Video Poker Tips

Many video poker players know that the game is about more than chasing royal
flushes and hoping luck shines on you.

In fact, video poker contains a large amount of skill that few casino games
can match. And you can greatly improve your chances of beating the casino with
enough strategy.

But how do you develop the necessary skills to win in video poker?

Play the best video poker games - just like the casino, for free. Join the largest video-poker community and improve your casino play by learning at home. Video Poker Tips Our team of experts give you a sneak peek at the top secret video poker tips you need to know about. Learn how to give yourself the best chances with these tips.

Let’s cover some tips that will help you become a complete player, from the
beginning to the advanced stages.

Beginner Video Poker Tips

Tip #1: Bet the Max Number of Coins

Video poker machines let you wager anywhere from 1 to 5 coins per hand. If
you want the best chance to win in video poker, then you need to bet the 5 coin
max every time.

The reason why you should do this is because the royal flush payout features
a disproportionate jump when you bet 5 coins. Here’s a look at this:

• 250 coin royal flush
  on a 1 coin bet.
• 500 coin royal flush
  on a 2 coin bet.
• 750 coin royal flush
  on a 3 coin bet.
• 1,000 coin royal flush
  on a 4 coin bet.
• 4,000 coin royal flush
  on a 5 coin bet.

The 3,000 coin jump between the 4 and 5 coin bet is the sole reason why you
wager the max. This large discrepancy has a noticeable effect on the house edge,
which you can see in the example below:

• Double Bonus payback
  when betting 5 coins = 100.17%
• Double Bonus payback
  when betting 1 to 4 coins = 99.1%

Tip #2: Know when Not to Bet the Max

All video poker books, articles, and other strategy resources recommend that
you bet the 5 coin max because it gives you the best chance to win. But if you
can’t afford to wager the max, then it’s not the end of the world.

The key thing to understand is that you only draw to a royal flush about 1
out of every 40,000 hands. This means that the vast majority of the time, you
don’t need to worry about missing out on the extra 3,000 coins.

Non royal flush payouts make up approximately 97% of totally video poker
payback. And given that all other payouts increase proportionately when moving
from a 1 to 5 coin bet, you won’t miss anything here.

We still suggest that you make5 coin max bets. But if you’re a casual player
who wants to play 1 to 4 coins for fun, then this won’t ruin you.

Tip #3: Pay tables Change Payback

All video poker games can look the same to a new player. But slight
differences in the pay table have a noticeable impact on the house edge.

Let’s start by looking at different pay tables for Jacks or Better (JoB:

• 9 / 6 JoB = 99.54% payback
• 9 / 5 JoB = 98.45%
• 8 / 6 JoB = 98.39%
• 8 / 5 JoB = 97.30%

The numbers in front signify what each game pays for a full house and flush.

In the case of 9 / 6 JoB, you receive 9 coins for a full house and 6 for a
flush. With 9 / 5 JoB, you earn 9 coins for a full house and 5 for a flush.

The 1 coin difference in the flush payouts may not seem like a big
difference. But the flush payout occurs frequently enough to have a 1.09% impact
on the payback.

Let’s look at another example involving Double Bonus:

• 10 / 7 / 5 Double
  Bonus = 100.17% payback
• 9 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus
  = 99.11%
• 9 / 6 / 5 Double Bonus
  = 97.81%
• 9 / 7 / 4 Double Bonus
  = 97.74%

Double Bonus pay tables not only feature differences in the full house and
flush payouts, but also the straight payouts. The lowest pay table in this list
is the 9 / 7 / 4 Double Bonus game, which pays 9 coins for a full house, 7 for a
flush, and 4 for a straight.

Tip #4: Look for the Best Games

You can know all the
video poker strategy in the world. But if you don’t play
the right games, then you’re wasting your time.

Here’s a look at some of the top games in video poker:

• Full pay Joker Wild =
  101.0% payback
• Full pay Deuces Wild =
  100.76%
• 10 / 7 / 5 Double
  Bonus = 100.17%
• 10 / 6 Double Double
  Bonus = 100.07%
• All Aces (online) =
  99.92%
• Split Way Royal
  (online) = 99.80%
• Aces & Eights (online)
  = 99.78%
• Not So Ugly Ducks =
  99.73%
• Super Double Bonus =
  99.69%
• 9 / 6 Bonus Poker =
  99.64%
• 9 / 6 Jacks or Better
  = 99.54%
• 8 / 5 Bonus Poker =
  99.17%

Obviously it’s best to play games that give you the best chance to win. But
the other side is that you need to be able to find these games.

We don’t know any casino that still offers full pay Joker Wild. Full pay
Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus can only be found in Las
Vegas based casinos.

