How to Play Face Card Frenzy Video Poker
Face Card Frenzy video poker puts aces, kings, queens, and jacks at even more of a premium than they usually are in video poker. Winning hands that involve those cards will see a payback surge. But you have to be willing to make a higher bet per hand to see that boost.
Video poker is known for its number of variants. For the most part, all of the games follow the format of Jacks or Better. From there, you can branch out. There are pay tables that change the balance of winning hands. Or you might encounter games with wild cards, which give you a better chance at rare hands.
You can also find games with special features. In most of those games, you have to make an extra wager to access the special feature. Face Card Frenzy video poker is one of these special games. You can play it normally by wagering one through five coins. But if you bet six or 10 coins, you’ll open up a special pay table, which is focused on rewarding more for certain hands with face cards.
For those who might be a bit unfamiliar with face cards, they are the jacks, queens, kings, and aces in a standard deck of 52. The name comes from the fact that the jacks, queens, and kings actually have pictures with faces on them. Meanwhile, the ace gets lumped in with the face cards primarily because it’s valuable like face cards tend to be.
The specific hands you’ll be looking to make when you play Face Card Frenzy video poker are the full house and the four of a kind. In the case of the full house, those achieved with face cards as the three of a kind part of the equation get a nice boost in payback.
If you get four of a kind, you’ll be looking at a boost if the kicker is a face card. The kicker is the one card out the five in your hand not involved in the four of a kind. You’ll also notice boosted payback for other winning hands on a Face Card Frenzy video poker pay table when you make the extra bet. With the structure of Face Card Frenzy, you’ll have better chances of significant wins.
But the size of the wager makes the game more volatile. You’ll have to deal with a few slumps that damage your bankroll. And the payback percentage for Face Card Frenzy video poker lags a bit from preferred video poker levels. You might still prefer Face Card Frenzy video poker if you’re looking for jackpot-style payback.
In the following article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Face Card Frenzy video poker. We’ll explain the basics of playing video poker and show you the twist on this game. Finally, we’ll look at the special pay tables for this game and talk about how you can learn ideal strategy as well.
Playing Basic Video Poker
As we said above, Face Card Frenzy video poker is just one of many games that jumps off from basic video poker play. Once you know that initial rhythm of play, you can move on to games with special features. In that way, you can decide which games and styles of play suit you the best.
If you’ve never played video poker before, you might not realize how much it has to offer. Many people who play video poker don’t bother with any other game in the casino or at an online gambling site. It’s because they know all of the benefits waiting for them.
Video poker has a lot in common with both table games and slot machines. But it finds a way to take the best aspects of those games without including the negative characteristics. In that way, video poker makes for a unique combination of all the good things that casino games have to offer.
Let’s take a look at what you’ll get out of playing video poker:
- You can play video poker all by yourself. Even social folks might get annoyed when they’re gambling and have to deal with annoying casino patrons or nosy employees. Video poker eliminates that. It’s just you and the machine.
- You can play video poker in a lot of different ways. As we stated above, Face Card Frenzy video poker is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to video poker variations.
- You can learn to play video poker in no time at all. Even if you’ve never had any experience with poker, video poker is set up so that you can learn the game within minutes. It might take you a little longer to play the game well, however, which we’ll talk about when we get to strategy.
- You can control gameplay to an extent when playing video poker. This is an option that’s not at your disposal when playing slot machines. The better choices you make, the higher your winnings.
- You know what you’re getting back with video poker. With many casino games, you won’t know what to expect in terms of frequency of winning and expected payback. Because video poker is governed by playing card probability, transparency is built into the game.
- You can hope for a reasonable return on your gambling investment. Video poker offers higher payback, on average, than slot machines. There are even video poker games which outdo table games in the payback department.
- You can play video poker online and not miss a beat. When you log in to play video poker at one of the top gambling websites, what you see on the screen will look pretty much exactly the same as what’s on the screen of a video poker machine in a casino. The play is the same as well, so the online video poker experience is smooth and enjoyable.
We’ve given you an idea of why video poker is such a great game. With the “why” out of the way, let’s look at the “how.” Here is how to play basic video poker, which is also at the heart of Face Card Frenzy video poker.
How to Play Video Poker
Step 1: Create a Bankroll
Your bankroll will allow you to make wagers and to collect any winnings that you rack up while playing. All you have to do to create your bankroll is put some money in a video poker machine. If playing online, you’ll have to fund an account at a gambling website offering video poker.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll see that your bankroll will show up on the screen as units known as credits, or coins. Each of these units will equal the denomination of the game that you’ve chosen to play. For example, five credits at a 25-cent machine would be equal to $1.25 (5 times .25).
