Guide to Playing Number Bonus Video Poker
Number Bonus video poker represents an interesting new twist on online video poker. You’ll be looking for the same winning hands as if you were playing Jacks or Better. But each time you play, you’ll be looking to add cards of a certain rank to your winning hands to boost their value.
Many people think of video poker only in terms of land-based casino play. But video poker also thrives on online real money gambling sites. As a matter of fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a casino game that makes as smooth a transition to online casino play as video poker.
Many of the online video poker games found on gambling websites are based on popular casino games. But many online casinos are creating video poker games that can’t be found in the casino. And they’ve been inventive in terms of the twists they add to online play, giving online gamblers new games to try.
Number Bonus video poker makes for both a challenging and lucrative twist on the basics of video poker. Each time you play the game, a certain rank of card between 2 and 10 will be designated as the “bonus” card. You’ll keep this card in mind when you try to make your winning hands.
When you do manage to include the bonus card in your winning hand, your payback will be boosted. For example, getting three of a kind normally on a Number Bonus video poker game would pay off at 2 to 1. But if you get three of a kind for the bonus card, the pay goes up to 5 to 1.
The pay tables for Number Bonus video poker are loosely based on basic Jacks or Better, the most common form of video poker. But there are some interesting twists which make Number Bonus a little more lucrative. When you add that to the payback for the bonus card hands, you end up with a game with payback that’s the envy of most casino versions of video poker.
Make sure you find the right pay tables for Number Bonus video poker that offer the best payback.
You also have to come up with a distinct strategy based on whatever the bonus card might be on the day you play. But, if you can figure all of that, the rewards can be quite impressive.
In the following article, we’ll tell you everything about the game known as Number Bonus video poker. We’ll explain how to play video poker and how the bonus cards come into play. And we’ll go into concepts like payback percentage, pay tables and strategy, so you can understand this game completely.
Why You Should Be Playing Video Poker
Number Bonus video poker is just one of many variations of video poker that can be found in casinos or online. It’s an online-only version of the game, which means there aren’t Number Bonus machines in casinos, not yet anyway. As such, you’ll have to look to certain online gambling sites to find the game.
We’ve already told you how video poker translates so well to online play. But there are other reasons why video poker is an outstanding game, whether you’re in a casino or at a top gambling website.
In short, video poker combines many of the best characteristics found in slot machines and table games. And it does so in a way that leaves out many of the negatives.
Let’s take a look at all of the ways you can benefit from playing video poker:
- You can play video poker all by yourself. It’s just you and the machine (or online game, as is the case with Number Bonus video poker) when you play. That means you won’t have to worry about others’ actions and you can dictate the pace of play, slow or fast.
- You can learn to play video poker in practically no time at all. Those with a little bit of a background in poker and winning hands will be up and running immediately. And, even if you’re new to those concepts, you should still have the hang of it in just a few minutes of play.
- You can use strategy when you play video poker. This is in stark contrast to slot machines, where there’s really nothing you can do to impact gameplay. With video poker, the better decisions you make, the more money you can expect to make it into your bankroll.
- You can take advantage of the probabilities of a 52-card deck when playing video poker. Those probabilities will tell you how often you can expect to make certain winning hands. And it will also clue you in to how much you can expect from the game in terms of average payback.
- You can count on video poker to be one of the best gambling investments. The average payback for video poker is higher than it is for slot machines. And certain versions, including the full-pay version of Number Bonus video poker, rank higher than table games in the payback department.
- You can find a video poker game directly tailored to what you’re seeking from your gambling experience. Whether you’re someone hoping to play for a long time on a small bankroll or someone who wants to go for broke, you’ll find a video poker style that fits. The variety of different video poker games available in casinos and online makes this possible.
These are just some of the reasons why video poker, in any form, is a great game to play. Numbers Bonus video poker, in particular, serves as one of the more advantageous games in terms of payback. But before you can get to that, you should learn to play video poker in its most basic form.
