BetVoyager: Online Casino

Russian Poker

Russian Poker is the most interesting and popular type of casino poker around. At BetVoyager, we give players all the opportunities to improve their hand, and have added the chance to make multiple exchanges of a single card. The basic rules of casino poker are described in our Guide section.

BetVoyager features our conventional Russian Poker version and a version with no house edge.

Main Features of Russian Poker

1. The player can play on up to four boxes, but an ‘open’ game can only be conducted on one box. It is possible to bet on the bonus on any box.
2. The minimum bet and the maximum payout are clearly stated for each game table, and there is no maximum bet.
3. The player has a right to buy a sixth card or exchange any number of his cards in Russian Poker. The cost of a purchase or replacement is 1 ANTE. If the purchase or replacement doesn’t improve the player’s hand, he can fold and lose his ANTE.
4. If the player exchanges only one card, he gets the right to make repeated exchanges. When making a repeated exchange he can replace any one card; however, with each successive exchange the cost of a replacement increases by 1 ANTE. Therefore, the cost of exchanges increases in arithmetic progression: 1, 2, 3 and so on. A player can continue exchanges until the deck is exhausted.
5. The dealer qualifies with an Ace-King or better under our Russian Poker rules. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the player receives the payout for the ANTE only (1:1). If the dealer qualifies, but the player’s combination is higher, the player is paid for the BET only (according to the standard payout table). The ANTE is not paid.
6. If the player has two separate combinations in his hand, he receives a payout for both of them. The rules regulating the formation of the second combination are described in table 1.
7. The player with a combination of Three-of-a-Kind or better can insure himself against the dealer getting a non-qualifying hand. The size of the insurance bet can be anywhere from 1 ANTE up to the prospective payout in the case when the player wins.
8. If the dealer doesn’t qualify, the player may decline the winnings equal to the ANTE and instead replace the dealer’s highest card. The ANTE is removed from the box as a payment for this exchange. If the new card of the dealer is of the same rank as the old one, and he still doesn’t qualify, the exchange repeats. This repeated exchange is free, it may take place several times. If the dealer still doesn’t qualify after the exchange, the ANTE is not returned to the player and is not paid.

