Video Poker is nothing
like table poker games - I've played both for many, many years and
they're nothing like each other. You can make plays in Video Poker
that would never work in a five card draw game with a real deck of cards!
Always play max coins
- As simple as this sounds, it still needs to be stated.
Play Carefully
- Take your time to make the best decisions. It's you against the machine
and there's no need to rush things.
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Know the Payout
Schedule - This is one of the
keys to success in Video Poker. You need to understand the payout schedule
for each game so that you can adjust your strategy and maximize your
winnings. With the endless introduction of new variations of Video
Poker, this is critical, but it's also one of the most fun challenges of
playing Video Poker!
Don't play tired - When playing
long periods of fast Video Poker, it's easy to fall into a trance-like
state of mind and become tired, which will affect the decisions you're
making. When this happens, stop and take a break to keep your brain
fresh for each decision.
Don't play lazy - This is
particularly critical for Video Poker on the internet. A number of
the online casinos offer "Auto Hold" which is wonderful for most hands.
But Auto Hold doesn't always hold the best cards, so stay on your toes if
you're using it and don't be lulled into just hitting the draw button.
Never keep the
"kicker" with any pair in a bonus Video Poker game
- Holding the kicker to any pair dramatically reduces your chances of
pulling the 4 of a kind.
Always keep winning ("pat") hands dealt to you unless you can draw one
card to a Royal or a super bonus hand.
- Here's where the internet differs from land casinos... On the IGT
machines I love so much, when they deal me a full house with Aces over
anything, I'll always break the full house to go for the 4 Aces with
kicker, with a good degree of success. On the internet, though, it
rarely works.
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Play 1, 3, 5, or 10 hands at a time, even on their
progressive Video Poker games
Don't break a flush
- even if you can draw one to a straight flush (although I'll do it once
in a while if the machine is running "hot"). Always break it
if it's dealt you a flush with 4 to the Royal.
Don't play for the flush - If
you're dealt garbage, it's generally not a good idea to hold three cards
to a flush. I watch people do this in land casinos endlessly, until
I want to slap them silly! The payout for the flush is just not
worth the risk; it's better to hold one high card, or throw the whole hand
out.
Hold the "Money Cards"
- If you're dealt a garbage hand, but it has at least one card that if
matched will win your money back, hold that card.
Never hold just a 10 - If you've
been dealt garbage and a 10 is the highest card, throw the entire hand
out.
Never hold a 10 with a Face Card
- As a general rule, never hold just two cards to the Royal when one of
them is the 10.
Watch for patterns - The video
poker mathematical purists really hate that I say this, but I dare say
I've been actually playing video poker longer than 99% of them.
Video Poker machines commonly go through "streaks" where they'll hit a lot
of flushes, and no straights; or full houses, but not flushes; or any
particular type of hand. These streaks also change in a split
second, but if you become aware of them and play to them when they're
rolling, it will help maximize your winnings.
Practice makes perfect
- The more you play the better you'll be. Learning which cards to keep and
which cards to discard is very important for basic strategy and winning,
and as you become more experienced at it, you'll learn where to take the
right chances.
1, 3,
10, 52 & 100 hand Video Poker
