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Poker is probably the most popular game out there
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OVERVIEW
There are many variations of poker. Traditionally more
popular games like 5 Card Draw and 7 Card Stud have
been joined by other games that change the numbers of
cards and rules, with infinite variety. Video poker,
3 Card, Pai Gow and Carribean Stud are variants more
likely to be seen at online casinos. Video poker is
one of the most popular online casino games, and is
covered here. Other variations are covered in the Other
Games section.
RULES & TIPS
Video Poker
Some people have the misconception that Video Poker
Machines are money eating contraptions. Nothing could
be further from the truth. In fact, some Video Poker
Machines have a long-term payout of greater than 100%.
Other than card counting in Blackjack, they are the
only games in the casino where a player can get a long
term advantage over the house.
Players who like to play alone could find Video Poker
to be the perfect game with its low house advantages
[bottom right] and possible jackpots. Another advantage
for the new player is the fact that you control the
pace of the game. You can take your time while you are
learning the game and then pick up the pace when you’re
more comfortable.
Video Poker is often classified as a type of Slot machine,
but there are two major differences. First, Video Poker
has an element of skill where Slots is a game of luck.
Second, you can tell the payout percentage of a Video
Poker machine by looking at the pay table, and it is
impossible to know what a slot machine’s payout
is set to.
Poker is one of the most popular card games in the
US. Even if you don’t know how poker hands are
ranked, they are easily learned and the payoffs for
hands are always printed on the machines.
Video Poker follows the same game play as Five Card
Draw Poker. Players are dealt five cards and decide
which ones to keep. Players can discard 0 to five cards.
After the draw, winning hands are paid out according
to the posted payout schedule.
It is important to note that all Video Poker payoffs
are on a “for” and not a “to” basis.
For example, a pair of Jacks pays 1 for 1 on a Jacks
or Better Video Poker machine. This means that your
original bet is returned, not doubled — in other
words, you break even.
DOUBLING YOUR BET AFTER A WINNING HAND
Some machines and online casinos offer the option of
doubling your winnings after you have won a hand. If
you decide to do this, the machine will deal five additional
cards with the first one face up and the last four face
down. The player then picks one of the face down cards.
If it is higher in value you double you winnings, if
it is of lower value, you lose your winnings. In most
cases a tie is a push, but in some cases a tie loses.
If you win the double, you are usually allowed to keep
doubling.
If a tie is a push, there is no house advantage because
your chances of winning are 50/50. If a tie counts as
a loss, the house advantage is a very high 5.8%.
Although there is no House Advantage in doubling your
winnings, this does not affect the overall long-term
payout of a machine. The reason is you cannot double
unless you have already won.
Multiple doubling can be tempting but dangerous. Below
are the chances of winning consecutive double bets.
Keep in mind that the chances of winning a double bet
are not affected by previous double wins — if you
have won 3 doubles in a row you still have a 50/50 chance
to win the fourth double at that point.
| Number of Doubles |
Likelihood of winning |
| One Double |
50% |
| Two Doubles |
25% |
| Three Doubles |
12.5% |
| Four Doubles |
6.25% |
JACKS OR BETTER - SIMPLE STRATEGY
The following strategy is a "simple strategy"
for jacks or better video poker. Using the strategy
on a full pay machine will result in an expected return
of 99.46%. Compared to the optimal strategy return of
99.54%, mistakes in the simple strategy will cost 0.08%,
or one total bet every 1178 hands.
To use the strategy look up all viable ways to play
an initial hand on the following list and elect that
which is highest on the list. A "high card"
means a jack or higher.
Full house or better
4 to a royal flush
Straight, three of a kind, or flush
4 to a straight flush
Two pair
High pair
3 to a royal flush
4 to a flush
Low pair
4 to an outside straight
2 suited high cards
3 to a straight flush
2 unsuited high cards (if more than 2 pick then pick
lowest 2)
Suited 10/J, 10/Q, or 10/K
One high card
Discard everything
Terms:
High card: A jack, queen, king, or ace. These cards
are retained more often because if paired up they return
the original bet.
Outside straight: An open ended straight that can be
completed at either end, such as the cards 7,8,9,10.
Inside straight: A straight with a missing inside card,
such as the cards 6,7,9,10. In addition A,2,3,4 and
J,Q,K,A also count as inside straights because they
are at an extreme end.
Example: Suppose you have the following hand.
The top three plays are (1) keep the low pair, (2)
keep the 4 to a flush, and (3) keep the 2 suited high
cards. The 4 to a flush is listed highest and is thus
the best play, so discard the 3 of hearts.
VIDEO POKER TERMINOLOGY
Cycle: Predicted average number of hands dealt per
jackpot.
Flat Top: A Slot or Video Poker machine whose jackpot
is always a fixed amount.
Full Pay Machine: A Video Poker Machine that usually
has the best payoff schedule.
Garbage Hand: An initial deal where you discard all
5 cards.
Kicker: A card held with a Pair or 3 of a Kind.
Pat Hand: A hand in Blackjack or Video Poker that the
player sticks with.
Payoff Schedule: List on Slot or Video Poker machine
denoting winning combinations.
Sequential Royal Flush: A Royal Flush where the cards
are displayed in order with the 10 on the left.
Note: some content from Work
The Odds and The
Wizard of Odds
Good Luck and Happy Gambling!
