Guide to Super Peek and Play Video Poker

Super Peek and Play video poker takes the “peek” concept found in several different video poker formats and enhances it. Not only will you get a chance to look at the first card on the draw before deciding which cards to play, but you can also choose whether or not you want this card in your hand. Having this twist enabled, which costs three coins more than the normal max bet, will greatly improve your chances of winning specific hands.

Super Peek and Play

Video poker is beloved by people around the world in part because it is a relatively easy game to learn to play. You just have to decide how much you want to bet and which cards you want to hold and discard.

What makes the decision-making process a bit tricky is the fact that you usually won’t know what cards are coming if you need them on the draw. The best you can do is base your decision on the probabilities that you can make certain winning hands on the pay table. You would then hold the cards that give you the best chance of getting a winning hand, while also taking into account the payback for those hands.

It is an inexact science. You can learn ideal strategy for video poker, but still come up short during a session because of bad luck on the draw. And there’s nothing more frustrating then choosing between two possible combinations of holds and discards then watching cards come up on the draw that would have perfectly complemented the alternative you didn’t choose.

Super Peek and Play video poker alleviates that problem to a great extent. It is a kind of extra that can be laid on top of any multiple play video poker format, and you’ll get to have your favorite pay table. To get access to this feature, you’ll have to bet eight coins per hand instead of the normal maximum of five.

When this feature is enabled, you’ll see the cards you receive on the deal and get a peek at the first card scheduled to come up on the draw. With that information, you can make a more accurate decision about which cards to hold and discard. That alone will raise the percentage of hands you win.

On top of that, you can choose to leave that first card on the draw out of your hand. This will really come in handy on hands where you’re looking for a specific card that could make a big wining hand for you. That feature is something that is relatively unique to Super Peek and Play video poker.

The big drawback is the max bet of eight coins that you have to pay for adding this feature to the game. Considering you’ll also be playing multiple hands at once, Super Peek and Play video poker is not a cheap game. But the rewards you can gain from being able to take a peek make it worthwhile.

In the following article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about Super Peek and Play video poker. We’ll explain how to play basic video poker and how to play this game with the special twist. Finally, we’ll talk about the strategy you should be using to make the most out of your gameplay.

The Joys of Video Poker

If you are completely new to the world of video poker, you might be at a bit of a loss in terms of learning how to play Super Peek and Play video poker. After all, you’ll be playing multiple hands at once. And, if you bet the max amount of eight coins, you’ll also have to try and figure out the special feature.

For that reason, it’s a good idea for you to get acquainted with basic video poker before trying this game. If you already have a hold on how to play a hand of video poker, you can move on to the sections where we discuss the specific twists of Super Peek and Play video poker. But if you’re brand new to the game as a whole, you should stop and get the basics down.

One thing you’ll find out quickly is that video poker tops most casino games in terms of the benefits it brings to players. Take a look at some of them to get an idea.

  • Video poker is played by a single person. You don’t need any help from anyone in the casino to play. And you don’t have to deal with annoyances from other players, meaning you get total privacy as you play.
  • Video poker is very simple to learn. Even for pure beginners, the process is easy once you understand how poker hands are formed. And if you already know all that, you should be up and playing in moments with a pretty good understanding of the action.
  • Video poker comes in many different forms. The variety of games available means that you never have to get stuck playing a game that isn’t just right for you. You can choose basic action or try something a little more complex like Super Peek and Play video poker.
  • Video poker hands are affected by your choices. Unlike slot machines, which also require only the player, you can actually impact the outcome. In fact, the better your decisions are, the more you can expect to win in the long run.
  • Video poker tells you everything you need to know. A little probability math will give you an idea of how often winning hands might arrive. And the pay table will display what you’ll get paid for those winning hands.
  • Video poker pays back well. The average payback percentage of video poker is higher than it is for most other casino games. And Super Peek and Play video poker is a game that actually raises your payback percentage if you play with the special feature.
  • Video poker translates well to an online experience. You won’t find any difference between playing online at a top gambling site or at a casino. Smooth online play means convenience for those who either can’t get to or don’t want to deal with the casino.

Hopefully, you’re convinced now about the wonders of video poker. As we said above, the specifics of Super Peek and Play video poker require a detailed explanation. But before you can get to that point, you should learn the basics from this how-to tutorial.

