Joker Wild (NetEnt)

100% bonus up to £300 + 20 spins Wagering Requirements: 30

94

Play For Real Play Now

100% up to £100 Wagering Requirements: 35

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Most video poker games take the 'traditional' approach – i.e. visual representations of how video poker cabinets looked in the 1980s (and – admittedly – how many of them still look in Las Vegas casinos today). It's nice to see that NetEnt have taken a different approach with Joker Wild.

The graphics are much more contemporary, although perhaps a little animation might be nice. As the name of this game suggests, this is a video poker game played with a deck of 53 cards – a standard deck with a joker added. The joker himself, whom looks like someone a super hero might do battle with, is in the top right hand corner of the screen, looking handsomely malevolent.

With the addition of the joker, something else has to give – the minimum winning hand is a pair of kings, as opposed to the standard pair of jacks.

You can set your coin value from 0.10 to 10.00, and your bet level from one to five. All prizes are multiplied by your bet level, except for a natural royal flush on level five which wins 800x – on all other levels it wins 400x.

Once you are happy with your wager, hit 'Deal' to receive your cards. Winning hands are held automatically, but you can 'unhold' them. To hold cards, click on them or the hold button, then hit 'Draw' to see if you can improve your hand. All winnings are paid automatically.

You can gamble all wins. You guess either the colour (for 2x) or suit (for 4x) of a hidden card. You can collect at any time, and you can gamble up to five times in a row.

With perfect play, the house edge in this game is 2.05%

Conclusion

Although nice to look at, the addition of a joker to the pack in this game simply sacrifices too much. The payouts are adjusted too greatly in favour of the house, and you lose a pair of jacks or queens as a winner. Even with perfect play the house edge is 2.05 percent, which is just too high. It's a shame to say it for such a nicely rendered game, but for winning chances, you're going to have to look elsewhere.