Video Poker Strategy

Video Poker Strategy

Video poker stands almost alone in the automated gaming world as a game that strategy really matters in. with video poker strategy, your decisions are what make or break your game, and so knowing the right ones to make is essential for success.

Video poker strategy as with poker does vary somewhat depending on the type of player you are. Some people will always chase the royal flush even if that means compromising on smaller payouts. No video poker strategy could seriously recommend this course of action however; ultimately, if you have a pair you're getting a pay out, and you know what they say about a bird in the hand. Remember, with video poker, you have more of a chance of getting something that getting nothing - see the payout table below.

It is very important with video poker to differentiate from regular poker - video poker strategy is very different from the table game. For example, bluffing and holding onto a kicker is simply never worthwhile in video poker play.

Video Poker in general gives good odds and even offers players who know what they're doing the opportunity of an advantage over the house. Progressive video pokers with a high enough jackpot, offer excellent possibilities for very large payouts. If you have enough of a bankroll to play for a while, go with the progressives.

Video poker strategy can vary from one machine to another, just as it does from one poker game to another. There are a large number of options within the video poker world - only play on one you're comfortable with. For the most part, the games on offer can be divided into wild and non-wild games, and of course the strategy is very different for each - Correct machine selection does half the job of winning for you.

If you are just starting out in video poker and you're looking for a video poker strategy there is nothing that beats "keep it simple". Start on a straight forward video poker game such as Jacks or Better. Play for free to start with and then start playing for money. Once you have mastered Jacks or Better you can move onto a more complicated game.

Last but not least, you must always know the pay-tables and have some kind of idea of the likelihood of hands appearing. You don't need to know exactly what the odds are but you should be able to quick reference in your mind how probable or frequently particular hands appear. To help you do this, here's a run down of the frequency and probabilities of video poker hands.

Hand	Frequency	% Probability
Royal Flush	1 in 40,390.55	0.002%
Straight Flush	1 in 9,148.37	0.011%
Four of a kind	1 in 423.27	0.236%
Full house	1 in 86.86	1.151%
Flush	1 in 90.79	1.101%
Straight	1 in 89.05	1.123%
Three of a kind	1 in 13.43	7.445%
Two pair	1 in 7.74	12.928%
Jacks or better	1 in 4.66	21.459%
Nothing	1 in 1.83	54.543%

Posted: 2008-11-05   By: Top Game

Source: Casino Bonus Center Articles