Casino & Gambling Information

All About Video Poker


Video poker is a casino game that has much in common with slot machines, but it is a slot machine game combined with the rules of five card draw poker in a very specific manner. Video poker is often considered by many experienced gamblers to be vastly superior to slot machines because of the effect that skilled play has on the potential payback of the machine. While slot machines are programmed to pay back a certain percentage of the money that is fed into the machine, video poker pays back a percentage that can be affected by perfect strategic play.

Video poker games first appeared in the 1970's, but didn't start enjoying widespread popularity until the 1980's, when slot machine manufacturer IGT became involved in the production of video poker games. Many people in casinos who are nervous or intimidated by table games find video poker to be a lot more "friendly" than blackjack or live poker. This is probably because video poker combines the strategic thinking of a table game like blackjack with the solitary playing experience of a slot machine.

Video poker games are easily played. The player wages 1 or more coins in order to get dealt five virtual cards on a computer screen. (A smart player always plays the max bet, usually 5 coins, since the max bet triggers the bigger payoffs on the higher ranked hands.) The player chooses which cards to hold and then draws cards to replace his discarded cards. The final hand pays out based on the payout table for the particular video game.

Popular video poker games include deuces wild and jacks or better, both of which are often played either as single hands or in a multi-hand version, where the player gets to play 3, 5, 10, 50 or even 100 hands of video poker at the same time.

Depending on the payout schedule for the different poker hands on a certain machine, the payback percentage on a video poker can be very good indeed. Jacks or better with a "full pay", or the highest standard payback schedule, pays back at 99.5% with perfect play. A full pay deuces wild machine pays back at 100.7% with perfect play. In actual practice, players who don't play perfectly and make mistakes reduce the practical payback percentage on those machines by 6% or more, making video poker one of the most profitable games in the casino, especially since many video poker players play upwards of 500 hands per hour.

Learning how to play video poker with perfect strategy is not terribly hard to do. There are numerous video poker strategy guides available for sale, and Bob Dancer's excellent tutorials and software teach video poker strategy through a series of both charts and lists of principles that will work effectively for different learning styles.

Practicing has become much easier also, now that free video poker games have become so prevalent online. Games like these allow you to play online with no download and no cost, and they're played using the same rules as the video poker games found in traditional land-based casinos.

The author loves to play video poker. Please feel free to reprint this article, but only if you leave all links intact.


MORE RESOURCES:

Islands Close To China Could Get Legalized Casino Gambling
Casino Gambling Web, FL - Oct 5, 2008
The United States is not the only country that is using expanded casino gambling to try and help out the troubled economy. Taiwan is considering expanding ...


Staten Island Advance - SILive.com

Atlantic City May Delay Smoking Ban in Casinos For Love of Money
Casino Gambling Web, FL - 13 hours ago
The city is no longer the casino gambling capital of the east Coast like it once was. City officials are so intent on getting that title back, that they are ...
Let's get political Pittsburgh Post Gazette
all 194 news articles


Bored Groups In Missouri Take Up Casino Gambling Opposition
Casino Gambling Web, FL - Oct 3, 2008
The state of Missouri is trying to expand their casino options for gamblers. They are proposing that the casino loss limits be raised in order to bring more ...


Opponents to Ky. online gambling case gathering
Forbes, NY - 9 hours ago
During his campaign for governor last year, Beshear campaigned on a central theme supporting legalized casino gambling as a way to raise state revenue. ...
Kentucky Lays Out Case On Online Casino Operators WYMT
all 17 news articles


Debate over proposed casino catches fire in Maine
Forbes, NY - 14 hours ago
Now the airwaves are alive with ads by casino proponents as the state engages in another lively debate over the merits of casino gambling. ...


China Visa Laws Hurting US Casino Gambling Companies
Casino Gambling Web, FL - Oct 2, 2008
The country of China has made it more difficult for their citizens to go visit Macau. They used to be allowed to visit every two months, but new visa laws ...


Defending the lottery
Arkansas Times, AR - 10 hours ago
The filing reiterates the argument that only statutes, and not the Constitution, prohibit casino gambling in Arkansas. Should the Supreme Court happen to ...


Statehouse candidates debate money matters
Cape Cod Times, MA - 1 hour ago
Both candidates oppose casino gambling and view the Cape Wind project as flawed. Howell favors offshore drilling to lessen reliance on foreign oil. ...


Casino Gambling Referendum Officially On Ballot In Ohio
Casino Gambling Web, FL - Sep 25, 2008
Casino gambling is coming and there is not much that Penn National can do about it in Ohio. All that is left for expanded casino gambling in the state is ...
Controversial Vote in Ohio Could Affect West Virginia WOWK
Casino issue still on Nov. 4 ballot despite protest by No On 6 group The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com
Commissioners look over benefits of The Review
Akron Beacon Journal
all 99 news articles


The Final Step for Recognition of State’s Tribes
Lynchburg News and Advance, VA - 3 hours ago
The principal problem in the House had been the specter of casino gambling that has been raised by foes of the proposal. They argued the state would be ...

Casino-Gambling - Google News

home | site map
© 2006