Video Poker is a very popular machine game at many casinos because it has some skill and a very low house edge when played properly. There are many different variations of video poker including jacks or better, deuces wild and more, with each variation having a slightly different payout table. The object of the game is the same in all video poker variations though and that is to get the highest possible poker hand you can.
Video Poker
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How to Play Video Poker
To begin a video poker hand you place your bet of how many credits you want to wager. The value of the credits vary depending on the machine you are using. You then click the draw button and are given 5 randomly selected cards. You then choose which, if any, of the 5 cards you initially received you want to keep by selecting to hold them. You then redraw for the cards that you did not choose to keep. Your new cards will then appear and your 5-card poker hand will be made. If you made a good hand you will be paid out based on the video poker machines payout table.
The jacks or better video poker variation is one of the most popular. In this variation you must try to achieve a pair of jacks or better to receive a return on your money. For example a pair of jacks or better earns and even money return, two pair earns a 2 to 1 return, 3 of a kind a 3 to 1 return, a flush a 6 to 1 return and so on. Deuces wild is another popular video poker variation and one that you can actually gain an edge over the house on a “full pay” deuces wild machine. On a deuces wild machine the 2’s are wild so it is easier to get better hands. For this reason you must get 3 of a kind to receive an even money payout and the payouts increase from there.
Example
Let’s say you are playing a jacks or better video poker game and on your first draw you get (5,4,A,5,5). You decide to hold the three 5’s and redraw for the 4 and the ace hoping for either another 5 or a full house. The redraw brings to 3’s resulting in a full house and a payout of 9 to 1 on your bet.
Basic Strategy
Strategy is extremely important in video poker because you have to make a decision as to which cards to hold from your initial draw. This is a very important decision and will drastically affect the house edge. Since most players do not play using a solid strategy the house edge is very low on the majority of video poker machines and it is even possible to find machines that give a player advantage. Using the optimal strategy on a jacks or better “full pay” table results in a return of 99.54%. This means that for every $100 you bet using the optimal strategy you will only lose an average of $0.46. On a deuces wild “full pay” table the return using the optimal strategy is 100.77%. This means if you can find a “full pay” deuces wild table you can make a profit of approximately $0.77 for every $100 that you wager. There are a ton of other video poker variations with many different house edges. Overall if you use a solid strategy then the house edge will be extremely low, but if you don’t know what you are doing and are just playing by the seat of your pants the house edge can get very big.