This means most players will be relegated to the top online video poker
games, and 9 / 6 JoB and 8 / 5 Bonus Poker in brick and mortar casinos.

Tip #5: Know the Do’s and Don’ts

Knowing the do’s and don’ts of video poker helps you follow the most universal
strategy rules and make more money. Here are the biggest things you should and
shouldn’t do in video poker:

• Do: Play the maximum
  coin size, unless you’re a casual player who’s just looking to have fun.
• Don’t: Play longer
  than you can afford to, and / or play multi hand games that are too
  expensive for you.
• Do: Look for the best
  games and pay tables.
• Don’t: Sit down to a
  video poker machine and start playing without looking at the pay table.
• Do: Play when you’re
  rested and in a good mood.
• Don’t: Play when
  you’re drunk and / or tired.
• Do:Learn proper
  strategy so that you can win money.
• Don’t: Think that you
  can beat video poker without putting some work into the matter.
• Do: Know that video
  poker has ups and downs, and you need a bankroll that can survive this
  variance.
• Don’t: Obsess over
  royal flushes and think that video poker is all about winning big payouts.

Tip #6: Start with an Easy, Low Variance Game like Jacks or Better

If you’re new to video poker, we recommend that you play Jacks or Better.

The first reason why is because this machine has low variance (a.k.a.
volatility), meaning it offers more consistent payouts. This is crucial for any
player who has a small bankroll and wants to consistently win money back.

The second reason for choosing JoB is that it has simpler strategy than most
games. Because JoB has a simple pay table, you don’t have to make as many
strategy decisions on each hand.

Tips on Improving Your Video Poker Skills

Once you know which video poker games and pay tables to choose, the next
logical step involves working on your skills. After all, you have a much better
chance of winning when you make correct decisions over and over.

The good news is that there are multiple ways to become a better player. This
next section will cover some of the video poker
calculators and tools that’ll up your game.

Tip #7: Use a Video Poker Strategy Chart in the Beginning

While you can start with one of several methods to improve your video poker
play, we recommend getting a strategy chart and playing Jacks or Better.

Earlier, we explained that JoB is a great game to start with due to its
simplistic strategy. Another reason to begin with this game is because JoB
strategy charts are the easiest to find.

As for strategy charts, these rank made and non made hands in the order that
you should keep them in. Here’s an example:

• You’re dealt: 4s 4d 8d
  Jd 3d
  • Option #1: you keep 4
    cards to a flush.
  • Option #2: you keep
    pair of 4’s (low pair).
• Consulting the
  strategy chart, you can see that the 4 cards to a flush rank higher.

When you play JoB with a strategy chart, you’ll develop a general feeling for
video poker strategy. And this makes it easier to deal with the strategy nuances
of other games.

Also note that you’ll find both simple and optimal charts for JoB. The simple
chart helps you get to 99.46% payback, while the optimal version leads to 99.54%
payback.

The advantage with using a simplified chart is that there are fewer decisions
to worry about, and you still come close to optimal payback. Of course, serious
players will appreciate how the optimal chart helps them get the highest
payback.

You can see both versions below:

Simple JoB Strategy Chart

1. Royal flush, straight flush, 4 of a kind
2. 4cards to a royal flush
3. Full house, flush, straight, 3 of a kind
4. 4cards to a straight flush
5. Two pair
6. High pair (A’s through J’s)
7. 3 cards to a royal flush
8. 4 cards to a flush
9. Low pair (10’s through 2’s)
10. 4 cards to an outside straight
11. 2 suited high cards
12. 3 cards to a straight flush
13. 2 unsuited high cards
14. Suited K 10, Q 10, and J 10
15. 1 high card
16. Discard everything

Optimal JoB Strategy Chart

1. Royal flush, straight flush, 4 of a kind
2. 4 cards to a royal flush
3. Full house, flush, straight, 3 of a kind
4. 4 cards to a straight flush
5. Two pair
6. High pair (A’s through J’s)
7. 3 cards to a royal flush
8. 4 cards to a flush
9. Unsuited K Q J T
10. Low pair (10’s to 2’s)
11. 4 cards to an outside straight w / 0 to 2 high cards
12. 3 cards to a straight flush
13. Suited Q J
14. 4 cards to an inside straight w / 4 high cards
15. Suited K Q or K J
16. Suited A K, A Q, or A J
17. 4 cards to an inside straight w / 3 high cards
18. 3 cards to a straight flush
19. Unsuited K Q J
20. Unsuited Q J
21. Suited J T
22. 2 unsuited high cards w / king high card
23. Suited Q T
24. 2 unsuited high cards w / ace high card
25. Jack only
26. Suited K T
27. Queen
28. King 29. Ace 30. 3 cards to a straight flush

Tip #8: Practice with Video Poker Training

One way to really take your video poker game to the next level is by using a
training program.

