Last week, a company of officers lead by a number of top Thai police officials raided an industrial park thought to be hiding the infamous secret strip-poker club, but sadly then the police made their entrance all that awaited them was a bank of CCTV cameras and a freezer full of soft drinks. Absolutely nothing relating to gambling in any way was discovered within the property. Data received previously by law enforcement officials included a number of recent photographs of the alleged poker den, which had been distributed on the internet in recent weeks.

The evidence on hand seemed to suggest that the location was being utilised as an illegal casino in which partially nude women served gamblers. Following the unsuccessful bust, detectives have theorized that the building may have been used exclusively during the festive period on a very temporary basis. While this dream could very well potentially still exist somewhere, it certainly isn’t in Thailand. Either way, surely it is much more convenient (and undoubtedly more legal) for poker fans engage in their passion via the internet? There are certainly no shortage of online casinos, all of which allow you to gamble to your hearts content worrying only about the video poker odds and not about police raids!

Contrary to the vast majority of other video poker games, in which players traditionally use online avatars or custom icons, Aces Hangout’s biggest goal is to feel a lot more like a genuine card game. You can view live video footage of your opponents using the visual capabilities of Google+’s Hangouts, similar to a webcam chat session. The key factor here is something which has until now been exclusive to the offline poker experience, and that is the ability to see who’s bluffing, and who has the best poker face.

Unfortunately, the project is still in a testing phase, but if you’re handy with using APIs and Developer Previews you can try out a multi-person poker session right now. If you’re interested in monkeying around with all that jazz then simply sign up here and experience the beta version for yourself.

“So is the application isn’t ready yet, why is this even considered news?” you may be thinking. Simply put, according to the developers Hettema&Bergsten the only thing preventing the product from being launched is Google+ Hangouts isn’t yet commercially available. Why are Google taking so long to get this off the ground? That is anybody’s guess, but certainly highlights a fundamental issue with Google in general; they rush their products to market before they’re ready. With the failure of previous products like Wave and Buzz, I suppose you can’t blame them for being hesitant.

Regardless of all that, the most important thing to note is that Aces Hangout is funded by Bwin.Party, a huge player in the sports betting and online casino industries. Don’t recognize the name? How about Party Poker? So at least we know this game should see the light of day… When Google get round to launching the damn thing already.

Slow down! Hit the slow button on your video poker game before you start. It is important that you take some time between your games as this is a game of skill and every decision counts. Take your time in finding the right video poker machine and this can make a difference even though the house has the edge. Go for a game this lacking in excitement, as this will help you focus more on your bets and the decisions that you make.

Always remember that video poker is always better than a game of multi paylines slot machine game or a game of keno as the payouts get better once you get the strategy right. The excitement never ends when it comes to video poker as you are constantly looking at better decisions and strategy to hit the big one.

In this game the joker acts as the wild card and can help make a winning hand. The lowest paying poker hand is a pair of kings or better. Since there is a wild card in the game you can create a five-of-a-kind hand in this variant. There are a few differences in the paytables when it comes to the natural royal flush and a royal flush made with a joker.

In Aces and Eights you get an 80 coin payout for a four of a kind hand. Four of a kind (Sevens) also offers a special payout of 50 coins per coin wagered. The game offers all other basic features of Microgaming video poker. The other new variant offered at Virgin Casino is Bonus Deuces Wild. The two is the wild card and you get special payouts for hand made with the wild cards.  A natural flush pays out 800 coins per coin wagered and the jackpot is 5000 coins. With big payouts and fun features these video poker games are certainly worth a try.

A smaller state court ruled earlier this year that the people involved in the 2009 law did not take into consideration that the amendment would legalise video poker in bars, restaurants, truck stops as well as raising taxes on seemingly unrelated products such as sweets, bumper stickers, liquor among others. The court said that this piece of legislation although generating considerable funds for construction projects, violates state constitutional rules that dictate all laws should only address a single topic.

Some lawmakers have claimed that they have no doubt that the law satisfies the standard for single-subject legislation. Despite this, as a contingency plan other sources of funding are being secured in case the construction projects are halted.

Regulators of the gambling industry have not yet approved anyone to operate video poker based entertainment but this matter is subject to further review. However, some state lawmakers passed a new expansion which asks the regulators to speed up their own review of some video poker license applications. Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois state has expressed some concern over the bill.

The story began when Wirtz Beverage Illinois, a company selling spirits and liquor started a lawsuit objecting to how bigger tax increases would be levied on wine and spirits but not beer.

On Playtech powered online casinos like Casino Las Vegas, you can play the popular Megajacks video poker game. It is played with 1 deck of 52 cards. In Megajacks video poker there are no wild cards and you can play the game for peanuts, $0.25 ($1.25 is the maximum bet per game).

On Microgaming powered online casinos like Roxy Palace Casino, you can play Jackpot Deuces video poker. Like Megajacks it is played with 1 deck of 52 cards and there are also no wild cards. The amounts to play the game differ from Megajacks… it is a little bit more expensive with the minimum bets starting at $1.00 ($5.00 is the maximum bet per game).

On Cryptologic powered online casinos, you can play Super Jackpot video poker. Super Jackpot is also played with 1 deck of 52 cards and there are no wild cards. The bets per game vary from $0.25 to as much as $5.00.

Players will be able to play Jacks or Better on their iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch and Android Devices. The mobile version of the game is played exactly like online Jacks or Better. You will be dealt 5 cards from a 52 card deck and you must decide which cards you want to keep and which ones you want to discard. A pair of jacks is the lowest poker hand that pays out and the payouts increase as you get higher poker hands. The maximum bet in the game is £50 per hand.

A unique feature in the mobile version of the game is that when you get a payout the double-up gamble feature is activated, if enabled. In this special round, you can choose either red or black. If the color of the next card drawn matches your selection your winning amount is doubled and you have the option to play this game again. If the color does not match your selection you lose all your winnings. If you do not wish to use this option you can just click on ‘collect’ and take your winnings.

Alex Kelly, Interactive Vice-President for IGT, says that Jacks or Better video poker is an innovative product that will add a great deal of value to an operator’s mobile portfolio. Kelly further added that the advancements that have taken place in phone technology have allowed IGT to showcase its strengths and create an online title that has been a strong favorite among players for a long time and hence they can easily recognize and relate with the mobile version of the game.

With step 1 successfully completed it is time for step 2. Choose from bet one, bet max and deal. By hitting the bet one button you will increase your bet by the amount that you have already chosen in step 1. When you choose bet max your bet will automatically be increased to the maximum betting value that is available for the game. As for deal, you opt for the amount that you have chosen in the first step and you start the card dealing process.

In step 3 you get to decide which card to keep (hold) and which are the ones that you don’t want (discard). So if you want to hold on to one card you click on the hold button that you will find under every single card. Once you have selected your cards by making use of the hold button, the rest of the cards will be discarded. The possible winning hands that you can come up with are 4 Deuces, 3 Deuces, 2 Deuces, 1 Deuces and the rest would be No Deuces and No hands.

Step 4 is about how to wrap it up in style. So once you win you will be paid according to your bet and the value of the cards. You can find your final amount displayed at the bottom of corners of the screen. Once you have completed playing you can click on the “credit”, “cash out” or “cashier” button to collect your remaining money. Now that’s it and you are all set to go wild with Deuces Wild video poker.