Multi Hand Video Poker Guide: How to Play & Best Variants

Multi hand video poker basics

In this guide I’m assuming that you already know how video poker works. If not, it’s simple - this is a single player five-draw poker game where the aim is to try and make the best hand possible from the cards you draw. Different hand combinations such as the Royal Flush and Two Pair have different odds and prize distributions. Because of how the game works, a heap of different offshoots and variants have been created over the years, with many games having a multi hand option.

How multi hand video poker works

The premise of multi hand video poker is as follows - instead of just playing with one hand, you play with multiples - potentially up to 5 or more at once. Each hand is independent and you must try and make the best hand possible for each of your hands - you generally can’t combine your cards from different hands but must play out each one separately.

There are some advantages to this as you are still usually playing with the same number of decks of cards, so you can get through the decks quicker and theoretically can have a better chance at forming a hand that has a prize. In terms of hand combinations, they remain exactly the same as standard single hand video poker, with the Royal Flush being the ultimate combo that everyone wants to get.

Multi video poker versions explained

It’s important to understand that there usually isn’t a standard multi hand video poker game. Instead, you will find that different versions of the game, such as Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, or Aces and Eights have both single hand and multi hand options. You can often switch between the two modes within a single game. So, multi hand video poker is generally a game mode within a specific version of video poker - not a true standalone game.

Pros and cons of multi play video poker

Like Jacks or Better video poker, I don’t think that multi hand video poker is perfect and it has its flaws. The gameplay is awesome and there’s more room for strategy, but at the same time, you can drain your virtual currency balance much quicker if you don’t know what you are doing. I’ve summarized my thoughts with these pros and cons:

Pros and Cons

• The gameplay is more intense.
• Greater room for strategy.
• More potential for combinations.
• Still relatively easy to learn.

• Easier to drain your virtual currency balance
• Higher variance.

Playing multi hand video poker games for free

If you want to play games like video Joker Poker or multi hand variants for free then there is a way you can. Sure, you can try demo versions of the games, but these have a limited scope and ultimately you can’t do anything with the free credits you use to play the demo versions. This leaves us with what I think is the best alternative - sweepstakes casinos. These are online casinos that use virtual currencies instead of real money and many of them feature video poker and other games.

How the virtual currencies work as sweepstakes casinos

To play multi hand video poker at sweepstakes casinos, you will be using virtual currencies - not real money. The two common virtual currencies used are Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins and I explain how they work here:

• Gold Coins: All social casinos have a Gold Coin game mode. You play games using your Gold Coin virtual currency and you then get the chance to get GC prizes in return. Gold Coins are for fun only though and they have no other function except for gameplay.
• Sweeps Coins: You can switch to SC mode and play multi hand video poker and other casino-style games with your SC and this gives you the chance to get SC prizes back. Sweeps Coins also have the potential benefit of being able to be redeemed for cash prizes and the common conversion rate is 1:1 USD. You normally need a minimum SC balance, and any bonus SC you have such as from the welcome bonus has to be played a set number of times such as 1x.

How to play video poker multi hand at these sites

If you want to play poker games or just experience the sweepstakes casino then you must create an account. This is an easy process that will take a few minutes, and after that, there’s usually a welcome bonus waiting for you.

You can then open the game library, find the video poker category, and select one of the video poker games such as Deuces Wild or Joker Poker that you want to play. Just make sure that you check the game has a multi hand variant beforehand! You’ll then get dealt cards for your individual hands and can play out each one in sequence.

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Check out these sites for multi hand video poker and other games

For your first free multi hand video poker experience, I’ve hand-picked three fantastic sweepstakes casinos. Each of these sites has a brilliant welcome bonus, plenty of gameplay variety, and is bursting with promos to give you a steady supply of free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. You can see the welcome bonuses you can get below, and I then give you a little intro to each of the sites after.

Stake.us - best for gaming variety

Stake.us: Pros & Cons

• Modern social casino
• Legit and trustworthy
• Excellent game selection
• Cool promo offers

• No Stake.us app for Android

Visit Stake.us

If you use the exclusive STFSOCIAL promo code during the registration process at Stake.us you’ll get a fantastic cumulative welcome bundle of 560,000 Gold Coins, 56 Stake Cash, and a 5% rakeback. This remains one of the best welcome bundles available. They have more promos though - every day you can get a 10,000 GC and 1 SC login bonus and there’s also a mail-in bonus of 5 SC for sending postcards off.

For gameplay, the site has multi hand video poker, plus other variants like Deuces Wild video poker. There’s over 1,200 casino-style games to enjoy in total, including titles from Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Gaming who are renowned for their amazing slots. I also recommend giving their Stake Originals games a try if you want a unique arcade gaming experience.

Real Prize - excellent usability

McLuck: Pros & Cons

• Slots from top providers
• Progressive jackpots available
• Loyalty Club with exclusive rewards
• Mobile apps for Android and iOS

• No video table games

Visit McLuck

Real Prize Casino also has an excellent welcome bonus. All you need to do to get it is click one of the links or banners featured here, sign up, and verify your ID, and you’ll get 100,000 Gold Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins! They have one of the better daily login bonuses too, where you get 5,000 Gold Coins and 0.30 Sweeps Coins every 24 hours.

This sweepstakes casino has various video poker variants and some of them have multi hand capabilities. Not only that, but I think their games are made easier to enjoy by the simple website design that puts usability first. You’ve got excellent game navigation and I think that beginners will have no problem finding what they want.

Sidepot.us - great mobile version

Sidepot: Pros and cons

• Fantastic sign-up bonus
• Great range of ongoing promotions
• Immersive in-house social games
• Responsive support team

• Higher redemption limits of 100 GC

Visit Sidepot

My last pick is Sidepot.us and I was originally a customer of the social sportsbook sister site Fliff, and I’ve found that Sidepot.us has many of the same features including awesome promotions, superb usability, and an excellent mobile website. It doesn’t have an app, but if you want to enjoy multi hand video poker and other games on your smartphone, you can use the mobile-responsive browser version which works perfectly.

For promos, you get 10,000 Gold Coins and 5 Sweeps Coins when you sign up, and there’s a daily login bonus of 10,000 GC and 1 SC. They have an optional Gold Coin store too, where you can purchase GC packages and I’ve found these to be great value.

Give multi hand video poker games a try now and become a pro

If you fancy a challenge and think you have mastered the basics of video poker, I think that multi hand video poker can give you an additional challenge. You get the thrill of trying to figure out the best course of action for multiple hands, and have fun creating different strategies. Just remember that you should take the time to assess each hand composition carefully to think about the best outcome.

I think that a great way to play this game variant first is by checking it out at a sweepstakes casino. You don’t have to use real money and you can concentrate on improving your strategy and understanding the game mechanics. You can start by clicking the links we have here and checking out social casinos like Stake.us, Real Prize, and Sidepot.us - just make sure you get your welcome bonus so that you have some free virtual currencies to start playing with.

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Multi hand video poker FAQs