If you’re completely new to video poker, you should check out the following section to learn the step-by-step method of playing basic video poker. On the other hand, if you already know the basics, you can move on to the next section and the specifics of Number Bonus video poker.
How to Play Video Poker
Step 1: Creating a Bankroll
As we’ve already said, you can only find Number Bonus video poker at the moment in online gambling sites. To create a bankroll at an online site, you have to create an account then fund that account.
Funding can come from traditional methods like credit cards. Or you might be able to find sites that let you use alternative methods like cryptocurrency. In any case, the bankroll will be what you use to make your bets and will also be the place where your winnings will collect.
You’ll notice that your bankroll is broken down into units known as coins or credits. Each of these units will correspond to the denomination you’ve chosen to play.
For example, imagine that you’re playing at a denomination of 25 cents and want to make a bet of five credits. In that case, you’d be betting $1.25, which is 5 times .25.
Step 2: Making a Bet
You’ll have the opportunity to bet between one and five credits when playing Number Bonus video poker. That puts it in line with the large majority of video poker variations to be found in casino and online. You can change your bet on every hand or you can stick with the same amount every hand.
We talked above about how you can use strategy when playing video poker. Most people know that you get to choose which cards to hold and which to discard when playing hands of video poker. And they might think that’s the only area when strategy comes into play.
In actuality, betting is part of video poker strategy as well. Many people incorrectly bet different amounts each hand they play. They might do this to try to keep their bankroll afloat longer, or they might be trying to “time” the game by betting larger amounts when they think they’re due for a win.
But your best strategy is always to bet the maximum amount of five coins. The reason for this comes down to payback for the royal flush. It rises significantly at the five-coin betting level.
When you make a royal flush in Number Bonus video poker on a bet of just one through four coins, you’ll receive 250 coins for every one that you bet. But when you bet five coins and are lucky enough to achieve a royal flush, you’ll get 6,000 coins in return, which is 1,200 coins for each that you bet.
You might think that you’ll never get a royal flush, since it’s the most difficult hand in the game to achieve. But regular video poker players know that, once you’ve played thousands of hands, it becomes more and more likely that you’ll end up with the hand at some point. And you’ll be sorry if you hit the royal flush and haven’t made the five-coin wager.
Step 3: Playing a Hand
Video poker resembles a computerized version of the table game known as Five-Card Draw. Those who have played Five-Card Draw know that you get a five-card deal, get to discard any or all of those cards, and can replace them with others from the deck. The object is to form the best five-card poker hand.
Video poker works in mostly the same way. But the burden for winning back money in video poker isn’t as steep. You don’t have to beat everyone at the table, as you would with Five-Card Draw.
Instead, you just have to make one of the winning hands that are listed on the pay table. Here are the winning hands that you’ll be looking for when playing Number Bonus video poker:
- 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)
At the top of this list are hands that will come up often during gameplay. As you move down the list, the hands get harder and harder to achieve based on the probabilities. You’ll get paid more as you move down the list (although, as you’ll see, the bonus card part of Number Bonus video poker confuses this matter just a bit).
After you’ve made your wager and have hit the button activating the deal, five cards will appear on your screen. This is your deal and the foundation for the hand you’ll be trying to make. But keep in mind that it’s just the starting point, since you’ll be able to improve your hand on the draw.
Before you get to that point, though, you should be aware of why certain cards show up in your hand. The software for video poker includes a random number generator that “shuffles” through a simulation of a standard 52-deck. When you hit the “deal” button, the cards at the top of the deck will be ones that are dealt to you.
That deck, now including 47 cards, goes right back to being shuffled until you hit the “draw” button. It’s important to understand this process, because it ensures that every deal or draw you receive is random. There’s no way to predict what’s coming based on any previous hands of video poker you’ve played.
When you get your five-card deal, you’ll start to assess in terms of the possibilities of winning hands. You might be lucky and have a winning combination right off the bat, or you could have five cards that have little connection to each other.
But you’ll get to discard the cards that aren’t useful to you. Those cards you’ve discarded will replaced by the top cards from the deck of 47 that’s been shuffling since the deal. You’ll decide what hands to pursue based on what you have in the deal and what’s still in the deck.