Basic Rules of Russian Poker

1. Before the cards are dealt in a Russian Poker, the player chooses which boxes he wants to play on and makes his ANTE. In addition to this basic bet on the box (or instead of it), the player can also make a bonus bet. With this bet, the player is betting that there will be a high poker combination (Three-of-a-Kind or better) in his original hand.
2. When playing on several boxes in Russian Poker, the first box with ANTE is considered ‘open’ and the remaining boxes are ‘blind’. The restrictions associated with a ‘blind’ game are described in paragraph 19.
3. Each table indicates the minimum ANTE and the maximum payout on it. The maximum payout on both the basic bet and the bonus bet is the same, and the player can receive the maximum win for both bets at once. The minimum bonus bet is defined by the cheapest chip allowed at the table.
4. Each box has the following four figures: a circle, a square, an ellipse and a rectangle. The ANTE is placed on the ellipse and the bonus bet is placed on the square. The square is also used for insurance bets (paragraph 10). The BET is placed on the rectangle (see paragraphs 8 and 9). A special marker with the number 6 is placed on the circle when the player purchases a 6th card (see paragraph 8).
5. To make a bet under our Russian Poker rules, it is first necessary to choose a chip with the desired face-value. At the beginning of the game, this chip is chosen by default, and the chip with the minimum face-value fixes itself onto the cursor. If the player wants a chip with a different face-value, he can select it by clicking on that chip with the cursor. The player can also use the scroll wheel on his mouse to change the chip’s value. After the chip is selected, the player can place a bet by clicking the mouse on the desired part of the game table and his bet will appear there. Each subsequent click adds another chip of the selected face-value to the bet. If the player wants to remove the last chip from his bet, he can remove the chip fixed onto the cursor by clicking the cursor on any empty part of the game window and then clicking on this bet.
6. The Clear button can be pressed to remove all the bets from the table. If the player wishes to repeat his bets from the previous hand, he can press the Rebet button. The Deal button will begin the game after all bets have been made.
7. When dealing, the dealer places his final card face-up. After that, successive play on boxes begins. The cards on the open box are revealed, after which the result of the bonus bet is determined. The payouts for this bet are given in table 2.
8. After looking at his cards, the player has four options:
   • buy a sixth card (the Buy button);
   • exchange any number of his cards (he must first select the unwanted cards with the cursor and then press the Draw button);
   • raise the bet, i.e. make the BET equal to twice the ANTE (the Bet button);
   • fold and lose the ANTE (the Fold button).
9. The cost of purchasing or replacement is equal to 1 ANTE. If the player purchases a sixth card or exchanges several cards, he has two options:
   • raise the bet (the Bet button);
   • fold and lose the ANTE (the Fold button).
   If the player exchanges only one card, he gets an extra opportunity:
   • exchange any single card in his hand once more (the Draw button).
   The cost of the repeated exchange is equal to two ANTES. Since a player makes this exchange, he has to choose: to raise, to fold, or to exchange any card again. A player can exchange cards until the deck is exhausted, but each following exchange increases its cost by one ANTE.
10. Before raising the bet in Russian Poker (see paragraphs 8 and 9), the player can insure himself against the dealer getting a non-qualifying hand. The player can do this if he has a hand of Three-of-a-Kind or better. With this bet, the player is betting that the dealer will not qualify. The minimum size of the insurance is the ANTE, and the maximum is the prospective payout in the case if the player wins (including the payout for the second combination – see paragraph 13). Insurance cannot exceed the maximum payout of the table. As with the bonus bet, the chips used for insurance are placed on the square.
11. When the final decision has been made on all the boxes, the dealer reveals his cards. On those boxes where insurance was purchased, the result is determined by the following:
    • if the dealer doesn't qualify, the insurance is paid 1:1.
    • if the dealer qualifies, the player loses the insurance. However, if the dealer’s combination is higher than the player’s one, the insurance is considered unplayed and is returned to the player.
12. If the dealer qualifies in Russian Poker, his combination is compared to the ones on the boxes remaining in the game. If the dealer has a higher combination, the player loses the ANTE and BET. If the player’s combination is equal to the dealer’s one, the game ends in a draw and the ANTE and BET are returned to the player. If the player has the higher combination, the ANTE is returned to the player unpaid, and the payout for the BET is determined according to table 2.
13. If the player has two winning combinations at once, both of them receive payouts. For example, with the cards AK996, he would be paid for both the pair of 9s and Ace-King. With the cards 987665 (after the purchase of the sixth card), the player would be paid for two straights. The rules regulating the formation of the second combination are described in table 1.
14. If the dealer doesn’t qualify in Russian Poker, the player can receive his winnings on all boxes by pressing the Go on button. In this case all of the ANTES are paid 1:1 and the BETS are not paid. The player may also choose to exchange the dealer’s card. In this case the dealer’s highest card is exchanged and, as a result, he can get a qualifying hand. This exchange is advantageous when the player has a high poker combination because it provides a chance to significantly increase his winnings. To exchange the dealer’s highest card, the player clicks on the ANTE box. After clicking on this box, the chips will darken and will be removed from the box as payment for the exchange after the player clicks Go on.
15. After the player has selected all the boxes that he wishes to participate in the exchange, he continues the game by pressing the Go on button. Before this button is pressed, it is possible to cancel a request to exchange the dealer’s card by clicking a second time on the ANTE box.
16. After pressing the Go on button, the game on the boxes where there wasn’t a request for an exchange then ends. If there was a request for an exchange on any of the boxes, the dealer’s highest card is exchanged. If the dealer then qualifies, the final results are determined on all boxes remaining in the game. This corresponds to paragraphs 12 and 13, except for the fact that in this case the ANTE is absent – it has been removed from the table as a payment for the exchange (paragraph 14). If the dealer wins, the player loses only his BET.
17. If, after exchanging the dealer’s card, he still doesn’t qualify, the game, as a rule, then ends. The ANTE is not paid and the BET is returned to the player. However, if the dealer’s new card is of the same rank as the card exchanged, and he still doesn’t qualify, the exchange repeats, i.e. the dealer’s highest card is exchanged once more. The repeated exchange is free, and can happen up to three times.
    Here is an example of how this works. The dealer has the Ace of spades and four hearts and the player requests an exchange. The dealer’s highest card is exchanged, and instead of his Ace of spades, the dealer is dealt the Ace of clubs. The exchange is repeated for free, and this time the dealer is dealt the Ace of hearts. Now, the dealer has a Flush. The exchange then completes and the final result is determined.
18. If the deck is exhausted as a result of repeated exchanges of one card (paragraph 9), then the dealer's card can’t be exchanged, and the Go on button is not usable. Moreover, there are situations when the deck is not completely exhausted that the free exchanges described in paragraph 17 are not allowed. If a player has made multiple exchanges of one card, he will receive a warning message when he tries to take the last card from the deck.
19. In a ‘blind’ game, the player’s opportunities are limited. He cannot fold, purchase or replace his cards. Raising the bet is obligatory, and the BET is automatically added to the ANTE. As usual, the BET is equal to twice the ANTE.
    Cards dealt to ‘blind’ boxes are revealed after the player has made his final decision on the ‘open’ box. As in the ‘open’ game, the player is allowed to:
• make a bonus bet
• purchase insurance
• exchange the dealer’s highest card.
When playing ‘blind’, the player has one additional advantage:
• If the dealer qualifies, but the player has a higher combination, he is paid for his BET and 1:1 for his ANTE.
20. During the hand in Russian Poker, the player can receive promptings that remind him about the game’s rules. Players can cancel these promptings by using the settings.
    For players' convenience, any changes made to the settings will be saved in the parameters of the player's browser. If the player finishes the game session and then opens a new one, his settings will be automatically restored.

Table 1. Formation of the Second Combination

Notes

1. The second combination can only be the one. It must have at least one card that is not used in the primary combination. For example, in the hand AAKKx (Two Pair) the Ace-King would not count as a second combination.
2. The second combination is usually formed after the player purchases a sixth card. With a five card combination, the only possible second combination is the Ace-King. This can only happen if the player’s primary combination is a Pair, Two Pair, Three-of-a-Kind, or Four-of-a-Kind.

Table 2. Payout for the BET and the Bonus Bet

Hand	BET	Bonus Bet
Royal Flush	100:1	1000:1
Straight Flush	50:1	500:1
Four of a Kind	20:1	200:1
Full House	7:1	70:1
Flush	5:1	50:1
Straight	4:1	40:1
Three of a Kind	3:1	25:1
Two Pair	2:1	-
One Pair	1:1	-
Ace-King	1:1	-

Our Russian Poker with No House Edge features a slightly different payout scheme. It can be viewed in the game window. Please note that the casino doesn’t have any advantage on the ante wager, but it retains its advantage for any bets on the bonus.