Video Poker Strategy

Video Poker Screenshot from Tower Gaming

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Video Poker is one of the better games in the casino to play. Skilled players can actually exploit an edge against the house and win over the long run. Winning over the long haul with video poker is not easy however; you need to know the proper plays and how to find the proper machines. Whether you play online or in a real casino, finding the proper machine to play on is the first and most important factor in a sound video poker strategy.

Machine selection

There are a few goals when playing video poker of which paramount is trying to hit a royal flush. Now this might seem silly, but hitting a royal flush in video poker will represent much of a winning player’s profit. Basically the idea is to grind it out until a big win like a royal flush is hit. There are a few important factors to look for that will help stretch out your playing time and preserve your bankroll. The full house and the flush payouts are the single more important payouts on the video poker machine. You want to play on machines that only offer a 9/6 payout! This means that they pay nine to one for a full house on the single unit bet and they pay six to one on the single unit bet for a flush. These are the wins that will keep you alive on your quest for the royal flush.

Other strategies

Nowadays there are thousands of different kinds of video poker machines to play. Some have wild cards, some don’t, and the most important thing is to select machines that pay a minimum of 9/6 on the full house and flush and then make sure you know the proper discard strategy for the given game format. There are a few general rules to follow no matter what type of game you are playing:

Always bet the maximum amount of coins. The reason behind this is that the payout is the highest on a royal flush when you bet the maximum coins. Since your goal is to hit the royal flush, you’ll want to make sure your receiving the maximum payout when you hit it.
Make sure you have a large enough bankroll to get through the swings. Video poker is a crazy game and although you can get an edge your bankroll still might fluctuate greatly, be prepared with a proper bankroll.

Discard strategies

Although there are many different forms of video poker, this article will focus on discard strategies for jacks or better video poker. Consult the list below for the proper plays:

High card only: Keep the high cards in hopes of completing to a pair
Pair below jacks: Discard if you have three or more to a straight flush, otherwise keep the pair
Pair above jacks: Keep unless you have four to a straight flush
Two pair: Discard if you have three or more to a straight flush, otherwise keep the pair
Three of a kind: Keep and draw two cards
Four cards to a flush: If you have a high pair, discard the other three cards, otherwise discard the fifth card and draw to the flush.

Any other flush combinations: In general if the hand has at least three of a kind or better you want to keep those unless there are four cards to a royal flush. In this case, break up any hand in attempt to hit the royal flush.