at Fair Go involves the same banking and platform options as other games, allowing for cohesive session management. Australian and Kiwi players can log in from desktop or mobile and fund their accounts with familiar payment methods.
Practical setup:
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Payment methods
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Fair Go supports Visa, Mastercard, Neosurf, e-wallets, and cryptocurrencies for deposits, with minimums starting around A$10 and withdrawals from about A$100.
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These tools apply equally whether you are playing pokies, video poker, or table games.
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Device compatibility
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The casino runs via browser on Android, iOS, and desktop systems, with video poker titles optimised for smaller screens.
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Button layouts and card graphics remain clear on mobile, supporting accurate holds and quick decisions.
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Session pacing
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Because hands resolve quickly, setting time limits and bankroll boundaries helps prevent overextended sessions.
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Using the same login and cashier across all devices makes it easy to move between short mobile sessions and longer desktop play.
Responsible video poker play and player profile
Video poker’s relatively high RTP and skill element can make it feel more “controlled” than other games, but it remains gambling with inherent risk. Responsible-play tools and realistic expectations are essential for a healthy long-term relationship with the game.
Responsible play points:
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Bankroll and limits
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Setting clear limits for session loss, time, and bet size reduces the temptation to chase losses or overestimate edge.
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Treating video poker as entertainment rather than income aligns expectations with statistical reality.
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Casino safeguards
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Fair Go provides deposit limits, cooling-off periods, and self-exclusion options for players who want additional control.
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Links to support organisations are available for those who feel their gambling is becoming problematic.
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Ideal players for video poker are those who enjoy numbers, patterns, and incremental improvements in skill over time, rather than purely random excitement.
Is video poker at Fair Go a good choice?
For Australian and New Zealand players who want a card game that rewards thoughtful decisions and offers some of the best theoretical returns in the casino, Fair Go’s RTG video poker suite is an appealing option. The mix of classic variants, full-featured multi-hand formats, and robust mobile support creates a deep library for both casual and more serious players.
The main trade-offs are lower bonus contribution and higher skill demands compared to pokies, but for those willing to learn paytables and basic strategy, video poker stands out as a compelling, strategy-driven alternative to spinning reels.