Step 2: Make a Bet
In the case of Face Card Frenzy video poker, betting is a little bit more complex than is the case with normal video poker. Most normal games give you the option to wager somewhere between one and five coins per hand. Face Card Frenzy gives you the option of betting either six coins or 10 coins per hand in addition to the normal one through five.
If you bet only one through five coins, you’ll end up with a normal pay table. But if bet either six coins or 10 coins, you open up a new pay table on a Face Card Frenzy video poker machine. And that pay table includes the boosted payback for certain four of a kind or full house hands.
Well, you have to realize that any time a video game make adds an extra wager, that wager will always bring back the highest payback percentage. The game makers are counting on bettors to not take advantage of the increased payback.
In other words, if you bet 10 coins per hand playing Face Card Frenzy video poker, you will make more money in the long haul than someone betting one through five coins. You would make more than someone betting six coins per hand, even though that person would be unlocking the higher pay tables.
If you find that betting that much per hand is a strain on your budget, you should consider switching to a Face Card Frenzy video poker machine with a lower denomination available. You wouldn’t hurt your payback percentage by doing it this way. And you’d be able to bet less in terms of money even if you’re still making the maximum wager.
Step 3: Play a Hand
Just about every form of video poker, including Face Card Frenzy video poker, is based on the table game known as Five-Card Draw. In Five-Card Draw Poker, you get a five-card deal, decide which cards you want to hold and discard, then draw new cards to replace those that you’ve discarded. The objective is to make a five-card hand that beats everybody, or bluff everybody into conceding the hand.
Video poker shares the same rhythm of play. But the big difference is that video poker is only one player at a machine. As a result, there’s no bluffing, and you don’t have to make a hand good enough to beat multiple people.
All you have to do to get some payback is to make one of the winning hands on the pay table. Since Face Card Frenzy video poker is a game that can be catered to different pay tables, the winning hands depend on what table you’ve chosen to play. But, for the most part, you’ll be striving to make one of the following hands:
- 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)
The hands at the top of this list are generally easy to achieve and show up relatively often during video poker gameplay. As you move down the list, you’ll discover that the winning hands are more difficult to achieve and rarely occur. The hands at the bottom of the list pay more than the hands at the top.
After making your wager and hitting the “deal” button on the machine, five cards will be “dealt” to you on the screen out of a simulated deck of 52. Your first task is to look at these cards and look for any similarities to the winning combinations listed above. Depending on the deal, you might have a winning hand right off the bat, in which case you might not even need a draw round to improve your hand.
But most deals won’t be winners right off the bat. That would make the game too easy. Instead, you’ll have to strategize to try and figure out what cards you want to hold and what cards you want to discard.
The cards you hold will be a part of your final five-card hand, which will be the basis of whether you win or lose. Meanwhile, you get to draw cards from the deck to replaces the ones you’ve discarded. At the time that you draw, the deck will have 47 cards remaining, since the five you were dealt will be subtracted from the original 52.
When making your decision about what to hold and what to discard, you have to keep a couple things in mind. First, you have to figure out your chances of attaining specific winning hands based on what you have and what’s left in the deck. Second, you have to take into consideration the payback offered by these winning combinations.
Let’s provide you with an example to show you how it all works. Imagine that you receive the following five-card deal when playing Face Card Frenzy video poker:
Based on the list above, you should be able to tell that you don’t have any winning combinations in this deal. But you should also be able to tell that you are not that far off from several winning hands. Deciding which of those hands to pursue will tell you which cards to hold and which to discard.
For example, you might decide to hold on to the pair of fours. This would mean discarding the other three cards in the hand and drawing three new ones. With the three new cards, you could get two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind.
You might also notice that you have a stretch of four cards with consecutive rank, meaning that one more would make a straight. If you went this route, you would need to draw a three or an eight to make the straight. One problem with this approach is that you would have no chance of making any other winning hand but the straight.
One last possibility is to hold on to the four, five, and six of hearts. This would leave the possibility of a straight, flush, or a high-paying straight flush. You could even get two pair or three of a kind.
You can see that there are risks and rewards attached to each of these possibilities. It’s up to you to decide which one to pursue. We’ll talk more about how to do that when we get into strategy.
In any case, you’ll press the buttons corresponding to the cards that you wish to hold (if any). You’ll then hit the “draw” button. The discarded cards will be replaced, and the hand will be complete.
At that point, the machine will score the hand, adding any winnings that you might have achieved to your bankroll. The amount of the bet will be deducted at the beginning of the hand, so you won’t be deducted more for a losing hand after the fact.
