Joker Poker

Joker Poker is one of three principal Video Poker games that have been modified to create most of the games that are available today. Joker Poker changes the basic Video Poker game by adding a Joker card to the deck (making a 53 card deck). This card is a Wild card (a card that can be used as whatever card in the deck is most beneficial to the player).

There are two paytable variants for Joker Poker - Kings or Better or 2 Pair or Better. The vast majority of casinos use the Kings or Better variant, but casinos operating on IGT software offer both versions and Wager21 and PlayNGo software exclusively uses the 2 Pair or Better variant.

RealTime Gaming casinos use the Kings or Better variant but offer it with a bonus for a Sequential Royal Flush. This is a Royal Flush dealt in hand order – 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace – from left to right.

For ease of comparison, the below table displays the best House Edge for Joker Poker available at each software provider;

Some notes on the tables below;

- We’ve included both the 5 coin House Edge and the House Edge when playing 1-4 coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are the same and as such only one figure is listed. To find the house edge/paytable for 2-4 coins just multiple the 1 coin figure by the number of coins.

Kings or Better

* We don’t recommend playing with any casino using Bwin/Party software due to increased risk of player issues.

** We don’t recommend playing with any casino using Dragonfish (888) software due to increased risk of player issues.

*** Available at Club World casinos.

****We do NOT recommend playing with any SkillOnNet casinos due to software fairness issues that were previously detected on their Video Poker games. The House Edge figures are only accurate if the game operates fairly.

Two Pair or Better

*It is highly likely that Wager21 software does not operate in a random fashion and as such the figures included in this article while accurate for a fair game are likely inaccurate.

Online we’ve found Joker Poker Video Poker all major software providers. The paytables for the different softwares are displayed below;

Betsoft

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.06%.

Bwin/Party

* This game is called ‘Mega Joker Poker’

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.49%.

* We consider the Bwin/Party group to be a poor choice for players in terms of a high risk of player issues.

Cryptologic

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.74%.

Digital Gaming Solutions (DGS)

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.57%.

**Very limited information is available on this Jackpot. The only figure we’ve found is $1840 which equates to 7360 coins. We assume that the seed value is 5000 coins. If you have seen a higher Jackpot figure please email us a screenshot. The break even value for this jackpot is 8650 coins or $2163.

Dragonfish (888)

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 4.49%.

* Due to various player issues we do not recommend playing with any casino using Dragonfish software.

EGT

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.74%.

GamesOS

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

** Called ‘Joker Wild

GameSys

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.67%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at -0.02%.

*The negative House Edge value indicates a player advantage. As GameSys casinos take a 10% fee of net winnings at the end of any session, this figure is not representative of the actual situation.

IGT

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.45%.

* Only a 1 coin variant available. Payouts proportionate at all bet sizes.

We’re also aware of an offline Joker Poker game offered by IGT that uses the following paytable;

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 0.22%.

** The negative House Edge indicates a player advantage.

Another offline Joker Poker game offered by IGT uses the following paytable;

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at -9.47%.

* The negative House Edge indicates a player advantage.

Another offline Joker Poker game offered by IGT uses the following paytable;

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.45%.

Microgaming

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

Net Entertainment

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.93%.

* This game is called ‘Joker Wild’ at Net Entertainment casinos.

Novomatic

* The Novomatic Joker Poker does not function on a multi-coin bases.

* The Novomatic Joker Poker is called Jokers Wild

* The Jackpot values in the above table are drawn from our own observations and may not be the complete range of values.

* The breakeven value for this jackpot is 17600. When looking at the different values for the Jackpot, divide the Jackpot figure by the bet size to get the Jackpot value.

OpenBet

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.56%.

PlayNGo

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.05%.

Playtech

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

Realtime Gaming

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.69%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.69%.

* There are usually 3 paytable variants for RealTime Gaming software.  We’ve only encountered 2 Joker Poker paytables at quality groups – two with Sequential Royal Flush payouts and one without -  but this does not mean others aren’t possible. There are relatively few RealTime Gaming casinos that we would recommend playing with and the paytables we have found have been taken from those few groups that maintain a positive reputation.

Rival

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

Saucify

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.06%.

SkillOnNet

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.93%.

* We do NOT recommend playing with any SkillOnNet casinos due to software fairness issues that were previously detected on their Video Poker games. The House Edge figures are only accurate if the game operates fairly.

TopGame

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

Vuetec

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.74%.

Wager21

*It is highly likely that Wager21 software does not operate in a random fashion and as such the figures included in this article while accurate for a fair game are likely inaccurate.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 11.49%.

*This is a progressive jackpot game. The breakeven jackpot value for this game is $23660.

Wager Gaming Technology

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

Ultimate X Bonus Poker variants

Ultimate X is a game variant that allows a 10 coin feature to be played that gives a multiplier to any win on the hand AFTER a winning hand. We have not encountered Ultimate X at any online software providers.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 3.06%.

Multi-Strike Joker Poker variants

Multi-Strike Video Poker is a Video Poker variant that allows you to play 4 hands in a single round with an increasing win multiplier for each hand that you win. Currently we are only aware of Multi-Strike Joker Poker being offered offline and at Microgaming online casinos.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.04%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 2.84%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at -0.08%.

Super Times Pay Bonus Poker Variants

Super Times Pay is a game variant that allows a 6^th coin to be played that randomly awards hands a win multiplier of 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 or 10. We have not encountered Super Times Pay at any online software providers.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 1.93%.

* The paytables for 2, 3 and 4 coins are just the paytable for 1 coin multiplied by the number of coins. The House Edge for 1-4 coins are all equal at 6.45%.

Paytable Analyser

If you encounter a different paytable you can use our Paytable Analyser to find the House Edge for the game.

*** NOTE: there are 3 versions of Joker Poker on Nolan's site: King+, 2 Pair+ and Seq. Royal ***

Strategy Calculator

To find out the correct play for individual hands use our Strategy Calculator which will tell you the correct cards to hold for the paytable you are playing.

Strategy Trainer

If you intend to play a lot of Joker Poker we would advise learning the optimal strategy for the game you’ll be playing. Below you’ll find a strategy trainer that will allow you to practice the game and correct you when you make mistakes;

*** NOTE: there are 3 versions of Joker Poker on Nolan's site: King+, 2 Pair+ and Seq. Royal ***

*All figures in this article rely on use of a strategy optimized to the specific paytable in use. Use of any other strategy will increase the House Edge. You can find the optimized strategy for any paytable using the calculators on this page.