Video poker trainers play just like regular games. But the key difference is
that they let you know when you’ve made correct and incorrect strategy
decisions.

Let’s look at a couple of examples:

• Example #1
  • You’re dealt: 6s 9d Qh
    5c 3h
  • You keep Qh and
    discard everything else.
  • The trainer shows that
    this is the correct move in this situation.
• Example #2
  • You’re dealt: 2h 8c Qc
    Kd Ad
  • You keep Ad,Kd, and
    Qc, then discard everything else.
  • The trainer shows that
    this is incorrect because you should’ve also discarded Qc.

The great thing about trainers is that you have a helping strategy hand the
entire time you’re playing. As you continue learning the right and wrong moves
in each situation, video poker strategy will eventually become second nature.

Besides repetition, another good thing about training programs is that they
let you practice games that aren’t covered by strategy charts.

We’ve found strategy charts for 6 video poker variations, which is a small
percentage compared to what games are available.

And if you’re trying to win through positive expectation (+EV) games like
Deuces Wild, Double Bonus, and Double Double Bonus, you won’t find strategy
charts for them either.

Video poker trainers, on the other hand, cover a wider range of variants. And
some of these programs even let you customize pay tables so that you can
practice any game.

When using video poker trainers, you have two options: free programs and
versions that you pay for.

Free video poker trainers are the most convenient option because you merely
need to do a Google / Bing search and you’re ready to play. These versions give
you a few different options with regard to games & pay tables, which helps you
practice the popular variants.

The only problem with free trainers is that they don’t cover enough games for
skilled players. For this, you’ll need to buy software, which can cost up to
$60.

One example is Bob Dancer’s
Video Poker for Winners program. Retailing at
$49.95, this is a CD ROM that allows you to do the following:

• Practice different
  games.
• Play problem hands.
• Check unusual hands.
• Calculate bankroll
  requirements for different games.
• Figure out how much
  money you’ll earn through slots clubs.

A casual player won’t want to pay $50 for a video poker trainer, especially
if their favorite game is already covered by a free program.

But again, serious players who want to play +EV variations – or at least
games with payback in the high 99% range – should consider using a trainer.

Tip #9: Consider Free Video Poker

Want to put your skills to the test without a helping hand or having to put
money on the line? Free video poker is another good tool that you can use to get
better.

Online casinos offer free video poker as a service to attract players. And
most casinos have a wide variety of games that you can practice with.

Another good thing about playing at internet casinos is that you can play as
many hands as you’d like without spending anything.

The downside to free video poker is that you don’t get advice like with a
trainer or strategy chart. For this reason, we only recommend that you use the
free version when you’re testing your strategy.

Tip #10: Use a Hand Calculator to Figure Out Tough Hands

A video poker hand calculator is great for times when you want to figure out
an individual hand. Here’s a look at how these calculators work:

1. Choose your desired game and pay table.
2. Choose each card that you want for the 5 card hand.
3. Push Process to get the results.
4. The calculator will give you EV on each potential decision. You go with the decision that has the highest EV.

Hand calculators aren’t meant to be a heavily used strategy tool, like a
trainer or chart. After all, it takes several seconds to create each hand.

Instead, a calculator is good for difficult hands that you haven’t trained
for, or have forgotten how to play. Considering that some trainers come equipped
with hand calculators, these are handy side tools that you can use in a jam.

Tip #11: Use a Bankroll Calculator

Video poker games take hundreds of thousands of hands to reach their payback
percentage. Do you have the bankroll to last until this point?

Bankroll calculators will help you figure out your bankroll requirements for
any game.

We haven’t found any free video poker bankroll calculators floating around
the internet. But some programs like the aforementioned Video Poker for Winners
come packaged with these tools.

Once you have a calculator, you can input your desired game to find your risk
of ruin. Here’s a look at risk of ruin for a 9 / 6 Jacks or Better game:

Even a $1,250 bankroll has around a 50% chance of busting in JoB. But the
1,000 betting units ensure that you’ll be able to play for quite a while
regardless.

Once you cross the $5,000 threshold, your risk of ruin declines
significantly. Furthermore, you should win multiple royal flush payouts before
you ever come close to your bankroll busting.

Keep in mind that JoB is one of the least volatile variations in video poker.
Once you move to the more volatile bonus variants, your risk of ruin increases.

This is why you want to do a separate bankroll calculation for each new game
that you move to.

Tip #12: Visit Forums

Have a burning video poker question that you want answered? The best place to
do this is at video poker forums.

Many forums are loaded with threads that discuss strategy, casinos, comps,
training programs, and where to find the top games. You can also enjoy fun
topics that have little or nothing to do with video poker.

