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Gambling
Tips
Video Poker Strategy
Only ever play on a full pay machine. Microgaming, Playtech and Odds On all have full paying machines. To find out if its a 'full pay' machine, look at the first line of the payout table.
On Jacks or Better a full house should pay 9 and a flush 6 On Deuces Wild a straight flush should pay 9 and a 5 of a kind 15 If this is the case then it is a full-pay machine.
ALWAYS 'bet max', this means using 5 coins at a time. The minimum bet is generally 0.25c, meaning that each hand would be $1.25 on Video Poker or 4*$1.25 on Power Poker (in power poker 4 hands are played simultaneously). If you want to increase the bets select coin size 0.50c and play at $2.50 per hand. The reason why you must ALWAYS 'bet max' is because if you get a Royal Flush then you will only get the real jackpot if you're playing 'bet max'/'full coins'. Look at the top line of the payout table to see this.
At the end of a winning hand you will be asked if you want to double. Though this is completely up to you, we would recommend that you choose NO and set the options so that doubling is not allowed. It is also advisable to have 'auto-hold' ON as an option, so that you do not miss any winning hands.
If possible we would always recommend that you play power poker. The % return is identical to normal video poker and the variance no higher, but the fact that you are playing 4-lines simultaneously means that the wagering is completed a lot quicker.
All online casino's offer a play for fun or practice mode. As video poker appears at first slightly more complicated than blackjack, it is recommended that you use these modes and get a feel for the game, before you risk your own money.
Jacks or Better Video Poker/Power Poker
Jacks or Better is called Jacks or Better because it pays if you have a hand of a pair of jacks or better. The game operates in the same way as 5 card stud, in that you are dealt 5 cards and then choose to swap any number of these to leave you with your final hand. The expected return on a full pay machine is 99.46% (house edge of 0.56%).
The same strategy applies for both video poker and power poker. To use this strategy table, look up all the ways that you could play your initial hand (the 5 cards you are dealt to begin with) and elect that which is highest on the list. A 'high card' here means a Jack or higher.
Jacks or Better Video Poker - 9/6 Strategy
| Initial Hand |
Cards to Hold |
Cards to Discard |
| Royal Flush |
5 |
0 |
| Straight Flush |
5 |
0 |
| 4 of a Kind |
4 |
1 |
| 4 Card Royal Flush |
4 |
1 |
| Full House |
5 |
0 |
| Flush |
5 |
0 |
| 3 of a Kind |
3 |
2 |
| Straight |
5 |
0 |
| 4 Card Straight Flush |
4 |
1 |
| Two Pairs |
4 |
1 |
| Pair of Jacks or Higher |
2 |
3 |
| 3 Card Royal Flush |
3 |
2 |
| 4 Card Flush |
4 |
1 |
| Pair Lower Than Jacks |
2 |
3 |
| 4 Card Straight |
4 |
1 |
| 3 Card Straight Flush |
3 |
2 |
| 2 Card Royal Flush |
2 |
3 |
| 3 High Cards |
3 |
2 |
| 2 High Cards |
2 |
3 |
| 1 High Card |
1 |
4 |
| Anything Else |
0 |
5 |
Double Bonus Poker (Jacks or Better)
| Initial Hand |
Cards to Hold |
Cards to Discard |
| Royal Flush |
5 |
0 |
| 4 Aces |
4 |
1 |
| 4 Twos, Threes, or Fours |
4 |
1 |
| Straight Flush |
5 |
0 |
| 4 Fives Through Kings |
4 |
1 |
| 4 Card Royal Flush |
4 |
1 |
| 3 Aces |
3 |
2 |
| Full House |
5 |
0 |
| Flush |
5 |
0 |
| 3 Twos, Threes, or Fours |
3 |
2 |
| 3 Fives Through Kings |
3 |
2 |
| Straight |
5 |
0 |
| 4 Card Straight Flush |
4 |
1 |
| 2 Pairs |
4 |
1 |
| 2 Aces |
2 |
3 |
| 3 Card Royal Flush |
3 |
2 |
| 4 Card Flush |
4 |
1 |
| Pair of Jacks, Queens, or Kings |
2 |
3 |
| 4 Card Straight |
4 |
1 |
| 3 Card Straight Flush |
3 |
2 |
| Low Pair |
2 |
3 |
| 2 Card Royal Flush |
2 |
3 |
| 3 Card Flush |
3 |
2 |
| 3 High Cards |
3 |
2 |
| 3 Card Straight |
3 |
2 |
| 2 High Cards |
2 |
3 |
| 1 High Card |
1 |
4 |
| Anything Else |
0 |
5 |
Play Carefully - You don't have a dealer or other players waiting on you, so take your time and make the best decisions.
No Memory - The video poker machines have no memory. The random number generator insures it. Play each hand like you don't remember what happened in the last hand.
Playing Hunches - There are many who know the strategy, but still play hunches. This is fine as long as you realize that you are lowering your odds of winning for the pleasure of playing the hunch. Sometimes hunches work and it feels pretty good.
Know the Paytables - Understanding the paytables, and using them to find better machines, is the single most important thing you can do to increase your winnings.
Here are some typical Jacks or Better Video Poker paytables:
| Payout Type |
9/6 |
8/5 |
6/5 |
| Royal Flush |
250 |
250 |
250 |
| Straight Flush |
50 |
50 |
50 |
| Four of a Kind |
25 |
25 |
25 |
| Full House |
9 |
8 |
6 |
| Flush |
6 |
5 |
5 |
| Straight |
4 |
4 |
4 |
| Three of a Kind |
3 |
3 |
3 |
| Two Pairs |
2 |
2 |
2 |
| Pair of Jacks or Better |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Long Run Pay Percentage |
99% |
97% |
95% |
The tables above assume maximum credit play
Terms:
- High card: A jack, queen, king, or ace- these cards are valuable because a pair of any of them returns the original bet.
- Straight: 5 cards of any suit in a row. EG- 3,4,5,6,7 10,J,Q,K,A A,2,3,4,5 (BUT NOT Q,K,A,2,3). Remember, an ace can be high or low but not both.
- Outside straight: A straight with a missing outside card, for example 3,4,5,6 and can therefore be completed at either end. Here a 2 or a 7 will result in a straight
- Inside straight: A straight with a missing inside card, for example 3,4,6,7, as only a 5 here will result in a winning straight. In addition J,Q,K,A also counts as an inside straight because only a 10 will result in a straight.
- Flush: 5 cards of the same suit.
- Full House: A 3 of a kind and a pair. For example J,J,3,3,3 is a 'jacks over 3s' full house.
- Straight Flush/Royal Flush: 5 cards in a row of the same suit. For example 2,3,4,5,6 all of hearts is a straight flush. A royal flush is a 10,J,Q,K,A all in the same suit and pays out 4000* the coin size (with 'max coins').
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