Piratepots Poker UK
Piratepots slots its poker selection into the video poker rack rather than a dedicated table-game lobby, and that turned out to suit me over a few sessions. You don't wait for a seat or try to read an opponent's tells. You check a paytable and hit deal. I ran through six variants over three sittings, tracked wins on Jacks or Better against Bonus Poker, and worked out which paytables pay best.
Poker Variants at Piratepots
Piratepots online poker runs six distinct variants under one roof, each with its own deck rules and payout scale, and the gap between the best and worst paytable can run several percentage points on return.
Jacks or Better
Jacks or Better is the version Piratepots defaults new players to, and it's the one I'd recommend starting with too. The lowest winning hand is a pair of jacks, the deck runs a standard 52 cards, and the paytable sits in plain view before you place a bet.
Piratepots runs the 9/6 full-pay version on desktop, which pays 9x your stake on a full house and 6x on a flush. Stick to the standard strategy chart (hold high pairs, break low pairs for a shot at a flush) and the house edge drops under 0.5%.
Deuces Wild
Every two in the deck acts as a wild card in this variant, which sounds generous until you check the paytable. Four deuces pays second only to a royal flush, while three of a kind sits at the bottom of the pay chart.
Piratepots offsets the extra wild cards with a lower base paytable than Jacks or Better, so don't expect the same return. I found it a faster, more forgiving game to lose small on, but the odds tilt further toward the house than in the standard version.
Tens or Better
Tens or Better swaps the winning floor from a pair of jacks down to a pair of tens, which means more frequent small wins and a softer paytable overall. Piratepots labels its version 6/5, paying six times your stake on a full house and five on a flush.
The double-up bonus round carries over from Jacks or Better. Win a hand, and you can risk it on a single card draw against the dealer's up-card. I doubled twice out of five attempts across one session, which felt about right for the odds.
Joker Poker
Add a joker to the standard deck and the winning floor moves up to kings or better. Piratepots runs the 7/5 Kings or Better build, one of the stronger payout structures I found in the lobby.
Five of a kind ranks second to a natural royal flush here, and a joker-assisted royal sits third. I hit five of a kind once across close to 400 hands, which lines up with the odds you'd expect from a 53-card deck.
Aces and Faces
Aces and Faces keeps the Jacks or Better hand rankings but pays more on four of a kind hands built from aces or face cards. Piratepots' 8/5 version pays 80 to 1 on four aces, against 50 to 1 for a straight flush.
Four face cards (jacks, queens or kings) pay 40 to 1. The trade-off is a lower return on the more common hands, so it suits players chasing bigger, rarer payouts over steady small ones.
Bonus Poker
Bonus Poker keeps the Jacks or Better hand rankings but pays extra on any four of a kind. Piratepots runs an 8/5 paytable, meaning a full house returns eight times your stake and a flush returns five times your stake.
Four aces pay 80 to 1 here too, though the rest of the paytable runs tighter than Aces and Faces to balance it out. I'd rank it a fair middle ground if you want bonus payouts without giving up too much on the base game.
Tips for Playing Poker at Piratepots
A few things I wish I'd known before my first session. None of them guarantee a win, but each one kept me from repeating the mistakes I made in week one.
#1 Learn the Paytable Before You Deal
Every variant above pays differently for the same hand. Check the numbers on screen before you commit a single credit. A 6/5 paytable versus a 9/6 paytable on the same game can shift the house edge by more than 4%.
#2 Pick the Full-Pay Version Where Piratepots Offers It
Piratepots lists more than one paytable for some variants, usually a mobile version and a desktop version. The desktop 9/6 Jacks or Better beat the mobile 8/5 build in every session I ran, so check which device gives you the better numbers.
#3 Set a Limit Before You Open the Game
Video poker plays fast. I lost track of forty minutes without noticing once. Set a deposit limit through Piratepots' account settings, or register with GamStop if you need a longer break, before your first session rather than after a losing one.
Piratepots Poker vs Live Poker
Piratepots keeps its poker variants and live poker tables in separate lobbies, and you'll find the two feel nothing alike beyond the shared name.
| Feature | Piratepots Poker | Live Poker |
|---|---|---|
| Setting | Played solo against RNG software, on desktop or the Piratepots app | Streamed from a studio with a real dealer, played through your browser |
| Interaction | None. You play against the paytable rather than another person | You interact with the dealer and other players through live chat |
| Speed | You set the pace. Deal and draw whenever you're ready | Slower, driven by dealer timing and other players' decisions |
| Skill | Comes down to hold and discard strategy plus paytable knowledge | Requires reading opponents alongside hand knowledge |
| Funding | Visa, Mastercard debit, PayPal or Open Banking deposits clear before you start a session | Same payment methods, though buy-ins on some tables carry higher minimums |
| Fairness | RNG tested by an independent lab, certified under Piratepots' UKGC licence | Dealt by a licensed dealer under UKGC supervision, filmed live |
Explore Live Poker at Piratepots
If the solo pace of video poker doesn't suit you, Piratepots runs live poker tables through its live casino lobby most hours of the day. I've caught Casino Hold'em running with a live dealer past midnight on a Tuesday, and live poker game shows rotate into the lobby too. Check the live section if you want the table-game version of the same cards, dealt by a person instead of software.