Of course, nothing beats trainers or strategy charts when it comes to
learning strategy. But like hand calculators, forums are a specialist tool that
can help you find the highest paying games and comp programs.

Tip #13: Read Articles & Books

Books are one of the oldest ways to improve your video poker game. Here are a
few that we find helpful and / or entertaining:

• Frugal Video Poker (2006)
  by Jean Scott.
• The Video Poker Edge,
  Second Edition: How to Play Smart and Bet Right (2006) by Linda Boyd.
• Million Dollar Video Poker
  (2003) by Bob Dancer.
• The Video Poker Answer Book
  (2000) by John Grochowski.

Video poker books are nice for players who enjoy reading and picking up
strategy. But the problem is that many books are outdated and / or not worth
buying thanks to all the information available on the internet.

This brings us to another helpful strategy tool in online articles. Simple
Google searches will yield countless articles that you can read to improve your
play.

The benefit to video poker articles is that they’re quick and easy to find.
The biggest drawback is that articles can run together because video poker
websites rehash the same subject matter.

Tips on Finding the Best Games

Earlier, we covered the importance of looking for thebest paying games in
video poker. But how do you find the top games?

Let’s briefly discuss where you can find quality video poker games, and if
+EV machines can help you become a pro.

Tip #14: Use vpFREE2 to Look Up Land based Video Poker

Tens of thousands of video poker machines are scattered throughout North
America. And this makes it extremely difficult to know where the best games are.

This is why you should use the website vpFREE2.com because it lets you search
for video poker machines across both Canada and the United States.

Here’s how it works:

• You visit the “Casinos” tab at the top
  of the homepage.
• Use the filters to search for video
  poker / casinos in each region.
• Look through the different video poker
  games offered at each casino.

The one thing to note is that vpFREE2 uses abbreviations for games. But you
can quickly learn what these mean by visiting the “Pay Tables” tab.

As for the results, you’ll find which casinos offer the highest paying video
poker machines. You’ll also see what denominations are available for each
machine.

The denominations are a great help when you find +EV video poker and want to
maximize your profits. Here’s an example that we noticed from our vpFREE2
search:

• Aliante Casino offers $1
  denomination 10 / 7 / 5 Double Bonus (100.17% payback).
• Circus Circus offers $0.50
  denomination Aces and Eights (100.25% payback).

The game at Circus Circus appears to be the best from a payback perspective.
But let’s look at the hourly rate you’d earn with perfect strategy on each game:

• You bet $1,000 per hour on
  the $1 DB game = $1.70 hourly profit (1,000 x 1.0017)
• You bet $1,000 per hour on
  the $0.50 A&8 game = $1.25 hourly profit (500 x 1.0025)

Despite having the higher payback, Circus Circus’ Aces and Eights game pays
less because you can only bet $0.50 per hand.

Long story short, vpFREE2 is the ultimate tool for researching casino video
poker in Las Vegas and beyond.

Tip #15: Look Up Online Video Poker Games by Software Providers

Finding the top video poker games in online casinos works differently because
there’s no vpFREE2.com site to rely on. Instead, your best chances involve
looking up information on the software providers.

This begins with knowing some of the prominent software companies. We’ve
listed a few below:

• Betsoft
• Microgaming
• Net Entertainment
• Realtime Gaming

All of these companies provide video poker games, and you can research them
to see what their top paying video poker games are.

Using Realtime as an example, they offer an Aces & Eights game with 99.78%
payback. Microgaming does one better by featuring an All Aces game with 99.92%
payback.

Once you find out what type of video poker software a provider offers, you
can check out what casinos they supply.

One more thing worth noting is that many high paying online games don’t
feature common strategy. And if you want to practice a game like Microgaming’s
All Aces, you’ll need to buy training software and create your own customized
pay table to train.

Tip #16: Becoming a Video Poker Pro is Hard

Even when you practice video poker and find the right games, winning long
term profits is difficult. Furthermore, professional video poker is a tough gig
that comes with a number of concerns.

First and foremost, you need to worry about finding +EV machines. Las Vegas
is the only place where you can do this on a consistent basis, so you’ll have to
live here.

Another dilemma is that casinos offer less lucrative video poker promotions
than they did in the past.

Pros like Bob Dancer and Jean Scott used to make serious money off of promos
alone. Now, you’re lucky if some casinos even have decent offers on holidays.

This brings us to another point in that you’ll need to play video poker on
holidays and busy weekends if you hope to be a pro. That’s because many casinos
offer their best video poker deals on these days.

