Optimal Video Poker, from GenPlay Games, simulates the casino's secret weapon against Social Security checks everywhere: the entirely odds-based one-player game of video poker. Even though it essentially boils down to a very specialized mobile deck of cards, this game is tricked out with enough video poker variations and other neat features to make it to the upper echelon of mobile casino games, provided you like video poker, of course.
Video poker is a simple game of five card draw played against an odds chart. You lay down your bet, receive five cards, and get a single round to trade some of your hand in. When all is said and done, you'll either make back some multiple of your bet, or you'll get stuck with the big donut. There's a family of 12 additional variants that feature wild cards, bonus cards, jokers, and other special criteria to spice things up. Typically, you need to score at least a pair of jacks or better to make back your money, although some versions have much steeper requirements to reach the money zone. In every case, the better your hand is, the more your bankroll will grow.
It may not sound very compelling, but this very same game has, in fact, mesmerized a large segment of the casino-going crowd in recent years, mostly because of its relative simplicity. There's an optimum way to play every hand that maximizes your mathematical expectation, just as in blackjack, so if you make the right choices on every hand, you'll make money over the long term. However, if you don't, you won't. The trick is to memorize the correct cards to keep in each situation, and Optimum Video Poker shows you just what the best move is, adjusted for each of its popular variations, of course. If you're laying down the wrong cards, the game will advise you to switch your play around, and it will tell you why. You're free to either ignore the advice or turn the hint mode off entirely, but this is a great way to learn how to play video poker, as well as become more familiar with poker odds in general. In addition, Optimal Video Poker will keep track of your relevant play statistics over time. Finally, the game packs a nifty online mode that places you based on how much money you can make in five minutes of play. Winners are apparently announced at several-week intervals.
Optimal Video Poker's presentation isn't fancy--it's a card game, after all--but it gets the job done. There are alternate background themes for every poker variation, in addition to a nice opening tune and a few sound effects. Don't walk into this download thinking you'll get anything other than what the title suggests, though. Still, if video poker's your thing, laying down some chips on this game is a very smart bet.
