If you check the video poker games menu at Microgaming powered Australian online casinos you will find a number of variants under the sub-heading Level Up. The rules and payout tables of the different variants are the same as in the normal games. The innovation is that in Level Up online video poker you play four hands in sequence, moving to the higher level only if you win at the lower level.
You select the bet amount per hand as in normal online video poker games. The wager for all four hands is deducted up front from your balance. If you lose in the first level then you forfeit the total wager without even playing the remaining hands. To compensate for this the payouts are doubled after each level. The second level pays 2x, the third level plays 3x and the fourth level pays 8x. Level Up video poker is a high variance format suited to players operating on high risk return curves.
After you place the bet, five cards will be dealt face up in the first level and five cards will be dealt face down in the other levels. Each level uses an independent deck of cards. You mark the cards you want to hold at level one and get the remaining cards replaced in the usual manner. If you then draw a winning combination as per the payout table, you will receive the corresponding payout. If you keep winning you will play all four hands receiving the enhanced payouts at the higher level. The game ends if you lose at any level or when you win all four hands. The amount won at any level is yours to keep. It is not forfeited if you lose at a higher level. The total amount that you win at the end of the game can be staked in the standard Microgaming online video poker gamble game.
Level Up video poker has two special features. A Free Ride Card may be randomly dealt next to any hand. This means that you can progress to the next level even if you lose that hand. The second feature is the Auto Complete. It comes into play if you are dealt a natural royal flush at a higher level, but fail to reach that level. You will then be awarded a compensatory payout. Microgaming offers online video poker variants Aces & Faces, Deuces Wild, Double Poker, Jacks or Better and Joker Poker in its Level Up series at Australian online casinos like Casino Mate, Platinum Play and Ruby Fortune.