You also have to worry about your hourly rate as a video poker pro. Let’s
look at an example:

• The game is full pay Deuces
  Wild (100.76% payback).
• You make max bets ($1.25
  per hand).
• You play 1,000 hands
  ($1,250) per hour, which is extremely fast.
• You also take advantage of
  a double points promotion.
• Your comp rate is 0.2%.
• Your hourly rate from
  playing alone is $7.60 per hour [($1,250 x 1.0076) – $1,250].
• Your earnings from comps
  are $5.00 per hour [($1,250 x 0.002) x 2].
• Your total earnings are
  $14.50 per hour ($9.50 playing + $5 comps).

Keep in mind that you need many things to go right just to earn this amount.
Your strategy has to be perfect, you need 2x points, and you have to play at a
blazing speed.

Is this worth it to most players? No, you’d be better off getting a normal
job.

Our point isn’t to discourage you, but rather to point out the realities of
making it as a video poker pro.

On the positive side, making this kind of money from a game or hobby is an
excellent way to supplement your income.

Getting Video Poker Comps

Players love picking up comps and cashback. But some miss out on these
rewards because they don’t know anything about video poker comps and the players
club.

That said, let’s discuss what you need to do to ensure that you’re in line to
pick up freebies through your video poker play.

Tip #17: Sign Up for the Players Club

In brick and mortar casinos, you need to sign up for the players club (a.k.a.
slots club) before you’re eligible to receive rewards.You can either do this
through a casino’s website or inside the casino.

Once you sign up, you’ll become comped a certain percentage of your bets. In
most casinos, you receive between 0.1% and 0.3% back on your video poker action.

The amount can depend upon the casino and game you’re playing. You might
consider jumping on some video poker forums in hopes of finding the best comp
rates.

It’s best to avoid any casino that drastically reduces comps for machines
that pay back over 99%. We’ve seen casinos that cut comps down to 0.01% if
you’re playing a game with over 99% payback.

Tip #18: Research Online Casino Comps

You don’t have to sign up for anything when seeking comps at internet
casinos. But you should look at a casino’s loyalty program to ensure that video
poker players are rewarded.

Some casinos cut video poker players out of the slots club and / or exclude
their play from earning deposit bonuses.

Obviously you don’t want to play anywhere like this, so it’s important to
ensure that you’re drawing rewards and bonuses from your play.

Understanding Video Poker’s Legal Side

Thanks to the growing number of casinos around the world, most people will
find legal video poker options in their area. Nevertheless, it still pays to know
the legal side of video poker, which you can read about below.

Tip #19: Know the Video Poker Laws for Your State / Country

Nobody wants to get in legal trouble for playing video poker, which is why
it’s crucial to know what the laws are in your state / territory / country.

One way that you can figure this out is by looking online at your local
government’s gambling penal code. In the US, you can find out what’s legal and
illegal by checking out your state’s penal code.

A good rule of thumb is to stick to playing video poker in licensed and
regulated casinos.

As for online video poker, this is still a grey area in some countries.

Canada and the US haven’t regulated or banned online gaming on a federal
level. This leaves it up to the state / provincial government to decide whether
or not they want to regulate ban the activity.

Given that most states and provinces haven’t taken action, Canada and the US
are served by dozens of offshore casinos. And it’s not illegal to play at these
casinos in most states and provinces.

Tip #20: Know what to Report regarding Video Poker Taxes

Casinos are mandated by law to have players fill out W 2G tax forms for any
win exceeding $1,200.

This creates an advantage with video
poker and taxes in that most wins are
worth less than $1,000. That’s because the standard royal flush payout is 4,000
coins, and the most common denomination is $0.25 (4,000 x 0.25 = $1k).

This means that you can get away with not reporting video poker income in
most cases. But if you play progressive video poker, there’s a chance that
you’ll win a jackpot worth over $1,200, at which point you must fill out a W 2G.

In this case, it helps to have both your winnings and losses logged so you
can report them on your 1040. This way, the government can’t tax you for the
full $1,200 plus amount, with no losses to report on the other side.

The best way to be safe is to log your gambling sessions so that you’ll have
this info on hand in case you do win big.

Video Poker Etiquette

One reason why some players choose video poker is because it’s not filled
with etiquette and unwritten rules like table games. But there are a few
etiquette rules you should note, and we’ll discuss these below.

Tip #21: Tip Cocktail Waitresses and Hand pay Attendants

Video poker doesn’t have a dealer, meaning you don’t have to worry about tips
here. But what you do need to think about regarding
video poker and tipping is the
cocktail waitresses and hand pay employees.

It’s customary to give waitresses a dollar every time that they bring you a
free drink. If you’re not prepared to tip the cocktail waitress, then it’s best
to decline the drink.

You should also tip the employee that comes over to deliver your hand pay
following a big win. In most cases, this situation arises when you win a royal
flush, although straight flushes can sometimes be hand pays as well.