How to Play Basic Video Poker

Step 1: Your Bankroll

Having a bankroll is a necessity because that’s where you’ll collect your winnings. It will also allow you to make your bets so that you have an opportunity to win in the first place.

In a casino, just put some money into the machine to start your bankroll. If playing online, you’ll need to sign up at a gambling website and then fund a gambling account. This you can do with credit cards or alternative methods like cryptocurrency.

Your bankroll will be rendered on screen as individual units often called credits or coins. These units will be based on the denomination you’ve chosen to play. For example, if you score a 40-credit win on a five-cent machine, it means you’ve won $2 (40 times .05).

Step 2: Your Bet

One thing you should always keep in the back of your mind when you’re playing video poker is that the highest payback, on average, is reserved for those who bet the maximum amount per hand. This is generally true no matter what variety of video poker you’re playing. And Super Peek and Play video poker applies, since you will make the most money, in the long run, by betting eight coins per hand.

The problem, for some people anyway, is that such bets can be quite expensive. This problem gets worse when you consider that Super Peek and Play video poker is a multiple play game, meaning you have to bet on at either three, five, or 10 hands at once. Take a look at what that entails with an eight-coin bet:

  • Three hands = 24 coins
  • Five hands = 40 coins
  • Ten hands = 80 coins

Even at a low denomination, those amounts mean that you’ll have to bet a decent amount per round of Super Peek and Play video poker. You should take that into consideration before playing this particular game.

If you don’t make the eight-coin bet per hand, you won’t have access to the peek feature. And that will lower your overall expected payback percentage.

Step 3: Your Hand

For now, we’ll just look at how a single hand is played. Even though Super Peek and Play video poker is a multiple play version of the game, the mechanics of play are essentially the same as if you were playing a single hand.

Video poker is essentially a riff on the table game known as Five-Card Draw. In both cases, you get five cards, hold some and discard others, and try to make the best possible poker combination.

Five-Card Draw is a game played with several people at a table. Only one person wins the pot, so it usually requires a significantly strong poker hand to get it done. Either that, or you have to bluff everybody into thinking you have a great hand.

But you’re the only one playing video poker. That means no bluffing is necessary. And it also means that it doesn’t take a monumental hand to get some payback.

There are different pay tables available when you play Super Peek and Play video poker. Each carries its own specific set of winning hands. For the most part, though, these are the winning hands you’ll be trying to achieve:

  • Pair of jacks or better
  • Two pair
  • Three of a kind
  • Straight (five cards of consecutive rank, like 3-4-5-6-7)
  • Flush (five cards of same suit)
  • Full house (three of a kind and two pair in the same hand)
  • Four of a kind
  • Straight flush (straight with five cards of same suit)
  • Royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king, and ace of the same suit)

These hands are listed from easiest to achieve, on the top, to hardest to achieve, on the bottom. Payback rises as you move down the list as well. To sum up, the harder it is to form a hand, the more it will pay.

The Deal

Once you’ve made your wager and hit the “deal” button, your five starting cards will appear on the screen. These five cards come from a simulated deck of 52 containing the exact same cards as you would find in a standard deck.

Software inside the game ensures that the cards that you receive will be completely random from hand to hand. You won’t be able to guess which cards are bound to come up based on any previous hands that you’ve played. Nor you can expect a machine (or online form of the game) to be “hot” or “cold.”

The Decision

At this point, you have to decide if you want to hold any of the five cards from your deal. These cards that you hold will be part of your final hand. As a result, the ones you choose should be ones that you think can help you to a winning combination of some sorts.

There are some occasions where you’ll have a winning combination right off the bat on the deal. More often than not, you might just have the “seeds” of a winning, one through four card which, when you combine them with potential cards from the draw, can become a winning hand. If you don’t like any of your five cards, you can discard them all.

The Draw

The cards that you discard, if any, will be replaced on the draw. The draw takes place from the 47 cards left in the deck after the deal. You can’t possibly get any of the cards that you’ve been dealt on the draw as well, whether or not you hold or discard them.

To activate the draw, first indicate which cards you want to hold by pressing the buttons near them. Then hit the “draw” button. The discarded cards will be replaced and that will finish the hand.

You can keep playing like that by repeating the steps as long as you have the credits remaining to make a wager. If you want to quit, you can do that at any time and redeem whatever is left in your bankroll.

