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| One of the best casinos for Video Poker |
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About Video Poker
Video Poker is usually classified as a type of Slot
machine, but there are two major differences.
1) Video Poker has an element of skill where Slots
is a game of luck.
2) You can tell the payout percentage of a Video Poker
machine by looking at the pay table, but it is impossible
to know what a slot machine’s payout is set to.
Many people think that Video
Poker Machines are as very bad gamble when in fact,
the opposite is true. Some Video Poker Machines have
a long-term payout of greater than 100%. Other than
card counting in Blackjack, they are the only games
in the casino where a player can get a long term advantage
over the house.
With it's low house advantages and the possible jackpots,
Video Poker is the perfect game for players who like
to play alone. Video Poker is also ideal for the new
player as you can control the pace of the game, take
your time while you are learning and then pick up the
pace when you’re more comfortable.
Playing Video Poker
It's easy to learn. Even if you don’t know how
poker hands are ranked, the payoffs for hands are always
printed on the machines. Video Poker follows the same
format as Five Card Draw Poker. Players are dealt five
cards and decide which ones to keep. Players can discard
0 to five cards. After the draw, winning hands are paid
out according to the posted payout schedule.
All Video Poker payoffs are on a “for”
and not a “to” basis. For example, a pair
of Jacks pays 1 for 1 on a Jacks or Better Video Poker
machine. This means that your original bet is returned,
not doubled — in other words, you break even.
Poker Hands
| Hand |
Description |
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1.
FIVE OF A KIND
Only possible
with Wild Cards (Jokers or Wild Deuces) |
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2. ROYAL
FLUSH
The
highest possible Straight Flush |
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3. STRAIGHT
FLUSH
A
Straight with all cards of the same suit |
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4. FOUR-OF-A-KIND
All 4 of any one card value |
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5. FULL HOUSE
A 3-of-a-Kind with a Pair |
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6. FLUSH
All 5 cards of the same suit |
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7. STRAIGHT
All 5 cards in unbroken sequence
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8. THREE-OF-A-KIND
3 cards of equal value |
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9. TWO PAIR
Two separate Pairs |
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10. PAIR
Two cards of equal value |
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11. HIGH CARD
No makeable hand - value is determined by
the highest ranked card |
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Doubling your Winning
Some video poker machines offer the option of doubling
your winnings after you have won a hand. If you decide
to do this, the machine will deal five additional cards
with the first one face up and the last four face down.
You then pick one of the face down cards. If it is higher
in value you double you winnings, if it is of lower
value, you lose your winnings. There are different rules
from machine to machine for a tie. In most cases a tie
is a push, but in some cases a tie loses. If you win
the double, you are usually allowed to keep doubling.
If a tie is a push, your chances of winning are 50/50.
If a tie counts as a loss, the house advantage is a
very high 5.8%. There is no House Advantage in doubling
your winnings but this does not affect the overall long-term
payout of a machine as you cannot double unless you
have already won.
Multiple doubling although tempting, is dangerous.
Remember that the chances of winning a double bet are
not affected by any previous double wins — if
you have won 3 doubles in a row you still have a 50/50
chance to win the fourth double at that point. Below
are the chances of winning consecutive double bets.
Number
of doubles |
Chances
of winning |
| One
Double |
50% |
| Two
Doubles |
25% |
| Three
Doubles |
12.5% |
| Four Doubles |
6.25% |
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Video Poker Variations
As with Slot Machines, there are many variations of
Video Poker. Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild are the
most popular and other variations come and go and can
be hard to find. Below is a comparison of the long-term
payback for video poker variations assuming optimal
play.
| Variation |
payback
% |
| Jacks or better |
99.54% |
| Deuces Wild |
100.75% |
| Joker Wild |
100.6% |
| Double Joker Wild |
99.96% |
| Deuces and Joker Wild |
99% |
| 7's Wild |
98.8% |
| Tens or better |
99.1% |
| Aces and Faces |
99.85% |
| Bonus Poker |
99.1% |
| Double Bonus Poker |
100.17% |
| Triple Bonus Poker |
99.8% |
| Pick 'em Poker |
99.95% |
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Video Poker Terminology
Cycle: Predicted
average number of hands dealt per jackpot.
Flat Top: A Slot
or Video Poker machine whose jackpot is always a fixed
amount.
Full Pay Machine:
A Video Poker Machine that usually has the best payoff
schedule.
Garbage Hand: An
initial deal where you discard all 5 cards.
Kicker: A card
held with a Pair or 3 of a Kind.
Pat Hand: A hand
in Blackjack or Video Poker that the player sticks with.
Payoff Schedule:
List on Slot or Video Poker machine denoting winning
combinations.
Sequential Royal Flush:
A Royal Flush where the cards are displayed in order
with the 10 on the left.
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| One of the best casinos for Video Poker |
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casinoadvice.co.uk accepts no responsibility
for any losses incurred as a result of following this
guide.
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