Unlike waitresses, there’s no guideline for tipping the hand payer. Some
players might offer $10 for every $1,000 they win, while others will give $20 –
both of which seem fair.

If you want an enormous progressive jackpot worth over $200,000, you might
consider giving more like $100 $200.

Tip #22: Make 100% Sure a Seat Isn’t Occupied

One of the most common video poker superstitions is that somebody can “steal”
a royal flush payout by taking your machine.

This is a complete myth because video poker machines operate through random
number generators, which determine hand results within milliseconds.

Regardless of the truth, many players believe that you can potentially steal
their royal flush by taking their seat.

This is why you need to check for every possible sign that somebody could be
sitting at a machine. After all, you don’t want any unpleasantness to arise from
taking somebody’s seat.

Tip #23: Don’t be a Nuisance Yourself

Odds are that you’re not the player who drinks too much and / or talks too
much around players just want to left alone.

But it’s still worth mentioning that you should be as respectful as possible
to others in your vicinity.

Video poker players come to the casino to relax and have fun. And the last
thing they want to do is sit next to somebody who’s berating the machine for not
having paid much for the past 2 hours.

Conclusion

Video poker is an enjoyable game that gives you the chance to win big payouts
like a royal flush, straight flush, and quads. And this game is all the more
enjoyable when you know proper strategy and improve your chances of winning.

It all starts with the basics, including making the max bet, knowing pay
tables, and looking for high paying games.

Once you understand these concepts, you can move on to tools that’ll improve
your chances of winning.

Our favorite place to begin is with a strategy chart, before moving to video
poker training and a bankroll calculator. If you enjoy reading, then you might
check out some articles and books on the subject too.

Another big thing that you want to do involves researching where the best
games are.

If you’re a casino video poker player, you’ll want to consult vpFREE2.com. As
an online video poker player, you want to research different software providers
to see what games they offer.

Obviously it’s time consuming to undergo all these steps in the pursuit of
improvement. But if you really like video poker, then you’ll enjoy the process –
especially when it results in more winnings!

This video poker strategy page and the accompanying section have a single goal—to help you get the best odds when gambling at a casino. Video poker, unlike many casino games, offers you at least some degree of control over the odds. Games like roulette and slot machines have no strategy. The decisions you make are essentially meaningless.

Video poker, on the other hand, resembles blackjack. You can use strategic thinking to improve your chances of winning and decrease the house edge. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as both games use a deck of cards to play. Of course, in the case of blackjack, you’re usually looking at a real deck of cards. In video poker, you’re using a virtual deck that’s actually being simulated using a random number generator.

But legitimate video poker games duplicate the odds you’d see if you were using a real deck of cards.

And that’s why you can use a strategy to improve your odds. We talk more about that in the next section.

Why Does Video Poker Have a Strategy?

When you’re playing a slot machine, you have no idea what the probability of a particular symbol coming up on a particular reel is. That probability is determined by the random number generator.

A random number generator is a computer program that constantly cycles through numbers at the rate of thousands of numbers per second. Each number corresponds to a different stop on the reel in a slot machine game. Or in the case of a video poker game, each number corresponds to a playing card.

But since you don’t know anything about the probability of getting a particular symbol on a slot machine game, it’s impossible to make any kind of strategic decision.

In fact, even if you DID know the probabilities of getting each symbol on the reel, you still wouldn’t be able to make a decision that would affect your outcome.

There are no decisions to be made. You put your money in, your spin the reels, and you accept the outcome.

Several, if not most, casino games are like this. You have no way of affecting the odds no matter how smart you are. The odds of winning a single number bet in roulette are 37 to 1, no matter what kind of strategy you use.

That’s why video poker (and blackjack) are different. You DO have the opportunity to make decisions which affect your outcome.

Understanding why requires looking into the math behind the game a little bit.

Expected Return, Payback Percentages & the House Edge

The expected return of a bet, video poker or otherwise, can be calculated if you know the probability of winning and losing. You also need to know how much you stand to win and how much you stand to lose.

You multiply the probability of winning by the amount you’re going to win. You multiply the probability of losing by the amount you’re going to lose. You add those two numbers together to get your overall expectation.

Suppose we set up a really simple gambling game where you’re going to flip a coin. If you guess the correct outcome, you win 25 cents. But if you’re wrong, you lose 50 cents.

In this example you have a 50% chance of winning and a 50% chance of losing. 50% of 25 cents is 12.5 cents, which is the first part of your equation. 50% of 50 cents is -25 cents. (It’s negative because that’s the amount you lose.)

Your expected loss on that bet is 12.5 cents.

You won’t lose 12.5 cents every time. That would be impossible.

But if you tallied all your net wins and losses over time, and if you played for a long time, your results would eventually start to conform to the mathematical expectation.

