Video Poker’s Advantages over Other Casino Games

Many people don’t understand video poker. It’s either like a regular poker game or a slot machine. It actually has a lot of similarities with solitaire. This is something that many people don’t consider.

Video poker players who believe it is a game of slot machines play almost no strategy. People who believe that video poker is a lot like regular poker use strategies that would make sense in real poker but not in video poker. This is an example of a mistake.

5-card draw has been brought back by video poker. Although it’s not as fun as playing against opponents, the basic concept of video poker is the same. After you have drawn 5 cards, you can choose how many you want to discard. You can also get replacement cards during the drawing phase.

Video poker offers many advantages over other casino games. This article explains 7 of the most important benefits that video poker has over all other casino games.

1- Video Poker looks like a slot machine, but it’s far more fun than playing slots.

A slot machine is a machine that allows you to gamble by spinning three reels and displaying symbols. You spin the reels to see if symbols match up on a “payline”. If they do, you receive a payout. This is one of the easiest gambling games that you can play.

The payoffs of slot machine games are listed. Newer machines have more symbols and reels. They often feature bonus games, which make them even more thrilling.

This is why it is important. You cannot know the probability of any symbol appearing on a stop in a slot machine game. The payoff of a particular combination is known, but you don’t know the chance of it happening. There is some crucial information missing.

You could use both these pieces of information to calculate the payback percentage for the game and the house edge. Payback percentage is the long-term estimate of how much you’ll win back from each bet. If a slot machine’s payback percentage is 75%, then you will win 75 cents per dollar. This is how the casino makes its profit.

Casinos might claim that their slot machines have a certain payback percentage. This number is usually between 96% to 98%. This does not mean that all their games have such high payback percentages. Although some games do have this payback percentage, they don’t often label them. We know the probability of certain poker hands being won. The payback percentage can be calculated for a particular video poker machine using a specific payback system.

2- Video Poker Payback Percentage is far higher than it is for slot machines

The payback percentage for most video poker machines is 92% or more, but machines with tighter rules might return closer to 90%. If you play with a perfect strategy, many video poker machines pay back 98% or higher. Some machines even offer theoretical payback percentages exceeding 100% which gives the player an advantage over the casino.

Casinos know that video poker players aren’t able to use a strong strategy to get a high payback percentage. The pay tables are different for each machine. An experienced and skilled video poker player must be able to tell the difference between a high-paying and lower-paying game.

In the long-term, you will get more entertainment from your dollar when playing video poker than the slots machines. If you choose the right machines and the right pay tables, it’s possible to play a game that has a lower house edge than any other game at the casino, including blackjack.

3- When you play video poker, you have the power to make decisions that matter

You can only make decisions about which slot machine you want to play and how many coins you wish to wager when playing on a slot machine. You place your money and take your chance.

Video poker can be compared to blackjack in this regard. Based on how good your decisions are, you can either lower or increase the house edge. Video poker is a far better game than any other slot machine because it offers a mental challenge for someone like me who likes to have some control over his destiny.

Also Read: Here’s Why You Lose Money at the Casino

4- It’s easy to play video poker

Video poker is easy to learn for most people. To learn how to play, I didn’t have to read a book. I began with Jacks or Better, the same video poker game that most players use to learn how to play. Because it pays with any pair of jacks, or better, the name is fitting.

Jacks or Better is a video poker game where you receive 5 cards and then have to decide which cards you want to discard or replace. The machine will then give you new cards and pay you based on your poker hand and the pay table.

A royal flush is the best hand, paying 800 per 1. A pair of jacks is the worst paying hand, and it pays out at just even money. It pays more if you work harder to get a hand.

The pay tables for most Jacks or Better games differ only in the payouts for 2 hands.

• The whole house
• Flux

These hands pay 9 for 1 or 6 for 1 in a Jacks or Better “full-pay” game. The payback percentage for a Jacks or Better game that has such a paytable is 99.54%. This means that the house edge is only 0.46%. If you play well, you will only lose 46 cents for every $100 that you spend.

Other pay tables for Jacks or Better may only pay 8 for 1 on the full house, and 5 for 1 on the flush. This dramatically alters the payback percentage, which drops to 97.3%. This is still a good percentage, even though it’s lower than many other games at the casino. However, there is a significant difference in the house edge between 2.7% and 0.46, especially since we are talking about the exact same game with a slight change to the paytable.

5- Video Poker Variations All Have Small Changes

All video poker variations are related to Jacks or Better. Bonus Poker is a variation of Jacks or Better, but with a different paytable. Hands with four of a kind are eligible for higher payouts. Jokers Wild, also known as “Joker Poker”, is a variant of Jacks or Better that includes a joker. It’s a wildcard. It compensates for the higher average hand values by changing the pay table.

Deuces Wild plays very differently from Jacks or Better, but the mechanics are still the same. The main difference is the fact that a large number of wild cards dramatically increases the chance of getting a high-ranking hand. To compensate, the pay tables are adjusted.

Video poker games can have many bells and whistles, but they are all very simple. For example, 10s or Better is simply Jacks or Better. However, it’s much easier to receive a payout since the lowest paying hand has been increased.

6- It’s a fast-paced game

This is both a blessing and a curse. Once you are comfortable with the game, you can play anywhere from 600 to 700 hands per hour of video poker. This is a popular choice because it allows you to play more hands and increase your chances of hitting the jackpot, which is the royal flush. You are also more likely to be involved in constant action.

However, if you have a negative expectation about a game, the more you place per hour the more money that you will lose. You can compare how much you lose at full-pay Jacks or Better to the amount you lose at Roulette.

On an average roulette table you will only see 50 bets every hour. Assuming you’re betting $5 per spin, you’re putting $250 per hour into action. The house edge is 5.26%. Your expected loss for this scenario is $13.15. This is almost equal to the amount you would lose playing $5 per hand of Jacks or Better.

7- You can sometimes get an edge

If a game has a low house edge, it is possible to get an advantage over the house. Video poker is a popular way to achieve this. Combine your slots club membership rebates with a strategy that will give you a greater payback percentage.

Here’s how it works:

You get 0.2% to 0.3% back on the money you have spent at the slot machine when you join the club. This comps-free stuff is supposed to encourage you to gamble more and return to the casino. You can now get 99.84% payback if you play a game that has a 99.54% payout percentage.

It’s not 100% yet, but here’s what to look for:

Look for a casino with a full-pay game and happy hours that offer double or triple the number of slots club points. You can get 0.6% or 0.9% if you double or triple the 0.3%. This increases the payback percentage to 100.14% and 100.44%. A margin of 0.14 percent or 0.44% over the casino is negligible. It’s what makes the difference between you and the casino winning over the long term.

CONCLUSION

Video poker offers many advantages over other casino games, especially slots. When I find a video poker game, I don’t play slots machines. I prefer the transparent, more honest game. I also prefer the game that has better odds.

Video poker has the greatest advantages: the skill elements and low house edge. However, you will need to be able to read the pay table. Although not all pay tables have a low house edge, even those with tighter payouts are often better than the ones on the slot machines.