That is how a single hand of video poker works. Knowing that, you should be ready to take on Super Peek and Play video poker.

Learning How to Play Super Peek and Play Video Poker

As you’ll see, much of the action when you play Super Peek and Play video poker will resemble the basic game we talked about above. But the two main twists, the multiple hand play and the ability to peek at the first draw card, will rev up the pace of play and provide plenty of excitement.

For the example Super Peek and Play video poker hand we’re going to show you, we’re going to assume that you’ve made the maximum wager of eight coins per hand and that you are playing on a Jacks or Better pay table. And we’re also going to imagine that you’re playing three hands at once; most Super Peek and Play games will also give you the option of five or 10 hands at once.

Multiple Play

The key to understanding the multiple play aspect of Super Peek and Play video poker is realizing that you’ll still only be receiving one deal. Depending on how much you bet, that deal will then be played out over three, five, or 10 hands.

You have to bet all of the hands that you wish to play. As we said above, we’re going to assume a three-hand game.

In that case, three different draws will take place once you decide what to hold and discard from the deal. Each will come from a separate deck with the same 47 cards, but each of those decks will be shuffled by the game’s software differently. As a result, you’ll most likely be receiving different cards in each draw (although it is possible to get the same card on the draw in multiple hands).

Multiple play is a game which really rewards a good deal, since you’ll potentially be able to parlay that good deal into several winning hands. The flipside is that you can get burned a bit more by a bad deal than would be the case if you were playing a single hand at a time.

Super Peek and Play Sample Hand

Now, let’s see what it means to take a peek when you play Super Peek and Play video poker. Essentially, you’ll be getting not only the five cards in your deal, but also a look at the first card you’re scheduled to receive on the draw.

For example, imagine that you receive the following five-card deal:

Eight of Diamonds, Eight of Spades, Nine of Spades, Ten of Spades, Ace of Spades

This deal presents you with a tough decision in terms of what to hold and discard. There are no winning combinations in this hand. But there are several intriguing possibilities.

Making Your Choice

You might notice that you have a pair of rights. Holding onto the pair of eights would probably give you the best chance of some kind of winning hand, since you’d be drawing three cards, giving you many chances. Possible winning combinations from this decision include two pair, three of a kind, a full house, or four of a kind.

Another possibility would be to hold onto the four spades. That would leave you just one short of a flush. You’d be dropping only one card in this scenario and you’d have a 9 (spades left in the deck) in 47 (cards left in the deck) chance of getting the card you need.

One other possible option would be to hold the eight, nine, and 10 of spades. With these cards held, you’d have an outside shot of drawing to a straight flush. But even if you don’t get those specific cards, this strategy leaves open the possibility of many winning combinations coming with the two cards you receive on the draw.

It’s not an easy task. But Super Peek and Play video poker make it a little easier for you when you play with the special feature.

Taking A Peek

If you were playing regular video poker, you’d have to take a shot at one of the above plays and hope that it’s the right choice. In the long term, the best play is to hold the four cards to the flush. That would provide you with the highest expected value if you were to play this hand thousands of times.

The other two options aren’t that far behind, however, in terms of expected value. Knowing the first card on the draw will certainly change the math around. And that’s why Super Peek and Play video poker gives you such an edge.

Let’s take a look again at our sample deal.

Eight of Diamonds, Eight of Spades, Nine of Spades, Ten of Spades, Ace of Spades

When you make the eight-coin max bet playing Super Peek and Play video poker, you’ll not only see these five cards, but you see a graphic showing a sixth card peeking out of the draw deck. This is the first card scheduled to appear on the draw.

How will this affect your decision about what to hold and discard? Here are four different possibilities for the peek card in this particular hand:

  • Eight of Clubs
  • Three of Spades
  • Seven of Spades
  • Four of Clubs

With the eight of clubs, you know that you’re getting a third eight. That makes it clear that the best play is to hold the pair of eights and discard everything else. At the very least, you’d end up with three of a kind.

If the three of spades is the first card coming on the draw, you know that you should be holding the four spades. The three of spades gives you the fifth spade you need to ensure the flush. In this example, you wouldn’t be receiving any unknown cards on the draw, since the three of spades would be replacing the eight of diamonds, your only discard.

What about the seven of spades as the first card on the draw? Getting that as the peek card means you could potentially lock down the seven through 10 of spades, just one shy of the straight flush. In that situation, you know you should drop the eight of diamonds and ace of spades, since you’d be so close to finishing out the high-paying straight flush.

