How to Play Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker

Joker’s Vault Poker video poker adds a couple of interesting twists to the typical Joker Poker wild card action that is one of the most popular of all video poker formats. With a full house, you get to enter a bonus round where a joker is guaranteed to appear on every single hand. If you can win eight hands in a row during the bonus, you can end up with a massive progressive jackpot.

Over the last few decades, there has been a boom in the number of video poker varieties available to players. Once upon a time, you were pretty much stuck with Jacks or Better and maybe a few wild card versions from which you could choose. But now there’s a seemingly endless array of video poker variations at your disposal.

You can choose games with special “free” hands that you can activate in a certain way to add to your winnings. And you can also take advantage of progressive jackpots that keep rising until someone hits them on a single video poker machine or online game. In the case of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, you get both of those twists in a single game.

The Joker’s Vault Poker Twists

First of all, Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is set up like typical Joker Poker or Joker’s Wild video poker games in that you’ll be receiving cards from a 53-card deck, with the normal 52 joined by a joker as a wild card. From there, you’ll be playing as you normally would in Draw Poker fashion, trying to form winning combinations. But a full house is particularly beneficial.

With a full house, you’ll get to play eight bonus rounds of video poker. In these rounds, you’ll be guaranteed of receiving a joker in each of your hands on the deal. From there, any winnings that you earn are all profit during these eight hands.

But the real lure of this round is the possibility of a progressive payback. That comes if you can form a wining combination on every single one of your eight hands in the bonus round. It’s not easy to do, but it’s a perk that boosts the value of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker a great deal.

Pay Table Discounts

Having the chance to win without betting in the bonus round when you play Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is a real advantage. So too is the possibility that you can achieve that big progressive payout. But you have to be prepared for the game to take something away from you in order to balance out these boosts.

What you’ll find is that the Joker’s Vault Poker video poker pay table is a bit weak when it comes to some of the more common winning combinations. This makes it imperative that you get into the bonus rounds as much as possible. If you can’t, you’ll find that your bankroll will take a pretty big hit from the lack of payback on the common hands.

In the following article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. We’ll explain how to play video poker, how wild cards work, and how the special features in the game work. In addition, we’ll look into the pay tables, the potential payback, and the strategy involved with this unique variation.

The Benefits of Playing Video Poker

Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is one of dozens of different twists on video poker action. It’s also a game that can be found at online gambling sites as well as part of video poker machines in casinos. If you’ve never played video poker before, you might not even realize the big deal about games like this.

If you’ve already become familiar video poker, feel free to move on to where we talk about the specifics of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. But if you’re new to the game, we suggest you read on to find out about what video poker has in store for you.

• Video poker is one of the easiest casino games to learn. If you’ve played poker in your life, you’ll understand how gameplay works in no time at all. And even if you’re completely new to it, you shouldn’t have to wait too long before you have a solid understanding of what it entails.
• Video poker requires only one person to play. It can be frustrating when you’re in a casino and other players and casino employees are watching your every move. With video poker, you get the ultimate in privacy and don’t have to answer to anybody for your gameplay.
• Video poker can be customized to your liking. It just takes a little bit of research to find the game that fits what you’re seeking, in terms of the risk involved, the potential payback, the overall complexity, and so on. If you don’t like one style of video poker, there are over a hundred others that you can try.
• Video poker is, in part, based on strategy. There is definitely luck involved in terms of the cards that you receive in each hand. But beyond that, you can help yourself by playing the right cards on each hand, which will maximize your earning potential within the game.
• Video poker doesn’t hold back any information that is relevant to play. You can look at the pay tables to see how much each winning hand will earn you. And because the game is based on a standard deck of cards (which, in the case of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, includes a joker), the probabilities of your achieving a winning combination are pretty much set in stone.
• Video poker pays back at an advantageous rate. There are many video poker games which feature overall payback that compare to some of the most lucrative casino games. On top of that, games like Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, with progressive jackpots included, can give you a jackpot-style experience out of nowhere.
• Video poker is the perfect game for online play. You don’t really lose anything in the transition from playing at a casino to playing the game at a real money online casino. And with a website or app, you can play from anywhere at any time.

Those are just a few of the reasons that you should consider video poker, in general. First, you need to learn how to play a basic hand. That will be the basis for all of the action that will take place in Joker’s Vault Poker video poker.

Playing Basic Video Poker

Step 1: The Bankroll

Your bankroll needs to be in place if you’re going to play video poker for real money. If you’re playing on a machine in the casino, you can simply put money into the machine in the slot provided. Or if you’re playing an online version of the game, you’ll have to fund a gambling account with credits cards or other alternative methods allowed by the website.