Let’s take a look at how this decision-making process might play out. Imagine that you receive the following deal:
As it is, that deal doesn’t have any winning combinations. But there are several possibilities that can be turned into winners if you get the right cards on the draw. You just have to figure out which one to pursue.
You’ll notice that you have a pair of fours. If you were to discard the other three cards, you’ll have the chance to improve to hands such as two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind.
Another avenue to pursue is to go for the flush. That would require holding the four hearts and discarding the four of clubs. Your chances of making the flush would be 9 in 47 (a little less than one in five), since there are still nine hearts cards in the deck and 47 total cards remaining.
If you really want to go for a big hand, you could keep the four, five, and six of Hearts only. This would leave open the possibility of trying two more hearts in consecutive rank to connect with the others for a straight flush.
The chances of you getting those cards for the straight flush are slimmer than if you went for the other hands we mentioned. But the payback is bigger as well, so it might be worth taking those chances.
Most video poker hands contain a similar push and pull between risk and reward. Some deals will be easy to handle in terms of the decisions you have to make. Others, like this, will make you stop and think.
In any case, once you make the decision, you’ll press the buttons corresponding to the cards you wish to hold. Then, you’ll press the “draw” button, which will signal the software to replace the cards you’ve discarded. At that point, your hand will be complete, and any winnings will be tallied to your bankroll.
You can continue to play in this manner as long as you still have credits remaining. Or you can cash out your winnings at any time. First, you should find out the guidelines for withdrawals for the site you’re using.
If you follow those steps, you should be able to handle basic video poker. Now, it’s time to learn the differences created by Number Bonus video poker.
Number Bonus Video Poker Specifics
The key to understanding how Number Bonus video poker works is realizing there will be a different rank of card which is specified before each session you play. Having this card in winning hands will boost the payback from what you normally get from these hands.
As far as what we mean be “rank,” think of the rank as the number or, if you have a face card, the face of the card. For example, here are some cards and their ranks:
Three of Spades: Three
Eight of Diamonds: Eight
King of Clubs: King
In the case of Number Bonus video poker, the bonus rank will be revealed to you right before the beginning of a session. If you were to play the game in several different sessions, you might end up with several different ranks being used as the bonus rank.
It’s important to realize you need the bonus rank to be involved in a winning combination before there’s an effect. Simply having a single bonus rank in your hand without having it connected to anything else won’t make any difference or earn you extra payback.
Here are the hands that are affected by the Bonus rank in Number Bonus video poker:
- Pair
- Two pair
- Three of a kind
- Flush
- Full house
- Four of a kind
The bonus ranks will be anywhere from two through 10. In other words, an ace or face card will never be designated as the bonus rank in Number Bonus video poker.
If a rank is designated as a bonus rank, any card with that rank will qualify, regardless of the suit. For example, if three is the bonus rank, you’ll get a boost when a winning hand includes any or all of the following: three of clubs, three of spades, three of hearts, or three of diamonds.
For an example of how Number Bonus video poker works with the bonus ranks, let’s look at a qualifying hand for each of the winning hands listed above, with the designated rank being seven:
- Pair: Seven of Clubs, Seven of Diamonds, Two of Clubs, Four of Spades, King of Hearts
- Two Pair: Seven of Spades, Seven of Hearts, Five of Diamonds, Five of Clubs, Ace of Spade
- Three of a Kind: Seven of Hearts, Seven of Diamonds, Seven of Spades, Nine of Clubs, Ten of Diamonds
- Flush: Seven of Spades, Three of Spades, Five of Spades, King of Spades, Ace of Spades
- Full House: Seven of Spades, Seven of Diamonds, Seven of Clubs, Ace of Diamonds, Ace of Hearts
- Four of a Kind: Seven of Clubs, Seven of Diamonds, Seven of Spades, Seven of Hearts, Queen of Clubs
You’ll notice that the full house in the example above includes three sevens and a pair of aces. The hand would have also qualified for the boosted payout if it had been constituted of three aces and a pair of sevens.
