Aces and Eights Video Poker Guide Online

It isn’t hard to understand why video poker titles like Aces and Eights are popular. In fact, the solo one-hand version of the classic card game may be even more popular online than it is, proportionately, in land-based casinos.

This is because even in land-based casinos, a video poker title like Aces and Eights is a solitary pastime between player and machine. It doesn’t have the conviviality of craps, roulette or blackjack, so there is no change in the authentic feel of the game when it is played online. There is no land-based casino sociability to be missed, so video poker fans may not even notice the difference.

Practising Poker Skills in Video Poker

Another reason titles like Aces and Eights are so popular is that they give a player a chance to practise poker skills in peace and quiet, without having to worry about the betting, bluffing and bantering that goes on at a live poker table game. Almost all video poker title operate on the same premise: the player is dealt five cards, and they can choose to hold or discard any number of them.

New cards are drawn to replace the discards, and any poker combinations that result are paid according to the pay table. Deciding which cards to hold and which cards to discard is a matter of understanding the odds on a standard deck, based on the cards already dealt. Video poker titles like Aces and Eights allow players to learn how to choose the best discards at their own pace, at stakes that the player has more control over.

The Aces and Eights Twist

Although Aces and Eights is played with a standard 52-card deck and no Jokers, it includes a twist that gives it its name. The Aces and Eights of the title aren’t Wild, but if either comes up as four of a kind, the player wins the penultimate prize on the pay table.

Reel 1 to 3 in Absolute Super Reels use the classic three-reeler symbols: single, double and triple bars, and Lucky 7s in green, blue, gold and red, as well as tricolours. The prizes won by different combinations also vary according to whether player is betting 1-9 credits or 10-15 credits per line. Any three bars and any three 7s, for example, win 3X and 15X the line bet, respectively, when playing at the lower stake, but 30X and 150X if played at the higher bet.

The top prize on the first three reels, for three Absolute Super Reels logos on one payline, is 4,000X the line bet; but it drops to just 400X if the player is playing fewer than 10 credits per line. There are also three different 7s with maximum prizes above 1,000X the line bet, as long as the player is betting 10-15 credits. So the wisdom of playing Max Bet is proven again by the pay table.

The Function of Reels 4 and 5

When the Instant Win reel is engaged, Reel 4 joins in the Absolute Super Reels spins along with Reels 1-3. It has no ordinary symbols on it, however. Instead, the Instant Win reel contains a series of numbers at random: +50, +150, +750 and +1,000. If any of these numbers come to rest at the end of a winning three-reel payline, the relevant number of credits is added to the win.

Reel 5 contains a series of multipliers: X2, X5 and X10, as well as the word Respin. If a multiplier symbol completes a winning line, the win is enhanced according to the multiplier value. If the respin symbol completes a winning line, the player receives up to 5 free respins, which can be retriggered. If three Absolute Super Reels logos, the +1,000 and X10 symbols all line up on one payline, the player wins the Absolute Super Reels progressive jackpot.