Finally, there is the four of clubs. It doesn’t connect with anything in your deal. In the basic version of Peek and Play, you’d have to deal with the fact that it’s going to be part of your hand and make the decision that makes the most sense.

But this is Super Peek and Play video poker. As a result, you can choose to deny this card and receive the next one following it in the draw deck.

You won’t know what the card after the four of clubs is going to be. But since the four of clubs isn’t helping you in any way, you might as well take the chance and see what’s going to come after it.

This last part of the Super Peek and Play video poker is why the game is a coin more expensive than regular Peek and Play. It costs you to have access to it, for sure. But it wouldn’t cost you if it wasn’t a valuable boost to your chances of winning.

Playing Out the Draws

Let’s finish out this example of Super Peek and Play video poker by imagining that it was indeed the four of clubs that was the peek card for our sample hand. Since this card doesn’t help you, you decide to chuck it and have the draw start with the card after it in the deck. Now you have to make your decision about what to hold and what to discard.

We said above that holding the four spades is actually the best play out of the three choices you have without any peek card helping you out. Let’s see then how the draw might play out from the three different decks:

Draw 1:

Five of Spades, Eight of Spades, Nine of Spades, Ten of Spades, Ace of Spades

Draw 2:

Ace of Hearts, Eight of Spades, Nine of Spades, Ten of Spades, Ace of Spades

Draw 3:

Six of Clubs, Eight of Spades, Nine of Spades, Ten of Spades, Ace of Spades

In Draw 1, you improved to a flush. Draw 2 yielded a pair of aces. And Draw 3, unfortunately, didn’t give you the card you needed, meaning that you’re a loser on this one.

You would then receive your winnings based on the max-bet amount for Jacks or Better, since that’s the pay table you chose. Here are your winnings for those hands:

  • Hand 1: 30 coins
  • Hand 2: 5 coins
  • Hand 3: 0 coins

Adding all that up, you come out with 35 coins. Minus your 24-coin bet (3 hands times 8 coins apiece), you ended up with an 11-coin profit on that round of Super Peek and Play video poker.

Keep in mind that your max bet payback is based on a five-coin wager, since that is how much the max bet traditionally is in the world of video poker. The extra three coins that you need to wager in Super Peek and Play video poker are like your tax to gain access to the special feature.

As you might imagine, the need to bet that much per hand means that Super Peek and Play video poker is a volatile game. You can expect stretches where your bankroll soars due to the help you’re getting from the peek card. But there will also be times when you are losing money faster because you are putting so much on the line each round.

One way that you can lower the volatility is to play less hands, because 10-play Super Peek and Play video poker is more volatile than five-play three-play. Another way you can either raise or lower volatility is to choose your pay table wisely.

Pay Tables for Super Peek and Play Video Ppoker

As we mentioned above, you’ll get your pick of the litter in terms of pay tables when you play Super Peek and Play video poker. This is an excellent way to gain some control over the style of play you wish to enjoy.

For example, you can keep things extremely simple with Jacks or Better, which is the most common of all pay tables in video poker. The hands are ranked exactly as they are in Five-card Draw and they pay back according to how they’re ranked.

Meanwhile, bonus pay tables can be useful if you want more chances at high-impact payback from a single hand. Bonus Poker pay tables achieve this by offering more for four of a kind hands than you can get from Jacks or Better games.

Finally, you might want to try a game with a wild card element to it. Games like Deuces Wild and Deuces Wild Bonus put you much closer to high-paying hands by making every two in the deck wild. That means that they can be changed into whatever card into the deck helps your hand the most.

The following are the full-pay (highest-paying) versions of the pay tables available in Super Peek and Play video poker. You might not be able to find the full-pay games at your favorite casino or gambling site. But this list should let you know what pay tables you should be hoping to find:

Jacks or Better Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind 25 50 75 100 125
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pairs 2 4 6 8 10
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Bonus Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind (aces) 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) 40 80 120 160 200
Four of a kind (any other) 20 40 60 80 100
Full house 8 16 24 32 40
Flush 5 10 15 20 25
Straight 4 8 12 16 24
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pairs 2 4 6 8 10
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Bonus Poker Deluxe Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind 80 160 240 320 400
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pairs 1 2 3 4 5
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Double Bonus Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind (aces) 160 320 480 640 800
Four of a kind (2s, 3s, or 4s) 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind (any other) 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 7 14 21 28 35
Straight 5 10 15 20 25
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pairs 1 2 3 4 5
Jacks or better 1 2 3 4 5

