Where is the Best Video Poker Online in NJ?

Video poker can be one of the best games in the casino, offering as good a gamble as even the best table games. I am going to take a look at every game available in New Jersey's online casinos, to see which games are good, and which ones you should avoid.

I'll get right to the casino VP rankings, and then I will have a lot to say about each...

NJ Casino Video Poker Rankings, from best to worst:
Rank	Casino	# VP Games	# 99%+	Link
#1		21	8	Play at Golden Nugget
#2		6	4	Play at Virgin
#3		6	3	Play at Borgata
#4 (tie)		1	0	Play at Harrahs

Before I get into the commentary, here are the top 5 video poker games available across all of the casinos:

Best Video Poker Games in NJ
Rank	Game		Return	Where
#1	IGT Jacks or Better   (Get Strategy at Amazon.)		99.54%	Golden Nugget Virgin Borgata
#2	IGT Double Double Bonus, w/1000x royal   (Get Strategy at Amazon.)		99.51%	Virgin
#3	Spin Games Deuces Wild Elite		99.45%	Golden Nugget
#4	NYX Gaming Aces & Faces		99.26%	Golden Nugget
#5	IGT Bonus Poker   (Get Strategy at Amazon.)		99.17%	Golden Nugget Virgin Borgata

Why Golden Nugget is #1 in VP

Having 21 varieties of VP including 8 games that return over 99%, Golden Nugget tops my list of the best places in NJ to play video poker.

They have games from all three of the main VP game providers in New Jersey: IGT, NYX Gaming, and Spin Games. The game with the lowest house edge is the excellent IGT "9/6" Jacks or Better game, but they also have the best Deuces Wild game in NJ: Deuces Wild Elite. This game is more commonly known as Deuces Wild Bonus, and pays extra for premium hands like five Aces.

Golden Nugget grabs the top ranking with a combination of good variety and strong paytables.

Virgin

Virgin Casino offers the best version of the most popular VP game, Double Double Bonus. The paytable for that game is the "full-pay" 9/6 version of DDB, but it also pays more than usual for a Royal Flush. The Royal pays 1000 X your bet instead of the normal 800 X.

Bottom of the Barrel

And I can't get away from this topic without pointing out one bad choice. Harrahs Casino offers only ONE game of video poker. It's called "Jacks or Higher", and as it sounds, it is a simple Jacks or Better clone.

They are sneaky about the paytable though. It's a "9/6" game, but they short-pay the player when you get a four-of-a-kind, getting only 100 coins on a 5-coin bet instead of the usual 125 coin payout. They also drop the straight flush pay from 250 to 200. That drops the player return to just 98.25%, instead of the 99.54% of the real paytable offered elsewhere.

If that isn't enough to discourage you, the game is also so badly implemented that it actually hurts my brain to play it. If you are a player there, check it out just for the amusement value.

My VP wishlist for NJ

Video poker games in NJ have improved a lot since the casinos launched, but I continue to complain about this area in most of my reviews. Even with the good inventory at Golden Nugget, there are so many opportunities to expand what is available. I would love to see some of my land-based casino favorites arrive online, such as Super Times Pay, SpinPoker, or Ultimate X. Even a good single-line version of Joker Poker would be a welcome addition. (NYX's Jester Poker is a poor substitute, and the version inside IGT's Triple Play games has a terrible paytable.)

I'm pleased to see progress, but this is still an area where much more good stuff could be done. Hopefully we will continue to see the market push for more variety.

In the meantime, I'll borrow a signoff from video poker expert Bob Dancer, who ends the weekly Gambling with an Edge podcast with simple advice: "Go out and hit lots of royal flushes, everybody." Sounds good to me.