You’ll also see that a Pair of the bonus rank will make a winning hand. Normally, it takes a pair of jacks or better to get paid back in video poker. But, in Number Bonus video poker, you would get the same payback even though the bonus rank will always be lower than a jack.
Finally, you’ll notice that the straight flush and the straight aren’t included in this list. If you should get one of those hands with the bonus rank involved, there will be no change in pay.
Now that you know how the bonus hands work in Number Bonus video poker, it’s time to see how much they pay. We’ll do that by looking at the game’s pay table.
Pay Tables for Number Bonus Video Poker
For the most part, a Number Bonus video poker pay table pays out in a similar fashion to Jacks or Better, which is the most common form of video poker. In Jacks or Better, your payback rises as the probability of making a hand drops and vice versa.
But the bonuses included with the specified rank changes that just a little bit. Take a look at a comparison between what a winning hand pays normally in Number Bonus video poker and what it pays when the bonus rank card is included:
| Hand/Payout | With Bonus Rank Card | Without Bonus Rank Card |
|---|---|---|
| Pair of Tens or Less | 1 to 1 | 0 |
| Two Pair | 3 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 5 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| Flush | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| Full House | 12 to 1 | 10 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 40 to 1 | 20 to 1 |
You can see from this table just how important having the bonus rank involved can be. It’s something you have to consider when you’re plotting strategy, as we’ll talk about in a moment.
Let’s take a look at what the full-pay table for Number Bonus video poker looks like. By “full pay,” it means that it offers the highest payback of any pay table associated with the game.
| Coins/Hands | 1 coin | 2 coins | 3 coins | 4 coins | 5 coins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 6000 |
| Straight flush | 80 | 160 | 240 | 320 | 400 |
| Four of a kind With Bonus Card | 40 | 80 | 120 | 160 | 200 |
| Four of a kind | 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 |
| Full House With Bonus Card | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60 |
| Full house | 10 | 20 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Flush With Bonus Card | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Flush | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Three of a kind With Bonus Card | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Two pairs With Bonus Card | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Three of a kind | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Two pairs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Pair With Bonus Card | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
For a little context, let’s take a look at what a Jacks or Better full-pay table looks like since, as we said, its pay table most closely resembles Number Bonus video poker (without the bonus rank involved).
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 |
Let’s compare the winning hands’ paybacks for these two games, again without the bonus rank involved, to spot the differences:
| Hand/Game | Jacks or Better | Number Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Jacks or Better | 1 to 1 | 1 to 1 |
| Two Pair | 2 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 to 1 | 2 to 1 |
| Straight | 4 to 1 | 3 to 1 |
| Flush | 6 to 1 | 5 to 1 |
| Full House | 9 to 1 | 10 to 1 |
| Four of a Kind | 45 to 1 | 20 to 1 |
| Straight Flush | 50 to 1 | 80 to 1 |
| Royal Flush | 800 to 1 | 1200 to 1 |
You’ll notice that the Number Bonus video poker pay table tends to pay off more for the higher-paying hands. Remember that these hands are harder to achieve. But you’ll generally have more chances at quick, significant winnings playing Number Bonus.
The flipside is that the Number Bonus video poker pay tables pays less for common hands like two pair, three of a kind, straight, and flush. These hands will come up more often in gameplay than the high-paying hands.
As a result of all this, Number Bonus video poker will be a little bit more volatile in its payback than an actual Jacks or Better game. You’ll have more chances at scoring big winnings in a hurry. But you’ll run more of a risk that your bankroll will be quickly depleted.
By contrast, it will be hard to pump your bankroll up into the stratosphere playing Jacks or Better. But you will have a better chance of keeping play alive with a modest bankroll than if you were playing Number Bonus video poker. You’ll have to decide which style of play is better for you.
Payback Percentage for Number Bonus Video Poker
Volatility in video poker is more of a short-term concern. It will even out the more you play. After you play the game for a while, the payback percentage will start to determine how much you can expect to win.
