As such video poker games are played in the same way at online casinos powered by different software providers. However there are differences in how the games are structured on the screen and in the extra features offered. This article explains the basics of Cryptologic video poker games.

Cryptologic video poker games require players to make three selections up front. The first is the number of hands that the player wants to wager. The number of hands varies from 1 to 100 in selected stops. The choices offered are 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100. In most Cryptologic video poker variants the player can select the coin size from 0.10 to 20.00. Finally the player has to select the number of coins from 1 to 5. The selections can be changed as desired before each new hand. The total amount wagered per hand is the product of the three selections. This amount is displayed in the Total Bet cell so that players are aware of their liability before they activate the game.

One unique feature of Cryptologic video poker games is that players have three game speed options to choose from. The fastest speed eliminates card dealing animations and exposes all cards instantaneously. This is very useful when playing multi hand video poker games, where the animations begin to irritate. The slowest game speed exposes cards one at a time. This is suited for players who enjoy the suspense of ascertaining if the hand being formed will pay out. The intermediate speed also exposes cards one at a time but at a faster rate.

Another useful feature in Cryptologic video poker games is the Auto Hold. The cards that should be held as per optimum video poker strategy are marked ‘Held’. Ideally the player need not take any action but can straightaway click the draw button to replace the remaining cards. This spoils the fun for the expert video poker players therefore Cryptologic allows them to disable this feature. The standard option for enabling or disabling the voices and sound effects are available in Cryptologic video poker. There are no voices in these games and therefore this option is redundant. Players can decide on the sound effects as per their liking. The options are exercised through the Settings button and will automatically apply for all games.

In Cryptologic video poker the payout table is displayed below the cards. It depicts the total payout in coins for the number of coins wagered. As the player increases the number of coins wagered the payout table is automatically adjusted. Each hand ranking has a different color code in the payout table. The same color is used to mark winning hands. This helps players immediately recognize the winning hands in multi hand video poker games. In the payout table the winning hand rankings are highlighted with the number of each type of hand ranking obtained displayed. The total amount won is displayed in the Paid cell.

Cryptologic video poker games offer a Double Up option. Players can stake the amount won in the hand and try to double it by guessing the color of the next card dealt or try to quadruple it by trying to guess the suit of the next card. However, if they guess incorrectly then they will lose the amount won in the main game.