Software providers have to differentiate their online casino games in order to create their niche in the market. Video poker games are among the most difficult to differentiate, but software providers have managed to introduce unique formats in these games. The software provider Cryptologic runs a series of variants titled Bonus Video Poker, alongside the regular variants. The particular innovation employed in Bonus Video Poker is unique to Cryptologic powered online casinos.

The Bonus Video Poker and the regular variant begin in the usual manner. Five cards are dealt face up from a single deck. The player marks as Hold the cards that he wants to retain. The remaining cards are replaced. It is the mode of replacement that differentiates the Bonus Video Poker games from the regular ones. In the regular format the discarded cards and removed from the game. Players are dealt replacement cards from the remainder of the deck. Therefore the discarded cards cannot be dealt again. In Bonus Video Poker the discarded cards are replaced in the deck and have the possibility of being dealt again. This puts the player at a disadvantage. Bonus Video Poker compensates the player by offering a bonus for each of the discarded cards that are dealt again.

The game play on the screen in Bonus Video Poker is as follows. Two cells are displayed on the top right hand corner of the screen. When the player marks the cards he wants to hold and clicks the Draw button, the discarded cards are displayed in the bottom of the two cells. This is to create a record so that the player can verify that he is not being cheated. If any of the replacement cards are the same as the discarded cards then a bonus amount is shown in the top of the two cells. The replacement card that is identical to the discarded one is marked with a golden star. Players must note that a bonus is paid for each replacement card that was earlier discarded. The best aspect of the bonus is that it is paid to the players even if there is no payout won in the video poker game. If the player receives a payout and bonuses then their total is credited to the player’s account. Otherwise each item is individually credited to the player’s account.

A large number of variants are offered in the Bonus Video Poker series. They include Tens or Better, Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, All American, Double Bonus, Joker Poker and Aces and Faces. The bonus amounts are not the same for each variant. The bonus for each repeated card is specified as a percentage of the bet per hand and is paid to the nearest cent. Jacks or Better Bonus Video Poker has the lowest bonus rate of 15.30%. All American Bonus Video Poker has the highest bonus rate of 21.10%. The Bonus Video Poker variants can be played in multi hand formats. The player can select the number of hands he wants from 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100. The Bonus Video Poker games can be played at all Cryptologic online casinos such as InterCasino.