Return is usually measured as a percentage. In this case, 12.5 cents is 50% of the original bet, so your expected return is -50%.

That’s an awful bet. Most experienced gamblers wouldn’t take it.

But it’s an example of how the casino gets its edge in every game in the casino.

This same kind of math can be applied to video poker games and to slot machine games to determine a payback percentage. The payback percentage is just the amount of money you expect to win back from the casino for every $100 you wager over a long period of time.

Keep in mind that in the short run, anything can and often will happen. You can win a big jackpot early in your session, and your results won’t look anything like the mathematically expected payback percentage.

But the longer you play, the closer your results will get to the mathematically predicted results. Over an infinite number of trials, you would certainly have results which mirror the mathematical prediction.

The house edge, on the other hand, is the amount of each bet that the house mathematically expects to keep. It’s the opposite of the payback percentage.

In the case of a full pay Jacks or Better game, the payback percentage is 99.54%. So the house edge is 0.46%.

That means for every $100 you bet, the casino expects you to win $99.54. They expect to win 46 cents.

Those are long term expectations, though. In the short run, anything can happen.

All of that background is necessary for understanding why video poker strategy matters.

Since you know the odds of being dealt a particular hand, and you know the odds of improving a hand, you can compare your choices in a video poker game to go with the choice that has the better expected return.

You’re playing Jacks or Better, and you have 4 cards to a royal flush, but you also have a pair. You could play this hand in a number of ways.

You have a number of options in this example:

• You could throw all 5 cards away and start over. That’s obviously the play with the lowest expected value.
• You could throw away all the cards except the pair. In this case, you’re hoping to improve your hand to 2 pairs, 3 of a kind, or a full house.
• Or you could throw away the card that makes the pair and try to draw the royal flush.

Since you have a pair, you have a 100% chance of winning at least 1 unit. That’s an expected value of $1. But it’s actually a little better than that, because you also have the chance to improve the hand. Let’s just call it an expected value move of $1.50.

But a royal flush has a payout of 800 to 1. The odds of drawing the card you need for that hand are 1 in 47, but any time you get a 46 to 1 shot at an 800 to 1 payout, you should take it. The expected value of that play is huge.

You have a roughly 2% chance of winning $800. That’s $16. You also have a roughly 98% chance of losing $1. That’s -98 cents.

$16 – 98 cents = $15.02, which is a heck of a lot more than $1.50.

The correct choice is clear, even though you’re going to lose this bet more often than not. On the occasions when you do win, your winnings are going to be so large that they’ll make up for all the times you lost the bet and then some.

Not all situations in video poker are that clear. In fact, a human can’t just sit there and work out the correct play in every situation using a pencil and paper.

Luckily, we have computers for that.

You can find a video poker strategy chart for just about any variation available. In fact, you can even find websites which will generate the perfect strategy for you based on the game and the pay table that you input.

Here’s how such a strategy chart works:

• You get a list of hands.
• At the top of the list is the best possible hand.
• You work your way down the list until you find a hand that matches what you have.
• When you get to that hand, you stop and keep the cards that are listed.

Almost all video poker strategy charts start with a royal flush as the top listed hand. That makes sense. After all, you would never throw away the top paying hand in the game. That would just be silly.

In most games, 4 of a kind and a straight flush will also be at the top of the list—those are usually the top 3 hands with the best payouts.

But the next best hand after that?

You’ll always hold on to 4 cards to a royal flush.

That’s some strategy advice based on Jacks or Better, but the strategy for Deuces Wild is a little bit different.

For one thing, you’ll always look at lists of potential hands based on how many deuces you have. One of the fundamental tenets of Deuces Wild strategy is that you never discard a 2.

Then based on how many deuces you have in your hand, you have a list of potential hands to choose from. Start at the top and work your way down.

Another way of thinking about video poker strategy is to think about potentially conflicting hands.

You have 3 cards to a royal flush, but you also have a pair. Do you keep the pair, or do you go for the royal flush?

In this case, you keep the pair. Your odds of hitting the royal flush go down exponentially when you need 2 cards to complete your hand.

In probability, when you want to know the odds of event A happening AND event B happening at the same time, you multiple the probabilities by each other.

In the event of filling a royal flush, each card has a 1/47 chance of showing up. The odds of getting both cards are 1/47 X 1/47, which is about 1 in 2500. And 800 to 1 payout doesn’t warrant that kind of risk, especially if you’ve got a sure winning in your hand already.

The strategy varies from game to game because the payouts vary from game to game. In Bonus Poker, which is basically just Jacks or Better with a bonus payout for a 4 of a kind, you might be more likely to draw to your 4 of a kind in certain instances.