In most cases, the bankroll will then be broken up into individual units for you to bet and receive in winnings. These units, which can sometimes be referred to as credits or coins, will be worth whatever the denomination you might be playing happens to be. As an example, a 10-coin win at a 25-cent video poker game will earn you $2.50.

Step 2: The Bet

In the case of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, you get to bet between one and five credits per hand. That’s the way it is with most standard video poker games. But there is one major difference in the online version of the game.

When you play Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, you don’t have any incentive to bet the maximum amount of five coins per hand. Most video poker games reward a royal flush at a higher rate when you bet five coins. That isn’t the case with this game.

Step 3: The Hand

Video poker plays out much like the card game known as Five-Card Draw. You’ll get five cards, choose which ones you want to hold and which you want to discard, and draw new cards to replace the ones you’ve discarded. In both video poker and Five-Card Draw, your goal is to end up with the highest-ranked winning combination with your final five cards.

In the case of video poker, however, the key difference is that it’s only a one-person game. As a result, you don’t have to worry about beating multiple players with either a great hand or with some clever bluffing. Your only concern will be to form one of the winning combinations on the pay table of the game.

When you play Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, the winning combinations for which you’ll be striving are these:

• 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)
• Wild royal flush (royal flush with wild cards involved)
• Five of a kind
• Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)

The hands at the top of the list pay the least because they are the easiest to achieve. As the list progresses downward, you’ll be looking at higher payback. But those hands will also be harder to achieve, which means you’ll also be judging the risk of losing the hand against the reward of a high payback.

The Deal

Most video poker games rely on a deck of 52 cards, but with Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, there is a wild card involved. That means your initial deal will come from a deck of 53. When the deal arrives, the amount that you’ve bet will be deducted from your bankroll.

Always keep in mind that the deal and subsequent draw will be random. That’s because there is literally a random number generator included within the software of the game. Always make your decision about what to hold and discard based on simple probabilities instead of any hunches you might have about what cards are coming next, because there is no way to protect that.

The Decision

Once your five cards are on the screen in front of you, you have to decide how to proceed with the hand. You can go forward into the draw with any sequence of holds and discards you choose.

Cards that you keep will be included in your final five-card combination. The cards that you discard will be replaced on the draw. Remember that there are only 48 cards remaining in the draw deck (53 in the original deck minus the five you were dealt).

Your decision should come down to the following factors:

• What chances do you have of making some sort of winning combination with what you have on the deal and what remains in the draw?
• What kind of payback can I earn with the winning combinations that are the most within my reach?

Sample Video Poker Hand With Wild Cards

When you play Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, you’ll have the opportunity of being dealt or drawing a joker. This is the 53rd card in the deck and acts as a wild card. That means it can be turned into any card in the deck that improves your hand the most.

If you get the joker on the deal, you’ll have to try and imagine which way it will be best be used in your final hand. That will help determine what other cards (if any) you might want to hold. Once you get to the final hand, any joker that you have, whether you had it on the deal or received it on the draw, will be automatically transformed by the game into the card that makes your hand as lucrative as it can be.

Take a look at a sample of how this process works. Imagine that you received the following five cards on a deal in Joker’s Vault Poker video poker:

This deal gives you a winning combination right off the bat. The joker can be imagined as a three, which would give you three of a kind with that rank. But that’s not the only possibility here.

For example, you could imagine the joker as connecting to the run of the two, three, and four of spades. That would put you just one card away from a straight flush, which is a solid payback amount in Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. Plus, that would still keep you in line for many other potential winning combinations.

In this example, let’s imagine that you went with that second option. Imagine that the hand plays out as follows on the draw:

You didn’t get the straight flush. But by drawing another spade, you’ve made a flush. That’s because the joker can be turned into another spade, since that is what gives you a winning combination here.

That sample shows you the advantage of getting a joker in your hand when playing Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. And that’s why the bonus round, which we’ll talk about in a bit, can be such a boost to you.

The Draw

Once the draw takes place, as we showed you above, your discarded cards will be immediately replaced. First, you have to indicate which cards you want to hold. Any card that you leave on the screen will be marked for the discard.

Your hand will be checked by the game to see if it’s a winner. If it is, your bankroll will be awarded the amount listed on the pay table. That includes whatever you bet.

From there, you can continue playing Joker’s Vault Poker video poker by repeating the steps we listed above. Another option is to quit and cash out your winnings. But if at any time, you run out of credits, you’ll have to replenish the bankroll to continue playing the game.

The Joker’s Vault Poker Bonus Round

The special twist in Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is a bonus round which includes a progressive element. This occurs at any point that you can achieve a full house during regular play. Once you do that, you are then headed to the bonus round.

