Video Poker StrategyVideo Poker can be an excellent game in terms of low house edge. You can even find games that if you use the correct gaming strategy the edge will be in the players favour, so that you will win more than you lose in the long. Meaning a beatable casino game woohoo! But machines with rules this good are very rare. However machines with really good rules that still have a house advantage are pretty common.
The complexity of Video Poker strategies is very big because you need an exact strategy card for each type of Video Poker game and that strategy will only be correct for the paytable the casino choose to use for that particular game, making it a difficult task to master this game.
What is full pay?
Full pay is term that tells you the value of the paytable. A machine with full pay Jacks or Better would have a 99.54 %( meaning only a .46% house edge) payback with optimal strategy and a paytable like this.
Full pay (9/6) = Full House pays 9 coins and a Flush pays 6 coins on a 1 coin winning bet.
| Jacks or Better Full pay ( 9/6 ) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player Hand | Payout Table | ||||
| Coins Played | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Royal Flush | 250 | 500 | 750 | 1000 | 4000 |
| Straight Flush | 50 | 100 | 150 | 200 | 250 |
| Four of a Kind | 25 | 50 | 75 | 100 | 125 |
| Full House | 9 | 18 | 27 | 36 | 45 |
| Flush | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 |
| Straight | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 |
| Three of a Kind | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Two Pair | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Jacks or Better | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Jacks or Better Strategy Card
To use the below strategy, start at the top of the list and look up the cards that best describe your initial hand. Try to Keep a hand that is as high as possible on the list, and then discard the cards that are not in the description.
# Initial Hand
1. Full House or better
2. 4 to a Royal Flush
3. Straight, Three of a Kind, or Flush
4. 4 to a Straight Flush
5. Two pair
6. High pair
7. 3 to a Royal Flush
8. 4 to a Flush
9. Low pair
10. 4 to an outside Straight
11. 2 suited high cards
12. 3 to a straight flush
13. Any 2 high cards
14. Suited 10,J or 10,Q or 10,K
15. One card jack or higher
16. Crap - Keep nothing (kick the machine)
Jacks or Better terms
Outside Straight - The straight consists of four consecutive cards with no gaps. For example 4, 5, 6, 7 + another card. Twice as good as an inside straight because both the 3 and 8 will complete the straight.
Inside straight - An example of an inside straight would be 4,5,7,8 + another card. Only half as good as an outside straight because only one card can complete the straight.
High Pair - Pair of jacks or better.
Low Pair - Pair of tens and lower.
High card - Jack or higher
Video Poker strategy tips
Look for machines that have the Full Pay (9/6) payout for Jacks or Better. Stay away from machines that short pay you.
Doubling your bet after winning hand can be a good bet as this is an even bet, however if your strategy is to win in the long run this bet will only give the game more variance.
Know the correct strategy for the game you choose.