In Deuces Wild, the presence of the wild card makes a huge difference to how you play your hands. You need much stronger hands to win, but those wild cards make it easier to get those hands. One of the fundamental tenets of Deuces Wild strategy is to never discard a deuce.

The basics of Jacks or Better strategy are pretty simple.

First check to see if you have one of the following 3 paying hands:

If you have any of those, keep what you’ve got and collect your winnings.

If you don’t have any of those, check to see if you have 4 cards to a royal flush. If you do, keep those 4 cards and try to hit the royal.

4 cards to a royal flush trumps everything except those 3 hands we mentioned above.

If you don’t have 4 cards to a royal flush, then look to see if you have any of these other “made hands”:

• Full House
• Flush
• Straight
• 3 of a Kind

If you have any of those, keep it and collect your winnings.

If not, check to see if you have 4 cards to a straight flush. If you do, then draw to that straight flush.

Then check to see if you have one of the following 2 paying hands:

You’ll keep those over the other options below.

Once you get to that point, you’re looking at speculative hands. Your best speculative hand at this point is 3 cards to a royal flush. It’s a long shot, but if you don’t already have one of the other hands listed above, that’s what you should go for.

Then if you have 4 to a flush, try to fill your flush.

If you have a low pair, try to draw to 3 of a kind or better.

A full strategy chart will have several more hands for you to go through, but you get the idea.

Jacks or Better strategy just isn’t that hard. Even though this isn’t a complete strategy chart, you’re probably only giving up a few tenths of a percent of payback percentage following these guidelines.

Our guide to Jacks or Better video poker covers the correct strategy in more detail.

Content

If you have 4 deuces, you’ll keep them.

If you have 3 deuces, you’ll keep them. You’re hoping for a royal flush.

If you have 2 deuces, you’ll keep both of them. You’ll hope for a 4 of a kind or better, but if you don’t have that, try for a royal flush or a straight flush.

If you only have one deuce, strategy gets a little harder. But it’s still just a list to go down:

• 4 of a Kind or better
• 4 to a Royal Flush
• Full House
• 4 to a Straight Flush
• Flush, Straight, or 3 of a Kind
• 3 to a Royal Flush

And so on.

Video Poker Tips And Strategies

The payback percentages for Deuces Wild games are all over the place. Unlike Jacks or Better, which has an easy to understand system for adjusting the payback percentage, Deuces Wild pay tables can vary quite a bit from one another.

Your best bet, when choosing a Deuces Wild game, is to use some kind of online tool to determine the payback percentage for the game with the pay table you’re considering.

For a detailed discussion of Deuces Wild strategy, please see our page on Deuces Wild video poker.

The optimal strategy for Bonus Poker, which offers a bonus payout for 4 of a kind hands, is so similar to the optimal strategy for Jacks or Better as to be almost indistinguishable.

If you just used the same strategy, you’d probably be giving up less than 0.2%.

It is good to know how to play Bonus Poker, though, because in many of today’s casinos, it’s the video poker game with the highest payout percentage.

We have an entire page dedicated to Bonus Poker, and it includes detailed strategy advice.

Joker Poker has some similarities to Deuces Wild, but it’s not as complicated. You’ll only ever see a single joker in the deck, which changes the texture of the possible hands considerably.

You’ll basically be presented with 2 basic strategy charts—one to follow if your hand includes a joker, and one to follow if it doesn’t. The differences are subtle in some cases, but it’s not too complicated.

We offer a full page on Joker Poker, too, which also includes a detailed discussion of the correct strategy for playing that game.

Video poker strategy resembles basic strategy in blackjack in many ways. They both represent the optimal way of playing every possible hand you could get.

Video Poker Tips

Of course, the differences are obvious, too. Your goals in video poker are quite different from your goals in blackjack.

Most video poker strategy is just presented as a list. You start at the top, work your way down, and stop when you get to the hand that matches what you’re holding in your hand. Then you keep the appropriate cards and move on.

We offer detailed strategies for almost all of the video poker games on our site on the appropriate pages. Please visit this page for a complete list of all the games we cover.

You may also be interested the following pages. These cover a range of subjects related to video poker strategy.

Video Poker Strategy Articles

• Video Poker Trainers
• Video Poker for Winner
• Video Poker Bankroll
• Video Poker Books
• Video Poker Cheat Sheets
• Video Poker Calculators
• Video Poker Comps
• Video Poker Double Up Feature
• Video Poker EV (Expected Value)
• Video Poker Hands and Hand Analyzers
• Video Poker House Edge
• Video Poker Lessons
• Video Poker Odds and Probability
• Video Poker Royal Flush Odds & Strategy
• Video Poker Risk of Ruin and Variance
• Video Poker Tutorial
• Bob Dancer: Video Poker Expert
• Jean Scott: The Frugal Gambler