Here are the characteristics of a Joker’s Vault Poker video poker:

• You’ll play eight hands without having to bet. Any winnings that you earn during this period will be based on the amount of your last bet before the bonus round. Only your bankroll won’t be deducted that amount as you play these hands.
• If you get a full house during the bonus round, you’ll reactivate the bonus round, even as you play the one that you’ve already done. For example, if you make a full house in Hand 5 of the bonus round, you’ll immediately add eight from there. And you can continue to reactivate as long as you’re in the midst of a previous bonus round.
• During the bonus round, every deal will include a joker. That obviously gives you an increased chance of winning those bonus hands.
• If you can win all eight of your bonus rounds, you’ll win the progressive jackpot available on the machine or the online version of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker you’re playing. This jackpot will slightly rise for every hand played until it is hit. At that point, it will be reset and the process will start over again.

The impact of a bonus round of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker can’t be overstated. It will be definitely be difficult to win the eight hands in a row and get the progressive jackpot. Even so, you can still earn substantial monetary rewards during this period of play without incurring any risk.

Alternate Version of Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Bonus Round

If you look around, there are some versions of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker found in casinos which include a similar but slight altered version of the bonus round. There is still a progressive jackpot and the bonus round is instigated by the full house as well. And basic play for this variation still includes a single joker as a 53rd card in the deck.

But there are some important differences:

The odds of your achieving the progressive jackpot in this version of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker are about the same as the one above. Just be mindful of the rule changes before you dive into it so that you can play with the proper strategy.

Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Pay Table

The pay table is a crucial piece of information whenever you play any kind of video poker, including Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. You’ll need it as you devise strategy. But it also can indicate other important factors such as what kind of payback you’ll be getting and how volatile your play will likely be.

If you’re new to video poker, looking at a pay table like the one belonging to Joker’s Vault Poker video poker might not mean much to you. After all, it might be hard to tell which parts of the pay table are good or bad.

With that in mind, let’s first look at the most common of all video poker pay tables. This is the highest-paying version of Jacks or Better, which is the most popular of all video poker games:

Jacks or Better

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
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 kind	3	6	9	12	15
Two pairs	2	4	6	8	10
Jacks or better	1	2	3	4	5

It’s important to realize that Jacks or Better does not offer you the chance to pay with a wild card. There are only 52 cards in the deck. As a result, it will be a little bit more difficult for you to form winning combinations than if you were playing with wild cards.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the version of Joker Poker that most closely resembles Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. Some Joker Poker games start payback at a pair of kings or a pair of aces. Like Joker’s Vault Poker, this game starts payback at two pair:

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Five of a kind	100	200	300	400	500
Wild royal flush	50	100	150	200	250
Straight flush	50	100	150	200	250
Four 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
Three of a kind	2	4	6	8	10
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5

As you can see, the payback for hands that are common with Jacks or Better are much lower in the Joker Poker game. That obviously reflects the fact that those hands are much easier to make with a joker in the picture. There are also hands, such as the wild royal flush and five of a kind, that are only available in Joker Poker.

With that established, it’s time to look at the most common pay table for the online version of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker.

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	400	800	1,200	1,600	2,000
Five of a kind	220	440	660	880	1,100
Wild royal flush	110	220	330	440	550
Straight flush	45	90	135	180	225
Four of a kind	14	28	42	56	70
Full house	8	16	24	32	40
Flush	4	8	12	16	20
Straight	3	6	9	12	15
Three of a kind	1	2	3	4	5
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5

Comparing this to regular Joker Poker, you can see that there are a few hands where Joker’s Vault Poker video poker comes out on top. It pays more for five of a kind and a wild royal flush. And it pays more for the royal flush on bets of one to four coins.

But as you move down the pay table, the Joker Poker pay table holds the edge in just about every conceivable way. The big one here is the difference in payback for three of a kind:

• Joker Poker: 2 to 1
• Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker: Even money (1 to 1)

This is a big advantage for Joker Poker because of the frequency with which three of a kind will appear. With the wild card in place, it’s a hand that will pop up often during a typical session. And considering you’ll only be breaking even with it instead of gaining a profit when you play Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, you’ll struggle to keep your bankroll robust without the bonus rounds to alleviate the situation.

In other words, Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is the type of game that requires you to be ready for potential slumps. If you can hang on until you make it to the bonus rounds, you can do well. And if you can somehow hit a progressive jackpot, you’d be looking at a solid profit.

Alternate Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Pay Table

This is a pay table associated with the version of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker we talked about above, one which is usually found as a part of a video poker machine in casinos and not online. Take a look.

