Video Poker Strategy

Video poker is one of the few casino games that offers players an opportunity to reduce the house advantage considerably if they know how to play the game correctly. Some machines are "full pay" which means they pay out close to 100% of what is put into them over time and some machines, coupled with proper technique, actually give the players a slight edge over the casino.

Other machines of course are a losing proposition and even the machines that make it possible to gain an advantage over the house will still make money for the casinos because most players don't know how to properly play each hand and poor play will easily wipe out any edge that the player may have. Learning online video poker strategy will allow you to take advantage of the most favorable conditions available so that you have the best chance of winning.

Basic Online Video Poker Strategy - Tips for All Variations

The most basic elements of online video poker strategy will be common sense to anyone who has some understanding of the odds of the game. For people that have some understanding of the game of poker, knowing when to keep certain hands and when to draw cards will be simple in most circumstances.

After you place your bet and the cards are dealt you have the option of keeping the cards you choose to keep and discarding the ones that you do not wish to keep. After you've discarded the cards that you want to get rid of you would draw new cards and then you would either win or lose the bet depending on the value of your hand.

If you are dealt a very strong hand from the beginning, obviously you'll want to hold these cards so you would not break up a winning hand. For example, if you have a full house that consisted of three Kings and a pair of 2s it wouldn't make sense to throw away the 2s in hopes of getting that fourth King. The odds are against the fourth King coming up and you would be throwing away a strong hand.

Sometimes the decisions are not quite as clear cut. If you have four cards of the same suit and one of those suited cards is also part of a pair you may wish to break up the pair in order to try for the flush. For example, if you held the Ace of clubs, King of clubs, Queen of clubs, Jack of clubs, and Jack of hearts, you may wish to discard the Jack of hearts in order to try for the possible royal flush. In a game like Jacks or Better a pair of Jacks would pay you an amount equal to the size of your wager so if you kept your pair of jacks you would break even. In the long run you would be better off going for the royal flush which pays off at as much as 800 to 1 for a maximum credit wager.

Sometimes the decisions about which cards to hold and which cards to get rid of are very easy and other times the right move is not quite as obvious. Making the right decisions in a video poker game really levels the playing field between the house and the players so learning the right moves to make with any possible hand will give you the best chance of winning. It is also important to note that there are hundreds of variations of video poker and even in an identical game, payouts may not always be the same from one casino to another so it is important to be aware of what the payouts will be for the game you choose and to learn a strategy that is suited to the variation of video poker that you choose to play.

Specific Strategies for Different Variations

This next section will give you some more specific strategies for one of the more popular variations of video poker. In theory, finding the right game with the right payouts and playing the proper strategy can actually give the player a slightly greater than 100% return. This does not mean that you're guaranteed to win every single time because any game of chance will have fluctuations with runs of winning and losing hands but under the right circumstances it is possible to gain a statistical advantage over the house so choose your game carefully, study the payout tables, and learn a good strategy for your favorite version of video poker and you just might be able to stack the odds in your favor.

Jacks or Better

Jacks or Better is one of the most common and most popular variations of video poker. You are dealt 5 cards and you have the ability to discard and draw new cards. You must have at least a pair of Jacks or better in order to win a payout and the better your hand is, the more the pay out will be. Payout schedules are different from one machine to another and from one casino to another. What you want to look for as a player is a machine or casino that offers the best payouts. In Jacks or Better, the best payouts come from machines that are referred to as a 9/6 machine. What this means is that a full house pays 9 times your original wager and a flush pays 6 times the original wager. A 9/6 machine, also known as a "full pay" machine offers the best odds to the player. A full pay Jacks or Better game played with optimal strategy gives a return of over 99.5%.

In this game, as in many others, there are certain hands that you never break up. If you are fortunate enough to be dealt a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, or two pair, you would not want to discard any cards that make these hands. However there are certain instances where you may wish to break up a winning had to go for a bigger win. Next we will look at the best way to play the different hands that come up before the draw. It is also important to note that it is best to play the maximum number of credits whenever possible because in many games the payout will yield a higher percentage for maximum credit wagers.

Online Video Poker Strategy for Jacks or Better

If you have four cards to a royal flush you would discard your fifth card if you had anything less than a full house to try to complete the royal flush. Even if discarding one card means breaking up a flush or a straight because the payoff for a royal flush can be 4000 credits on a 5 credit wager.

If you have a flush or a straight take the win unless you're trying for a royal flush.

With a four card open ended straight flush draw the only winning hand you would break up to try to complete the straight flush would be a pair. Anything better than a pair should be played. The reason this rule differs from breaking up a winning hand to chase a royal flush is because the payoff for a royal is so much higher.

With a four card inside straight flush draw never break up a winning hand to chase an inside straight flush. The same rule applies to drawing to an inside straight or an inside flush, never break up a winning hand to do this. In most cases it is actually best to discard your entire hand if you have an inside straight draw with no high cards.

If you are dealt two pair you would hold on to the two pair and discard the fifth card giving yourself a chance to improve the hand to a full house.

If you have a pair of jacks or better without the possibility for a straight flush draw you would hold the pair and discard the other remaining cards. A pair of jacks or better will break even and if you're able to improve and it would result in a winning payout.

With a pair that is smaller than jacks you would once again hold the pair and discard the remaining cards to try to improve the pair unless you had the opportunity to draw on to an open ended straight or flush.

If you have no pair but you have a few high cards you would want to keep two of the cards and draw three additional cards. Some people recommend keeping the two highest cards while others recommend keeping the two lowest pay cards (cards that are jacks or better). Although it sounds counterintuitive the people that suggest this have run millions of computer simulations and claim that keeping lower pay cards is the best move statistically.

If you are dealt only one pay card you would hold that card and discard the other four unless you had a chance to draw to an open-ended straight, flush, or straight flush. If you are dealt a hand with no card higher than a Jack and no opportunity to draw to an open ended straight, flush, or straight flush you would discard the entire hand.

In addition to the strategies listed above it is important to practice good money management. Never wager more than you can afford to lose and never play a game in which the minimums are enough to wipe out your bankroll if you were to suffer a few losses in a row. Make sure you have enough to play the game that you choose to play and have fun.

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