Each hand of Face Card Frenzy video poker will play out in the same manner. You can keep playing as long as you have credits in your bankroll. Or you can cash out your bankroll if you choose.
Face Card Frenzy video poker doesn’t change this format at all. But, if you make a bigger bet than normal, it does change your potential payback. Let’s see how.
Face Card Frenzy Pay Tables
At the bottom of this section, you’ll find a list of pay tables for Face Card Frenzy video poker that might apply if you only bet one through five coins. When you play the game this way, you’re eliminating the special feature that adds to the payback percentage. It’s not the recommended way to play the game, but we understand if some casual players don’t want to make the heavy financial commitment.
If you bet either six or 10 coins per hand, you open up the special pay tables. Keep in mind that there are seven families of pay tables available on a Face Card Frenzy video poker machine.
- Jacks or Better
- Bonus Poker
- Bonus Deluxe
- Double Bonus
- Double Double Bonus
- Triple Double Bonus
- Deuces Wild
For each of these specific games, the pay tables will alter in different ways when you add the Face Card Frenzy video poker extra feature. The Bonus Poker games already have a built-in boost to their four of a kind hands. As a result, you’ll see even more of a hike in the payback for the special Face Card Frenzy hands on those pay tables.
What are the hands that qualify for these boosted payback amounts in Face Card Frenzy video poker? First of all, any Full House where the three of a kind within the hand features a face card (ace, king, queen, or jack) will work.
The other hands that qualify for the boosted payback in Face Card Frenzy video poker are four of a kind hands where the face card is the kicker. For example, this hand would qualify.
In that hand, the ace of spades is the card not involved in the four of a kind, so it’s called the “kicker.” It doesn’t matter if the four of a kind involve face cards or not in this case. As long as the face card is the kicker, it will qualify for extra payback amounts.
How much of a boost will you receive? Well, here’s what the pay looks like if you wager 10 coins on a Jacks or Better pay table on a Face Card Frenzy video poker machine.
Jacks or Better Face Card Frenzy Pay Table
- Royal flush: 1,200 to 1
- Straight flush: 100 to 1
- Four of a kind with ace kicker: 360 to 1
- Four of a kind with king kicker: 300 to 1
- Four of a kind with queen kicker: 240 to 1
- Four of a kind with jack kicker: 180 to 1
- Four of a kind: 120 to 1
- Full house with three aces: 70 to 1
- Full house with three kings: 56 to 1
- Full house with three queens: 42 to 1
- Full house with three jacks: 28 to 1
- Full house: 14 to 1
- Flush: 12 to 1
- Straight: 9 to 1
- Three of a kind: 5 to 1
- Two pair: 3 to 1
- Pair of jacks or better: 1 to 1
You can immediately spot the differences. Most Jacks or Better pay tables, including the one we’ve listed below, would have no distinction between four of a kind and full house hands based on the cards involved. The special pay table obviously does, giving priority to the face cards.
The name of Face Card Frenzy video poker can be a little bit deceiving, however. After all, you might also notice that the payback for middle-priced hands on the list above also get a boost, regardless of whether or not a face card is involved. Take a look.
| Hand | Pay With 1 through 5 coins bet | Pay With 6 or 10 coins bet |
|---|---|---|
| Full House | 9 to 1 | 14 to 1 |
| Flush | 6 to 1 | 12 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | 9 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| Two Pair | 2 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
You can see that you’re getting more bang for your buck with just about every hand on the Face Card Frenzy video poker pay table. It helps to make up for the fact that you’re betting more per hand.
The real concern with Face Card Frenzy video poker is that the pay tables and payback percentage, even at its highest level, doesn’t quite reach where you want it to be. Ideally, you would want the payback percentage, which measures the average amount of return on your gambling investment, to reach at least 99%.
When payback percentage sits at 99% or higher, you can expect to make up 1% or less of losses through casino rewards or loyalty programs at top gambling websites. In other words, you can essentially eliminate the house edge.
But once the payback percentage drops below 99%, it becomes more unlikely that you’ll be able to compensate. And, unfortunately, the full-pay (highest-paying) versions of the Face Card Frenzy video poker pay tables all come in below 99%. Not much below, but enough that you’ll be hard-pressed to have a positive expectation playing this game.
That doesn’t mean that you should throw Face Card Frenzy video poker out of your video poker rotation. If you’re the type who likes to win more in a hurry rather than having to grind out your winnings, this game really comes through in that department. You would be more likely to score big quickly playing this game than playing the normal pay tables without the special feature.
But you have to take into account that the bigger bets per hand also raise the chance that you’ll blow through your bankroll quickly. That’s why Face Card Frenzy video poker requires you to come stacked with a bigger bankroll if you want to play the game for a long session.
