Poker at Amazon Slots is a family of card games rather than a single game, and the version you play changes the rules, the hand values and how you bet. This page explains the common poker variants, the basic rules, and how a computer (RNG) version differs from a live dealer table. It does not list the tables Amazon Slots offers at any given time, so check what is available before you play.
Common poker variants
Poker games share a 52-card deck and the same five-card hand rankings, but the way cards are dealt and bet differs. The variants you are most likely to meet online are Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker and video poker such as Jacks or Better.
Texas Hold'em and Omaha are usually played against other players, with shared cards laid on the table. Caribbean Stud and Three Card Poker are usually played against the house, where you compare your hand with the dealer's. Video poker is a single-player machine version with a fixed paytable.
Check which of these visit Amazon Slots offers, and read the rules shown on the specific table before you join.
How the basic rules work
Each hand is made from five cards, and a stronger hand beats a weaker one. From highest to lowest, the main rankings are royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card. Within the same ranking, the higher cards decide the result.
In Texas Hold'em and Omaha, each player receives private cards, then shared cards are revealed in stages with rounds of betting between them. Your final hand is made from your private cards and the shared cards. In Omaha you must use exactly two of your private cards.
In games against the house, the rules set when the dealer qualifies and how each bet pays. Video poker pays according to its paytable, which lists the payout for each hand. The game's own rules and paytable set out the payouts for that version, so read them before you stake. Each deal is random, and earlier hands do not make a later hand more likely.
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RNG tables and live dealer tables
In an RNG version, software shuffles and deals from a random number generator. There is no dealer, the game sets the pace, and you act at your own speed. The rules are built into the software, and each round is independent of the last.
A live dealer table uses a real dealer, a physical deck and a camera stream. Rounds move at the speed of the table, you can usually see the dealer and the other players, and chat may be offered. Outcomes are just as random in both versions. The difference is the pace and the presentation.
Live poker tables, where they are offered, are covered in the live casino games section.
Practical points before you play
Read the rules and paytable of the exact game you choose, because the same name can hide different payouts. Check the minimum and maximum stakes before you join a table, and choose a stake you can afford to lose in full.
Set a budget and a time limit before you start, and stop when you reach either. Long sessions make it easy to lose track of both money and time.
Do not raise your stakes to recover losses, because that usually increases the risk. Betting systems such as Martingale do not change the odds of a random deal, so they cannot make a session pay. If you want to set limits or take a break, see safer gambling.
