All Black Hawk casinos offer video poker games. This covers the best video poker that we found in Black Hawk casinos. There is also a section featuring all the electronic table games available in the market. The information here was collected in October 2021.
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Black Hawk video poker
There are nine types of video poker that we found playable during our visit to Black Hawk casinos. The theoretical payback percentages shown in the following list assume that the player is betting five coins and using perfect strategy.
Games with progressives show the return before accounting for the meters. The two numbers used are the full house/flush payouts in games without wild cards. For Deuces Wild, it is for five of a kind/straight flush.
- 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (99.64%)
- 9/7 Triple Double Bonus (99.58%)
- 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54%)
- 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%)
- 9/7 Double Bonus (99.11%)
- 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%)
- 15/9 Deuces Wild (98.91%)
- 8/5 Triple Bonus Plus (98.73%)
- 8/5 White Hot Aces (98.5%)
- 8/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe (with a progressive, 98.49%)
- 9/5 Jacks or Better (98.45%)
- 9/5 Double Double Bonus (with a progressive, 97.87%)
Ameristar
Our favorite video poker game at Ameristar is 8/5 Bonus Poker. It is available in quarter, half-dollar, and dollar denominations. These machines are along the wall by the blackjack pit. Other games in this bank include 9/7 Double Bonus, 9/6 Double Double Bonus, and 15/9 Deuces Wild. There are 9/6 Jacks or Better games. However, the royal flush only pays 250:1.
The high-limit slots offer $5 9/6 Double Double Bonus and 8/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe with a progressive. These machines offer those games without a progressive on the $10 denomination.
Bally’s
Our top pick at Bally’s Black Hawk is 8/5 Bonus Poker from a quarter up to $5. It is in the former Golden Mardi Gras property.
Bull Durham Saloon & Casino
We did not find any notable video poker here.
Gilpin
Gilpin offers a quarter 9/5 Double Double Bonus with five progressives. Other games include $5 and $10 8/5 Bonus Poker and $5 9/7 Double Bonus, 9/6 Double Double Bonus, and 15/9 Deuces Wild. The $5 games are at the bar.
Isle Casino
Some of the great Lady Luck machines were moved to Isle, now Horseshoe, Casino when the O’Sheas table game area was created in the upstairs video poker section. Our best find is $1 and $5 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe, as well as 9/7 Triple Double Bonus, 9/6 Jacks or Better, 8/5 Bonus Poker, 9/7 Double Bonus, and 9/6 Double Double Bonus. These games are near the baccarat machine. The last three games and 15/9 Deuces Wild are found on different machines near the baccarat tables.
Lady Luck
There is a wide variety of quality $1 and $5 video poker games at Lady Luck. Our favorite is 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe. Other games include 9/7 Triple Double Bonus, 9/6 Jacks or Better, 8/5 Bonus Poker, 9/7 Double Bonus, and 9/6 Double Double Bonus. These games are found upstairs in the area now called O’Sheas.
Lodge
Our top pick at Lodge Casino is 9/6 Double Double Bonus. This game is available for half-dollar, $5 and $10 on the floor, and $1 and $5 at the sportsbook bar. The $5 game on the floor offers a progressive.
Monarch
We did not find the Not-so-ugly-deuces or 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe from our 2020 visit at Monarch. It was busy, so it is possible the machines were occupied, but we got on nearly all the banks. The best game that we found was $1 9/6 Jacks or Better. Other games in that denomination are 8/5 Bonus Poker, 9/7 Double Bonus, 9/6 Double Double Bonus, 8/5 Triple Bonus Plus, and 8/5 White Hot Aces.
Red Dolly
We did not find any notable video poker at Red Dolly.
Saratoga
The video poker area at Saratoga Casino offers two good games. There is 9/7 Double Bonus with progressives for four aces and a royal flush. The 9/6 Double Double has a royal flush progressive. Our favorite bar game is 9/5 Jacks or Better in quarter, half-dollar, and dollar denominations. The dollar has a progressive meter.
Sasquatch
The main bar has a mix of video poker machines. Some have $1 9/6 Double Double Bonus, 15/9 Deuces Wild, and 9/5 Jacks or Better.
Wild Card Saloon
The bar offers $1 9/6 Double Double Bonus and 15/9 Deuces Wild. Note that this casino calls itself a tobacco shop so it is able to permit smoking. It is the only casino where smoking is allowed indoors, though a handful of Black Hawk casinos have some machines on smoking patios.
Z Casino
We found $1 9/6 Jacks or Better with a short royal flush payout, 8/5 Bonus Poker, and 9/6 Double Double Bonus at Z Casino.
Some of the video poker pay table information shown above was found at Wizard of Odds.
Black Hawk electronic table games
During our trip through Black Hawk, we looked at the available electronic table games. There were three main types of electronic gaming we found. Heads-up machines allow players an individual experience. The dice, cards, or spin only affect an individual’s outcome. Multiplayer table games have multiple player stations.
Stadium table games have video stations with live dealers also available at some locations. Multiple games may be played at the same time. The speed of other players affects the overall game speed for multiplayer and stadium gaming.
Stadium and video table games we found
Baccarat
Baccarat was available in both stadium and multiplayer form. They had a minimum bet of $10. Ameristar and Isle had a $100 max bet, while the Lodge had a max bet of $2000. A heads-up version is available on the Casino Wizard machines at Saratoga and Z Casino. These games start at $1 with a $300 maximum bet.
Big Wheel
Big Wheel (Big Six) was available with a $100 max bet in stadium form. The minimum was $1 at Ameristar and $3 at Isle.
Blackjack
Blackjack can be found as a heads-up machine or in stadium form. The machines we found at Lady Luck and Isle Casino paid 6:5 on blackjack with a $5 minimum bet. For a $3 minimum bet, we found heads-up 3:2 machines at Ameristar, Bally’s (inside the former Mardi Gras), and Monarch. The max was $230 at Bally’s and $625 at the others. Stadium 3:2 was available for $5 at the Lodge and $10 at Ameristar. Max bets were $4000 and $230, respectively.
The heads-up Casino Wizard machines at Saratoga and Z Casino have blackjack. The blackjack starts at a $3 minimum. The blackjack pays 6:5 on the machines we found. The max bet is $300.
Craps
Multiplayer craps machines were on the floor at Ameristar and Monarch but were out of service during our visit. Heads-up machines were available for $1 minimum bet at Z Casino and Bally’s (inside the former Mardi Gras). The others offered $5 minimum bets. Bally’s allowed for a max bet of $2000, while the other machines had a max bet of $1000. At Saratoga and Z Casino, the Casino Wizard machines also offer a heads-up version for $1 to $300.
Roulette
Double zero roulette can be found in three forms: heads-up, stadium, and multiplayer. The Z Casino offers a $0.25 minimum bet. A $0.50 minimum bet can be found at Ameristar, Bally’s (inside the former Mardi Gras), and Monarch. Stadium required a $5 minimum bet, as well as the multiplayer version at Isle Casino. Lady Luck required $10 to play multiplayer 00 roulette. Bally’s had a max bet of $200 and Z Casino was $5000. The others had a max bet of $10,000. It is also available at Saratoga and Z Casino as a heads-up game on the Casino Wizard machines with a minimum $1 bet and $300 maximum.
Sic Bo
Heads up Sic Bo is a unique installation. It is available at Monarch. The heads-up Sic Bo machines had a minimum bet of $1. The max was $100.
Three Card Poker
Stadium Three Card Poker was also a unique find. We found it at Lodge Casino. The limits were $5 to $2000.