Payback percentage in video poker is dependent upon the values on the pay table and the probability of making winning hands. In the case of Number Bonus video poker, the payback percentage is a bit fluid because the bonus rank is changing.
Regardless of which rank is chosen, however, the full-pay version of Number Bonus video poker offers outstanding payback in terms of other video poker games. In fact, it’s one of the few video poker games with a payback percentage of higher than 100%. Based on probabilities and payback, you can expect to make a profit playing this game.
Most video poker games come in under 100%. That means they maintain the house edge, which is common in casino games. It ensures that casinos and gambling websites don’t constantly lose money and go out of business.
Since Number Bonus video poker removes that house edge, it puts the gambler in the catbird’s seat. When you consider that you can also make money from rewards offered by gambling websites, the profit actually goes up another percentage point or two.
Keep in mind that payback percentage is based on playing the game for a long period of time. Anything can happen in a single session or even a few, because luck will run rampant during that time. You might win a bunch or lose most of your hands, depending on how your luck plays out, which will dramatically affect your own personal payback percentage.
You should also realize that the pay table listed above is the full-pay version of Number Bonus video poker. There’s a possibility that the game-makers will come up with lesser pay tables to try to take back the edge at some point.
That’s why you should always be watching out for the pay tables before you play. Look for the ones closest to the full-pay version so you can maximize your winnings playing Number Bonus video poker.
Video Poker Strategy for Number Bonus Video Poker
If there is a main drawback for Number Bonus video poker, it’s that strategy can be a bit tricky. Normally, you would use strategy charts or video poker training software to learn the right holds and discards for every possible deal. But those resources don’t apply as well for this game.
The bonus rank in Number Bonus video poker is always changing. Ideally, you’d learn a strategy for every single potential bonus rank. And that can be a difficult task.
For example, take a look at the following hand:
If you were playing Jacks or Better, the correct mathematical play is to hold on to the jack, queen, and king of hearts. You’d have a shot at a straight, a flush, a straight flush, or even a royal flush. You could even use the two cards drawn to match up with other face cards in the deck and end up with a pair, two pair, or three of a kind.
But what if you were playing Number Bonus video poker and the bonus rank was a four? Look again.
The pair of fours would already return you even money. And dropping the other three cards would allow you to draw to two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind. All of those hands get their paybacks boosted by the bonus rank being included.
In that example, playing the pair of fours is actually a better mathematical play than keeping the face cards. That might be hard to determine on your own in the heat of the moment. And, as we said, it’s difficult to get one of the normal resources for learning video poker strategy to work for Number Bonus video poker.
Why does it matter? Well, your payback percentage will drop if you make incorrect choices. By incorrect, we mean choices that lower the potential payback of a certain deal of the cards. What then is the best method for learning proper strategy for Number Bonus video poker?
We still think you can get away with a strategy chart for Jacks or Better. Then, just imagine that the bonus rank cards are high cards, i.e. jacks through aces, when you consult the chart.
The chart will rank the card combinations that you might receive on the deal. When you see the combination that you have ranked the highest on the chart, you’ll know that those are the cards you should be holding.
If you can memorize the chart, you should be able to come somewhat close to perfect play in Number Bonus video poker. That will keep your winnings very close to the quoted payback percentage.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Number Bonus Video Poker
Advantages of Number Bonus Video Poker
- Bonus ranks will bring boosted payback from what winning hands would normally play
- Boosted payoffs for high-paying hands even without bonus rank involved
- Overall payback is excellent
Disadvantages of Number Bonus Video Poker
- Might be difficult to pinpoint proper strategy
- Only one pay table limits you to a certain style of play
- Basic gameplay might not provide enough of a jolt for seasoned players
Conclusion on Number Bonus Video Poker
Number Bonus video poker stands as one of the most lucrative video poker games to be found online. Make sure to focus on whatever the bonus rank is the day you’re playing. If you can settle on a decent strategy, you could conceivably crank out a consistent profit.
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