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A full understanding of how to play
video poker well is beyond our scope. It would take a whole website to
give fair treatment to merely the most popular variations. But you can
use the information here as a starter kit for appreciating the concepts
and underpinnings of the game.
There are three things you need to do
in order to strip away the mystery of a video poker machine and
understand its value to you:
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You must be able
to read the pay tables and know which ones have the highest
payback.
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You must know the
best strategies for the machines you choose to play.
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You must know the
volatility of a particular machine - what effect it will
have on your bankroll.
Video poker is a
lot more interesting than slot machines; it is worth learning
the basics, and - while some strategy is complex - it is not
quite differential calculus. If you are only interested in
getting an edge over the slot zombies while playing an
interesting casino game, or would like to learn more - stick
around and you would understand what makes video poker tick and
how a basic aptitude can make you a smarter video poker player.
Based purely on
the mechanics, playing video poker is simplicity itself.
However, playing it well entails a bit more effort. Video poker
is one game where the house advantage is definitely affected by
how much knowledge the player has. The two main skills involved
- proper machine selection and knowing the proper strategy for
the machine you are playing - get complicated because video
poker comes in a never-ending variety of games. How do you
navigate this sea of machines? First, let's look at them in the
broader terms: there are non-wild card games such as Jacks or
Better and Double Bonus. Then there are wild card games such as
Deuces Wild or Joker Wild. Within these two general types, there
are many varieties. Some of these will be to your favor, some
will not.
While video
poker can seem mysterious with its many versions and options,
for the knowledgeable its appeal lies in its lack of mystery.
Every machine can be deciphered, so you'll know exactly where
you stand. The best place to start your video poker conquest is
with the machine that started the whole phenomenon: Jacks or
Better game. When video poker first appeared in the 70's, it had
a problem. The first machines paid off only on two pair or
greater, which quickly drained players of their money and
enthusiasm for the game. Then the Jack or Better machine was
introduced, which paid off for a pair of jack or higher. Video
poker has not looked back since. The classic Jacks or Better
machine is still very popular and considered the standard game,
particularly good for beginners because of its easily
understandable strategy. Better yet, the best version of Jacks
or Better has a 99.5% payback percentage when played with expert
strategy. That means it has only 0.5% house edge. This is one of
the best bets in the casinos. A few video poker games actually
give you an advantage over the house when played expertly -
their strategies are a bit more complicated.
The most
important thing that we look at on our machine is the pay table.
The pay table strips away the game's mystery; it's our window
into knowing whether the game is worth our money. Unlike slot
machines, the pay table is not just there for us to drool over
the pretty payoffs. It can reveal how much a game pays back if
played perfectly. Granted, this information is not printed
explicitly on the pay table. The first thing you will notice is
that all the payoffs are scaled according to how many coins are
played; that is, you get twice the payoff for playing two coins,
three times for playing three coins, etc. So the odds do not
change: throughout the play table, a flush will pay six coins
per coin player, for example. This is true for all the hands
except the royal flush. Notice that the royal flush payout takes
a big leap on the fifth coin played, and if the poker machine is
a progressive
one, the royal flush with maximum coins played will win the
jackpot. This sort of bonus on the highest hand is typical for
all video poker games. Also, it is worth noting, that the cost
of your bet is included in the amount that is paid off to you.
So if you get a pair of Jacks, you only get back your bet. You
do not make a profit unless you hit a hand of two pair or
higher. Also realize that the payoffs are in terms of "coins",
not dollars. These coins are the denomination of the machine you
are playing on.
For Jacks or
Better, 9/6 machines are known as full-pay machines. Full pay
does not mean that you will get 100% of your money back - we
already established that 9/6 machine will return only 99.5% to
skilled players. In video poker jargon, full pay means that you
are getting the highest standard pay table for a particular
machine. In other words, alterations have not been made in the
payoffs that would shortchange you and lower your overall
expectations for the game. When examining the Jacks or Better
pay table, the are you should concentrate on is the payoff for
the full house and the flush. For the coin played, full pay
machines return 9 coins on a full house and 6 coins on the
flush. These machines are know as 9/6 machines. And the
casinos are full of short-play
machines; this may be frustrating but it is not exactly devious
on the part of the casino. After all, the information is right
there on the pay table.
Another number
to check carefully on the pay table is the return on two pair.
If the machine returns only one coin on two pair, you are
probably looking at a Jacks or Better variation that has other
differences in payouts and requires different strategies and
analysis. If all else were the same and it paid only one coin on
two pair, you'd be looking at a machine that rips you off.
Notice that the payouts for playing one coin are used to
distinguish the machine. Since the pay table is proportionate
throughout, you can use the one-coin payout as a reference.
As you can see,
it is essential to know what you are getting into. Of course,
once you are aware that it pays to read the pay table, the
choice is rather obvious. Even if you don't know the
percentages, all else being equal, you would naturally play the
game that gives greater pay for the same hands.
Every coin paid
out is critical and every distinct pay table warrants its own
analysis. Here are some more tips that will steer you away from
the duds in the video poker world and towards the gems:
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Casinos have no
qualms about setting payoffs on certain hands lower than the
standard full pay, and the change can come anywhere on the
pay table.
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Be very wary of
cuts to the payoffs for the more common hands. Extravagant
jackpots
for high hands are appealing, but they may not be enough to
offset even the most seemingly innocuous dent in your lower
payoffs.
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As a general rule,
you should avoid new machines. Newer machines may have more
high-end jackpot hands or imaginative card combinations, but
the entertainment value usually conceals a lower payback.
Also, you will not know the proper strategy for the machine.
Generally, the more exotic the pay table is, the more
counterintuitive a strategy would be. Most pros stick to
tried-and-true machines.
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Sometimes it's
easy to be drawn in by the marketing lure of a game's title,
but don't judge a game by its name.
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Making the effort
to look for a good machine is half the battle. You have to
remind yourself that in reel slots you are mostly playing
blind, but in video poker it's quite the opposite. Exercise
that free will.
Read:
Video
poker
Video poker
strategy
More on video
poker
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