Video Poker Strategy Guide: Start Winning With Us
Video Poker games are very popular choices for players in every type of casino. While slots online rely on random number generators and luck for the player to win, video poker gives players a chance to use skill and the opportunity to learn with a video poker strategy guide to get an advantage.
Playing online video poker is similar to playing five-card poker. The difference is that players can’t lose more than the initial bet because there’s no opponent to play against. Because the possible combinations of cards from a deck of 52 are already known, and their frequency can be calculated, players can use the best strategy to increase their odds.
How It’s Played
After choosing a video poker game, players need first to select the amount of their wager. They are then dealt five cards on the video screen with the goal of making the best hand possible.
Since video poker has the same rules as a five-card draw, the player is allowed to improve their hand by choosing which cards to keep by discarding from one to five of the original cards. Of course, it’s not required to discard any if the player has a winning hand, but in most cases, it is needed in order to improve the hand.
After deciding which cards to keep, the machine will replace the chosen cards with new cards. The amount of each payout is according to the rank of the final hand after all cards are drawn. The amount won is based on the paytable and the number of coins wagered to start the hand.
Winnings are automatically added to the player’s available credits, and then the screen resets for the next hand. The payout table is usually at the top of the screen. There can also be different payouts for different types of video poker games.
For example, the payout for a full house on a bet of one credit usually pays from between five and nine credits. Players should choose the game they want to play carefully to ensure they get the best payouts.
Video Poker Casino Guide: Types
There are a lot of video poker games available to play both online and in your favorite casino. When first learning to play, players should start by playing the basic variations such as Jacks or Better.
This game has a simple paytable and is the game that most other variants are based on. Starting with this variation will make it easier for players to learn different types of games such as Double Bonus Poker, Deuces Wild, and Joker Poker, which are some of the most popular.
Hand Rankings
Payouts in video poker are made in accordance with the basic five-card poker hands. Therefore, they rank as follows from highest to lowest:
– Royal Flush: This is the highest hand possible in all forms of poker. It’s made up of Ace-king-queen-jack-10 of the same suit.
– Straight-Flush: A straight-flush in a series of five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as 2-3-4-5-6 of hearts.
– Four of a Kind: Four cards that are of the same rank, such as four of clubs, four of spades, four of diamonds, and four of hearts.
– Full House: A full house is a hand of five cards in which three of the cards are of one rank, with the other two being another rank. For example, six of diamonds, six of hearts, six of clubs, three of hearts, three of spades.
– Flush: Five cards of the same suit such as five, seven, eight, ten, and queen of clubs.
– Straight: Five cards of mixed suits that are consecutive. For example, five of diamonds, six of clubs, seven of hearts, eight of spades, nine of clubs.
– Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank, such as five of hearts, five of clubs, five of diamonds.
– Two Pairs: Two cards of one rank with two cards of another. For example, ten of spades, ten of diamonds, five of clubs, five of hearts.
– Jacks or Better: A pair of jacks, queens, kings, or aces.
Video Poker Guide: Strategy
Like blackjack, video poker has a basic strategy with only one best way to play any given hand to increase the chances of winning. There are 32 ways any five-card poker hand can be played, with the best way being determined by its Expected Value or EV. This is the key to making the best decision, as the option with the highest EV is how each hand should be played.
Playing free video poker online for practice is an excellent way to learn the basics of the game. Unfortunately, the one thing that can’t be learned from this is identifying the mistakes made. However, video poker training software can be helpful to players, so they avoid making the same mistakes in strategy in the future.
There are also strategy charts that can be purchased online, which help players decide the best play for each individual hand. The strategy will vary depending on the paytable of the game being played. Always make sure to use the proper strategy guide for the appropriate paytable. Remember, if you want to know more about Slots Paradise, check our social media and join our community.
Conclusion
Video poker games are known for paying back the highest percentage among all casino games. Some are famous for having a payback percentage of over 100%, as long as the player makes optimal decisions on each hand. The reason casinos can pay back this high of a percentage is that a vast majority of players don’t use the optimal strategy.
The strategy isn’t as easy as other casino games craps of baccarat, where you only need to learn a couple of different moves to be successful. With video poker, there are a lot of different situations, and the player needs to learn how to make the best choice.
With the high number of possible plays for each poker hand, learning the best strategy may seem like a lot of effort. But once players learn to use it, it will be up to them to use the optimal strategy consistently and start making some money playing video poker.