Coins/Hand	1 Coin	2 Coins	3 Coins	4 Coins	5 Coins
Royal flush	250	500	750	1,000	4,000
Five of a kind	240	480	720	960	1,200
Wild royal flush	110	220	330	440	550
Straight flush	35	70	105	140	175
Four of a kind	12	24	36	48	60
Full house	8	16	24	32	40
Flush	5	10	15	20	25
Straight	4	8	12	16	20
Three of a kind	1	2	3	4	5
Two pairs	1	2	3	4	5

You can see that, with a few exceptions, this version of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is a bit stronger in the payback department on most hands than the one above it. You’ll also notice that this version includes the five-coin boost for the royal flush. That makes it important for you to make the max bet if you are playing this variation.

Why the bigger payback? Well, remember that this version of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker doesn’t guarantee you a joker on every hand of the bonus round like the version online. The enhanced payback on hands like the flush and the straight helps to make up for that.

Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Payback Percentage

Payback percentage measures how much you can expect to return from your bankroll after playing a certain version of video poker for a long period of time. This is based on the probability of winning hands and the payback attached for the hands. In the case of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, that also means taking into account both the bonus round and the possibility of the progressive payout.

Unfortunately, the progressive part of it makes payback percentage for Joker’s Vault Poker video poker more of a moving target. We can estimate that the payback for the game comes in at a little over 90% when you consider just the pay table and the bonus round
possibilities. And that makes it one of the weaker video poker games you can play in terms of your payback.

In fact, if that jackpot goes high enough, Joker’s Vault Poker video poker will reach a point where you can expect a profit from playing the game, which means that the house edge would be eliminated. It’s all a matter of timing it for when you have that opportunity to win the biggest amount.

Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Strategy

We said above that it’s tricky to determine the exact payback percentage for Joker’s Vault Poker video poker because of the progressive jackpot rising and falling. The same is true for the strategy for the game. In most cases, video poker strategy for a specific pay table requires you to play certain deals the same way every time you get them.

In other words, there is usually just one sequence of holds and discards which yields the best possible long-term value from a hand. But what makes Joker’s Vault Poker video poker strategy tricky is that you have to play certain deals differently whether you’re in the bonus round or not. Then, you also have to take into account the status of the progressive jackpot.

For example, consider the following deal in Joker’s Vault Poker video poker:

We know that two pair pays back only even money in Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. Meanwhile, you have a potential pure royal flush building with the three straight ranked cards of the same suit. There might be times when it is wisest to hold those three cards and go that route.

But what if the progressive jackpot is particularly high? In that scenario, the right play in this hand of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker might be to hold the two pair, which would give you a good shot at a full house. And we know that the full house is the only way you can get to the bonus round.

In fact, think of all the balls you have to juggle in the air with Joker’s Vault Poker video poker:

• You have to go after the full house a bit more aggressively in regular play because of how important the bonus round is.
• Once in the bonus round, you might want to play it safe and go for sure winning hands to give yourself the shot at a progressive jackpot.
• Depending on how high the jackpot gets and how close you are to qualifying for it in the bonus round, there might be times when you might have to shun even a one-card draw to a high-paying hand in favor of draws of more cards that give you better chances at a sure win.

That’s a lot to consider. And that’s after you figure out the right plays on every possible deal. All of this can make Joker’s Vault Poker video poker a very complex scenario for you.

Learning Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Strategy

Strategy for Joker’s Vault Poker video poker is an extremely complex matter, for all the reasons we showed you above. Yet if you don’t make the right plays, you’re essentially hurting your potential payback. And as we’ve said, without the progressive jackpot, payback for this game is weak as it is.

We suggest you get some help for your Joker’s Vault Poker video poker strategy. First of all, use video poker calculators to tell you when the jackpot has reached a point where the game becomes beneficial to you. The calculators will also help you to tell when to change up your strategy based on where the jackpot stands.

Normally, we’d recommend strategy charts that you can memorize and learn strategy for Joker’s Vault Poker video poker. But this game is too complex for a simple strategy chart to take in all the contingencies. Using video poker training software however, can help you in the following ways:

• You can input the setup of Joker’s Vault Poker video poker, from the pay table to the special features.
• You can be told by the software what the correct holds and discards are in every situation, including bonus rounds.
• You can also learn how to play video poker with practice hands if it’s the first time you’re playing the game.

Joker’s Vault Poker Video Poker Pros and Cons

Conclusion

Joker’s Vault Poker video poker lets you play a wild card game that puts an emphasis on something different than the typical royal flush or five of a kind. In this case, it’s the full house, which is relatively within your reach compared to those other hands, which is the real goal. If you can get one of those and start racking up bonus hand wins, your bankroll could really ignite.