Video Poker Tips

(Note: I’m not telling this story just to brag about my good fortune but rather to use it as a teaching example for video poker players.)

In a previous article, I bemoaned my long royal flush drought in which I played about 270,000 hands between one royal flush and the next one.  Then boom … I found myself in another mini-drought beginning in July 2019, lasting until the middle of December 2019. I was hoping for one more royal before the year ended. Here’s what happened.

Let’s face it. What all video poker players hope (and pray) for is that the next hand will give them a royal flush because that results in an immediate 4,000 coin payoff. But did you ever wonder what the chance that this will happen when you hold, say, four cards to a royal flush?  How about holding three cards to a royal?  And what is the chance of being dealt a royal flush on the initial deal? I’ve summarized the answers to these questions below and they may surprise you.

THE 5 BEST VIDEO POKER TIPS ARE: 

1. Play maximum coins
2. Check pay schedules
3. Know the strategy for the game you are playing
4. Practice before you play
5. Watch your bankroll

TIP #1: PLAY MAXIMUM COINS

Playing maximum coins gives you the full value for the royal flush --- typically 800-for-1. Playing fewer coins gives you less for that hand --- typically 250-for-1.

I received an email from a video poker player who asked me this question:

“I can never win at video poker. Are the video poker machines rigged?”

When people in the casino industry think about the way players are beating casino games, the drum beats for three opportunities: poker, sports betting and table games. The reason given is that only these games bring a player's skill into the mix.  But there is another type of game that APs are beating: video poker. There are at least four ways that APs use to beat video poker.

High pairs, low pairs, any pairs are powerful - more powerful than many video poker players realize.

It's not merely that after a draw, pairs can turn into three of a kind, full houses or four of a kind to boost your credit meter.

Those who play video poker with any regularity generally have one or two favorite games they play. It may be some of my favorites such as Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, or Double Bonus Poker – games which have a high payback and low variance. Others prefer a bit higher risk, if it gives them a shot at more “jackpot” sized payoffs – such as Double-Double Bonus Poker. Still others – usually those who don’t play very regularly – will try any game they come across and try to get lucky.

If you are like most video poker players, you do not expect a lot when you are dealt nothing but a low pair for your initial hand. It seems like these hands never turn into winners. But, is that really the case? If a low pair is such a bad initial hand. If they are, why do they end up so high on playing strategy charts?