Software: Microgaming · Score: 8.67/10
Where the "all aces" part comes into play involves the fact that achieving four aces on the part of the player will bring a greater payoff than anything possible, with the exception of a Royal Flush. There are also comparatively high payouts for achieving Four of a Kind, and the exception to other forms of video poker is that getting Four of a Kind in 2's, 3's or 4's will being a higher payout than those of higher ranks (outside of the ace, of course).
Microgaming's design of the interface allows for the player to navigate through this game with as much ease as possible; there is very little doubt as to where you stand at any point during this game. Full Review - All Aces Video Poker (8.67)
The game is played with a standard deck of cards, which means 52 cards and no Jokers. There are no wild cards in the game.
The procedure is relatively simple. As the player, you will be dealt five cards, at which point you will hold the ones you want, and "Draw" (the control is in the lower right-hand corner of the interface). You receive cards in place of the ones you discarded, and are paid off accordingly. The pay table is right above the display of the cards, so there is no mystery as to what the payout on each winning hand is.
When you look at that pay table, the payouts are rather proportionate according tot he coins that are played. For example, when you get a full house, you are paid 7 coins for a one coin wager, 14 for two coins, etc., up to 35 coins for five coins bets. However, there is a major difference in the payout for a Royal Flush, which pays out 1000 coins on the basis of a four-coin wager and 4000 for five coins (the 4000 coins is the maximum payout in the game).
You are able to track certain stats on this game, including a "win summary," which essentially details the type of winning hands you have achieved. However, there is no Expert mode, which means Autoplay is not available, and neither is a "hints" option, which would tell you when your play varies from that of an optimum mathematical strategy.
Obviously, this is a poker game in which you are playing against the dealer (the house). And as part of that, you can turn on an option which allows you do "Double" as opposed to simply collecting, when you have a winning hand. In this procedure, the dealer will turn up a card, and there will be four face-down cards to the right of that card. You click on one of the cards, a la "Let's Make a Deal," and if that card has a higher value than the dealer's card, your win is doubled.
Other game options include the ability to adjust sound settings as well as the speed of the game; in other words, you can play in "Slow" mode, as well as "Medium," "Fast" and "Fastest." It all depends, one supposes, on your ability to make decisions quickly and get more money out on to the table.
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Game details
There is one constant that seems to run through all of the offerings from Microgaming, and that is the overall quality and performance of the software. Even in a relatively simple, straightforward game such as this one, the observer can tell that the design and concept where carefully contemplated. There were no glitches in negotiating through any process in this game.
There shouldn't be any barriers to players of any level when it comes to grasping the procedure of this game and jumping into the fray. It is much like any other version of video poker and Five-Card Draw, except for the nuanced differences in payouts that are in fact staring the player in the face at all times.
In terms of the sounds themselves, there is nothing extraordinary, but of course if you don't like sounds on your game you can turn them off, whether they be game sounds, win sounds or background sounds. The graphics are larger than in many of the Microgaming offerings, which means that no one has to struggle to see the cards, which come up very big on screen, or the major graphic in the basic interface, which consists of the payout table.
When you can adjust the speed of play to four different levels, that is strong. Here you can go "Slow" if you are a beginner, all the way up to "Fastest" if you are ready, willing and able to handle the decisions very quickly.
This category is not especially strong. True, there is an option to double up a win by playing the one-on-one showdown with the dealer. However, there is no Expert mode available, which means you can not keep more sophisticated statistics, and can not go into an Autoplay mode, which might normally afford you the optimum strategy possible for any situation you encounter.
This is a nice, basic version of video poker, and if you are a no-nonsense player who wants something of a twist, in terms of emphasizing extra payouts for Aces and Fours of a Kind, this is a game you are certainly going to appreciate.