Video Poker Tutorial, History, Strategy, Rules and Odds
Strategic guide on how to play the casino game of Video Poker:
– Good Strategy actually gives a player the edge
– Video poker is game of skill unlike slots
– Royal Poker is the highest possible hand
VIDEO POKER
Video poker is a game played on consoles in casinos. It based upon the game of five-card draw poker.
History
Video poker first came into being at about the same time as personal computers, in the 1970’s. It became more popular in casinos in the 1980’s and 1990’s, and now many Las Vegas locals play it in casinos off Las Vegas Blvd.
The Game
The player begins the game by placing a bet and pressing a “deal” button to draw virtual cards. He or she is then given the chance to keep or discard one or more cards in exchange for a new card drawn from a virtual deck. The machine then compares the hand and gives a payoff if the hand is the same as one of the winning hands on a predetermined pay schedule. Winning hands are determined by their rarity and upon how much money the game operator wants to give out. Some machines give out progressive payoffs, giving players an incentive to continue to play.
Regulation
Random card sequences are dealt according to state regulations in Nevada and other states where gaming is legal. Games simulate randomly dealt combinations of 52 playing cards. It is unclear whether games on Indian reservations are subject to state laws.
Kinds of Video Poker
The latest video poker machines use variations of poker, including deuces wild, in which a two becomes a wild card and money is paid for four deuces, four aces paying an increased amount, and multi-play poker.
Full Pay Games
Full pay video poker games offer the amount a player can expect to pay over the long run when playing with high skills. A certain game might be programmed to pay back 99 per cent of every dollar bet over the long run, assuming that rare hands will come up a certain number of times, based upon probabilities. Most full pay machines only pay back the amount listed when a certain number of maximum plays are played. If, for instance, $.25 were bet, the player could not expect to win back 99 per cent of his or her bet. The greater the number of bets made, the greater the probability of winning back the amount offered.
Jacks or Better
Jacks or better is a highly popular variation. A pair of jacks or higher is paid off. A full house pays off at 9 and a flush pays off at 6. When the game is played with impeccable strategy, it should pay off at 99.5 per cent.
All American
All American is like jacks or better with more payoff for flushes, straights, and straight flushes, but less payoff for full houses and two pairs.
Tens or Better
Tens or better is like jacks or better, but with a minimal paying hand of a pair of tens. Full house and flush payoffs are different, but the strategy is roughly the same.
Deuces Wild
In deuces wild, twos substitute for any other cards, and the payoff for four of a kind is about one third the payoff for the game. Four of a kind is dealt about every 15 hands. Payoff schedules vary.
Bonus Poker
Bonus poker is similar to jacks or better, but offers a higher payoff for four of a kind, so that the full-pay version pays 99.2 per cent.
Double Bonus
Double bonus pays a bonus for four aces, so the rate of return can be 100.2 per cent, when paid with absolutely correct strategy, and when payoffs for full house are 10 and 7, respectively. Other versions with other payoffs for full house and flush pay less.
Double Double Bonus
Double double bonus is a type of jacks or better with bonus payoffs for different fours of a kind. Depending upon payoffs offered, some double double bonus games can pay off as much as 100.1 per cent to a perfectly played game.
Low Pay Video Poker Games
Low pay video poker games reduce the maximum payoff, increasing the casino’s advantage, making more profit for the business. Low pay games are often found in Las Vegas and online.
Jacks or Better Low Pay Video Poker Games
Jacks or better low pay games include 9/5, which pays 5 times the bet for a flush and reduces the maximum payoff to 98.45 per cent, 8/6, which pays 8 times the bet for a flush, 7/5, which pays 5 times the bet for a flush, and 6/5, which pays 6 times the bet for a flush.
Progressive Jackpot Games
Some video poker games have progressive jackpots advertised on billboards. They can make a payoff higher for a game that otherwise pays only a low rate of return such as 8/5.
Player’s Clubs
Some houses give free memberships in players clubs. Such clubs use a small amount of the bet money for complimentary food, drinks, hotel rooms, merchandise, or cash back at a later date. The clubs issue cards to be inserted into the video machines to identify players and the amount of playing they do.
HOW TO PLAY ONLINE VIDEO POKER
Video Poker Casino Intro
Video Poker is a casino game that requires a vast amount of skills. In a majority of online casinos video poker machines, offer a lower house edge than any casino slot game. There are literally 100′s of variations of video poker online. Put the good news they are all very similar and easy to learn.
How to Play
Video Poker is an off set of the popular game of draw poker and usually has all the same rules, only difference is your not playing against other players. The online casino gives you five cards on the screen. The bettor then has an option of drawing up to five new values. How much you win is determined by the pay table that viewable on the top of the casino video poker machine.
Video Poker Strategy
- Know the pay back of every video poker machine you play, only play at the highest
- You must play the game utilizing a mathematical strategy, learn the strategy for every game you play
- By playing good strategy you increase yours odds of winning.
- You can’t use the strategy for Jacks or Better when playing Deuces Wild.
- Jacks or Better is the video poker game you should learn first. All other video poker games are an offset of this game.
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