These are some of the key video poker expressions you need to know. Some of the terms may be a bit confusing because they have a special meaning as specifically applied to video poker. In video poker circles, if you know the following definitions, you will no longer be considered a novice player.

Video Poker Expressions Related to Making Hands

Wild Card A joker, or some other designated card that you can substitute for any card in your hand.

Pat Hand A winning hand that is played as dealt without drawing any further cards. It might be a straight, a full house, a flush, or a four of a kind. You stand pat.

Wake Up With a Hand When you get a hand with winning potential right away.

Two Flush A hand containing two cards of the same suit.

Three Flush A hand containing three cards of the same suit.

Video Poker Expressions Related to Betting/Money

Payout Table Table on the front of the video poker machine listing what each winning hand will pay for each coin played.

Payoff The return you get on a winning bet.

Payout Percentage The percent of each dollar played into the machine that the machine is programmed to return in winnings to the players.

Expressions related to Progressives and other Jackpots

Progressive Jackpot A jackpot that grows progressively as more coins are dropped into the machine. Sometimes video poker machines are linked together among several casinos to form a larger combined jackpot.

Progressive Video Poker A video poker game that only pays when you get a royal flush. Each coin put into the machine increases the payout.

Are the machines on cycles

Pay Cycle A lot of people believe that the machines run on pay cycles: after taking a certain amount of money, the machine pays out a certain amount of money. This is why some casino visitors look for machines that haven’t “hit” in a while. In reality, the machines pay out on a percentage basis over a long period of time, normally up to one year.

Take Cycle A take cycle is the opposite of a pay cycle. The belief is that a video poker machine will not pay out until a programmed number of coins are deposited.

Streak A temporary run of bad luck or good luck.

Video Poker Expressions article courtesy of PokerListings.com