Double Double Bonus Poker Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four aces without any 2,3,4 400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000
Four 2s, 3s, 4s without any A,2,3,4 160 320 480 640 800
Four aces 160 320 480 640 800
Four 2s, 3s, 4s 80 160 240 320 400
Four 5s through Ks 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 6 12 18 24 30
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 3 6 9 12 15
Two pairs 1 2 3 4 5
Pair of jacks + 1 2 3 4 5

Triple Double Bonus Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Straight flush 50 100 150 200 250
Four of a kind – aces 2, 3, 4 kicker 800 1,600 2,400 3,200 4,000
Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s A, 2, 3, or 4 kicker 400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000
Four of a kind – aces 5s – Ks kicker 160 320 480 640 800
Four of a kind – 2s, 3s, or 4s 5s – Ks kicker 80 160 240 320 400
Four of a kind – any other 50 100 150 200 250
Full house 9 18 27 36 45
Flush 7 14 21 28 35
Straight 4 8 12 16 20
Three of a kind 2 4 6 8 10
Two pairs 1 2 3 4 5
Pair of jacks + 1 2 3 4 5

Deuces Wild Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Four deuces 200 400 600 800 1,000
Wild royal flush 25 50 75 100 125
Five of a kind 16 32 48 64 80
Straight flush 10 20 30 40 50
Four of a kind 4 8 12 16 20
Full house 4 8 12 16 20
Flush 3 6 9 12 15
Straight 2 4 6 8 10
Three of a kind 1 2 3 4 5

Deuces Wild Bonus Pay Table

Coins/Hand 1 Coin 2 Coins 3 Coins 4 Coins 5 Coins
Royal flush 250 500 750 1,000 4,000
Four deuces with an Ace 400 800 1,200 1,600 2,000
Four deuces 200 400 600 800 1,000
Wild royal flush 25 50 75 100 125
Five aces 80 160 240 320 400
Five 3s, 4s or 5s 40 80 120 160 200
Five 6s through Ks 20 40 60 80 100
Straight flush 15 30 45 60 75
Four of a kind 4 8 12 16 20
Full house 3 6 9 12 15
Flush 3 6 9 12 15
Straight 1 2 3 4 5
Three of a kind 1 2 3 4 5

Video Poker Strategy for Super Peek and Play

In most cases, we usually suggest resources like video poker software or strategy charts to help you learn ideal video poker strategy. And by ideal strategy, we mean when you can make the right mathematical choice for every possible deal that you receive.

Super Peek and Play video poker complicates matters when the peek card is involved. It’s essentially like you have a six-card instead of a five-card hand. As the example above showed, you have to take into account how the peek card affects what you have before you can make a choice about what to hold and discard.

On top of that, the option to deny the peek card and start your draw with the card after also confuses things a bit. Even though having that option is a benefit, it makes the strategy a little tougher. You have to not only consider how the peek card affects your hold-or-discard decisions, you also have to decide whether or not you want it as part of your hand.

This can make ideal strategy for Super Peek and Play video poker somewhat elusive. But you shouldn’t give up on trying to learn it. Using the extra features available to you in this game will actually raise your payback percentage above normal levels if you can make the right decisions.

What we suggest you do is learn the proper strategy for the pay table you want to play. And then just consider the peek card to be a part of your hand.

First of all, decide if it fits with other cards in your deal in any way, so that you can decide if it’s worth receiving that card on the deal. Then you can go through the process of deciding which combination of holds and discards makes the most sense.

Super Peek and Play Video Poker Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Easier to make winning hands since you know the first card on the draw
  • Being able to deny the first card on the draw will help you get the cards you need
  • Multiple play action means the chance to win big in a hurry
Cons

  • Expensive to play at eight coins per hand and multiple hands
  • You only get paid based on a five-coin wager
  • Robust bankroll needed to withstand losing streaks

Conclusion on Super Peek and Play Video Poker

Super Peek and Play video poker makes for the perfect option for those players who always thought they could win if they just knew what was coming. You’ll need to pony up to take advantage of it. But you’ll find it much easier to come up with winning hands if you utilize this special feature.