Tens or Better
Many first time video poker players find themselves being attracted to playing the Tens or Better variant when they see it being offered at a Playtech or Microgaming software powered site, as the design of this game offers a range of additional winning payouts.
The main difference between this game and its sister game that being Jacks or Better is that when playing it instead of you starting to receive winning payouts whenever a hand is worth a pair of Jacks or higher in value, you will receive a payout for any hand containing at least a pair of 10’s.
However, there is a price to be paid in regards to playing this game and that is the pay table attached to it is not quite as generous as the Jacks or Better game.
In fact when playing Tens or Better the payout percentage offered is 99.14% when you play Microgaming’s single hand variant and a much lower 97.46% when playing the single hand Playtech version of this game, as opposed to the 99.54% offered by the Jacks or Better game!
But if you do fancy playing this game online and you haven’t played it before then do read on for below is an overview on how you can play it and also we will let you know the most strategic way you can play it online.
You will find not only single hand variants of the Tens or Better video poker game variants but you will also find 4, 10, 50 and even 100 hand variants of this game, so there will be plenty of different variants available to you if you do decide this is the game for you!
How to Play Tens or Better Video Poker
Always have a good look through the video poker games menu at any online casino site you have chosen to play at, for by doing so you will come across often several different versions of the same game.
With that in mind the first decision you will have to make when you choose to play the Tens or Better video poker game is whether you wish to play it as a single hand game or a multi hand game.
If you decide to play the single hand variants offered by both Microgaming and Playtech powered sites then the stake and coin values offered on those games will be higher than are found on the multi hand versions.
Clicking on the game you fancy playing will then see that game being launched and you can then select by clicking on the coin values both how many coins you wish to place on each hand and also the value of those coins.
Clicking on the deal button will then see five cards being dealt out to you from the single deck of card when playing the one hand variant of this game and you will then have to pick any of those cards to hold for the next stage of the game.
As soon as you have chosen which of your initial five cards to hold or discard you simply click onto the deal button one final time and the cards you have chosen not to hold are removed from the screen and new ones are dealt out of the deck to replace them.
The aim of the final deal is for you to have formed one of the winning combinations listed on the pay table and if so you are the rewarded with that corresponding payout as listed on the pay table based on how many coins you have wagered.
Microgaming and Playtech both have several versions of Tens or Better on offer and all of them will offer you an optional gamble game when you have formed a winning payout. Both of those gamble games will see you having to correctly predict which of four facing down cards is higher than a face up card and if you guess correctly your winning payout is doubled.
Microgaming’s version forces you to gamble the entire amount you won on the base game however Playtech’s give you the option of gambling all of your winnings from that base game or just half of them.
Tens or Better Video Poker Strategy
You will always want to get as close to as the expected long term payout percentage attached and offered by any video poker game variant you are playing and that will of course be the case if you choose to play the Tens or Better variant online.
The one main thing to always keep in mind is that you could win 4000 coins when playing this variant with five coins in play and as such you should only ever play it with maximum coin hands in live play! That jackpot payout which will be coming your way when you get dealt out a Royal Flush hand is greatly enhanced in value and by playing fewer than five coins will see you getting a much lower valued jackpot payout.
Not only should you play this game for five coin hands but you are also best advised to play it with the auto hold option switched on, you will find that game play option setting located on the options stetting tab of this game and by activating it whenever your initial five card hand has been dealt out to you the game will hold the best cards for you.
One other thing to keep in mind is that the gamble game option when taken, depending on the outcomes you achieve on that game could have a negative effect on the payout percentage, so no matter how tempted you are to try and increase the value of any winning payout dealt out to you when playing this game you should always avoid the gamble game.
One final tip to consider is that you will get something of an increased winning chance when you make use of a video poker related casino bonus many casinos offer their new and existing players. However, make sure those bonuses can be used on this game and the play through requirements are low!