Below are the pay tables you might encounter on a Face Card Frenzy game if you don’t make the extra bet.
Jacks or Better Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| 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 pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Bonus Poker Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
| Full house | 8 | 16 | 24 | 32 | 40 |
| Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Bonus Poker Deluxe Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| 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 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Double Bonus Poker Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 4000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind (aces) | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind (any other) | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 |
| Straight | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Three of a kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Double Double Bonus Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind aces w/ any 2,3,4 | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 |
| Four of a kind 2s, 3s, or 4s w/ any A,2,3,4 | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four aces | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four 2s, 3s, 4s | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four 5s through Ks | 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 |
| Pair of jacks + | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Triple Double Bonus Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 4000 |
| Straight flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a kind – aces 2, 3, or 4 kicker | 800 | 1600 | 2400 | 3200 | 4000 |
| Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s A, 2, 3, or 4 kicker | 400 | 800 | 1200 | 1600 | 2000 |
| Four of a kind – aces 5s – Ks kicker | 160 | 320 | 480 | 640 | 800 |
| Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s 5s – Ks kicker | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind – any other | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Full house | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Two pair | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Pair of jacks + | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Deuces Wild Pay Table
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Four deuces | 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 |
| Wild royal flush | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Five of a kind | 16 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 80 |
| Straight flush | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Four 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 |
| Three of a kind | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Face Card Frenzy Video Poker Strategy
Strategy for Face Card Frenzy video poker can get tricky because of the special feature. You need to think about prioritizing face cards when you’re deciding which cards to hold and discard. Otherwise, you’re not maximizing the value of each hand.
As an example, take a look at the following deal:
Normally, this deal would be a no-brainer. The smartest play would be to hold on to the three of a kind and drop everything else. You’d give yourself a better chance that way of four of a kind or a full house.
But if you were playing this hand with the Face Card Frenzy video poker special feature attached, you might have to think of another approach. Don’t forget that four of a kind with a face card kicker pays off significantly more than just any four of a kind. You have the king of hearts already in your hand.
In other words, you are in prime position here to end up with four of a kind with a face card kicker if you were to hold the threes and the king. If you were to draw the fourth three, you’d have one of the hands eligible for the huge boost on a Face Card Frenzy video poker.
Examples like these are why video poker strategy for Face Card Frenzy video poker can be a little tricky. Yet it’s important to learn the right mathematical strategy as much as possible.
After all, we already told you that Face Card Frenzy video poker brings back a payback percentage that’s less than ideal. If you were to make incorrect choices of what to hold and what to discard on a regular basis, that percentage would drop even further.
To play any video poker game without making strategic mistakes, you should get some help. The math is too involved for anyone to make the right choice on every single hand. Even if you could sit there and work it out every single time, it would take forever to play the game and would drain any fun out of it.
Well, first you have to make sure that any resources you use are tailored to include the Face Card Frenzy video poker special feature. Otherwise, you could end up getting incorrect instruction. Once you have that under control, we recommend one of the following two methods of video poker instruction.
Strategy Charts
To use a strategy chart properly, you have to memorize it. This could take a long time, especially for a game with as many different strategic twists as Face Card Frenzy video poker. But it will pay off in the long run if you can, because you’ll be ensured of perfect video poker play.
Strategy charts basically rank all of the combinations of cards you might receive on the deal based on their expected value going into the draw. Your goal is to hold on to the cards in your hand with the highest expected value. That’s why knowing the strategy chart allows you to make the right decision on every deal.
Video Poker Training Software
Training software lets you learn your video poker instruction through trial and error. This is a good method for beginning video poker players because you get to play sample hands. It will allow you to get the hang of betting and bankrolls and every part of a basic video poker session.
As for the instruction, that happens whenever you’re faced with a choice about what to hold and what to discard on these practice hands. When you make the wrong choice according to the math, the software will let you know. After practicing like this for a while, you’ll know the correct hold and discard in every possible situation.
Face Card Frenzy Video Poker Pros and Cons
- Jacked-up payback amounts for winning hands with face cards
- With the extra bet, even common hands get a nice boost
- Many different pay tables are available
- Payback percentage is lagging from where it ideally should be
- Betting more per hand always raises the volatility
- Strategy is much more involved when you have to keep track of the face cards at all times
Conclusion on Face Card Frenzy Video Poker
Face Card Frenzy video poker gives you a new way to look at this traditional game. Since most card players are trained to think of face cards as positives, you should be able to get the hang of the twist quickly. But you might not be crazy about the long-term results because of the poor payback percentages.
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